Last week was a busy one. Halloween popped up, seemingly out of nowhere in my book, and even faster, E's second birthday.
As her parents, M and I were actually somewhat organized, probably because we didn't arrange a party for her. Parties for two year olds? Well, family comes to mind as the crowd that you invite to a 2 yr old's gig and since we don't have any here, we decided to stick with the 3 of us. Worked better for me, as I am not the world's greatest organizer. I have visions of botched birthday parties and missing bits of Halloween costumes and unpurchased birthday gifts for those little girl birthday's she will undoubtedly go to.... Eek!
Anyhow, Halloween went without a hitch. It was still dark when we put on her costume and the "hood" lasted about 10 minutes before it came off. We had to put it back on and bribe the child finally so we could get a few photos. You'll see the form of bribery in the photos no doubt. Here's the lot of them, there are quite a few, be forewarned!
Trick-or-treating did not take long to explain. The neighborhood near our daycare had a sponsored events - all the businesses handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters from 3-6pm. Although it had rained cats and dogs all day, somehow when it was time to pick up E, the clouds parted and the sun shone down on the lot of us. It was a nice evening! We walked around with all the other kids and got candy from people waiting to give us candy. I did try to teach good manners - say "Thank you" although it's more like "Tn do" so no one really knew it was thank you but us. At least she said it a few times! One time she actually got to select her own candy (rather than the person handing it to her) and there was definitely some thought process going on behind the piece she chose because she moved a few pieces around to get the one she wanted!
As a parent, I love to see that stuff. It just lets you know they are becoming their own little person! After about an hour of walking, well, me carrying, we went to see a friend who wanted to see E's costume and she got a lot more candy. Finally we stopped at another friend's house and helped them hand out candy. It was a good night! She definitely enjoyed the night, I think.
The next day we woke early, unfortunately, but it was E's birthday and there were presents to open! She got some cute gifts from abroad and then our gift, which was a trike. More photos here. We also went to IHOP and got the smiley face pancake with ice cream for dessert (yes, at 10am!). We opened another present and got a couple balloons from IHOP and spent the rest of the day recovering from the onslaught of sugar in the morning. I think she liked it her day!
Sunday was another lovely birthday celebration with our friends that we handed out candy with and Monday she had a little birthday party at daycare replete with ice cream and a crown. Needless to say, we are still coming OFF that 4 day sugar binge!! But it's all good.
She is definitely TWO now. It seems the switch has switched. ;) More about that later.
You would think from that title that this post is going to be something about Friday but that would imply that I plan out what I'm going to say. I don't. I have such a hard time coming up with titles, that just seemed like the easiest thing to say! (It's now Tuesday and I'm still working on this post!)
Last week(now two weeks ago) was a lovely one. My parents were visiting and spending quality time with their granddaughter. It was nice to see. E is talking a lot now and repeating words (note to self: watch the F-word) so we got her to practice "Nana" (easier than grandma) and "Granddad" and my parents loved it. She was only shy with them for a few minutes and pretty soon was all over my dad. E has a thing for men. She does. My pop-psychology brain says it's because she's around women all day at school. Anyhow, she goes after all the dads. Flirts, etc. Anyhow, that was great - we told her to practice saying "Granddad, $10?" but she wouldn't bite. Maybe at Christmas!
I'm still going on WW. You may have noticed that I've stopped writing about my losses. That's because I'm stuck around the 158lb mark. I really need to start tracking my food again, with guests visiting and a couple of "date" nights, I wasn't keeping great track which means I was probably going way over. Now, 5 days after I originally started posting this, I'm way off track. Tack on a cold and no workouts, eating comfort food and trying to feel better and I'm sure I've gone overboard. It's amazing how it only takes a few days to start feeling like a slug and actually enjoying sleeping in. I really have to keep up with the workouts and running to keep my weight down. Something about this time of year though - getting ready to cover up and be cold all year just tends to make me want to put on a layer... of fat. ;)
I am totally bummed because I had to miss seeing G when she was in town last weekend. I swear if I wasn't such a happy person these days, I'd think the world was conspiring against me that I didn't get to meet G, Ang and RG at The Melting Pot for dinner. I love fondue and I love those ladies and its just the pits that I got a cold. Seems we've all got it. First E, then me and now M. I want to get healthy fast, if nothing so that I can play with girl. It's so hard to do anything with a sinus headache! Hopefully one more day of recovery and I can get back to the gym too.
Not much going on here lately. Getting ready (which means at least we are aware of it) for E's birthday on Saturday. No parties because it doesn't really make sense for a 2 yr old to have a party, although there will be plenty of gatherings no doubt and we'll make her feel like a princess on her day... now if I can just get her to say "Two" when I ask how old she'll be on her birthday. I'm sure that will arrive sooner than I think.
Bye for now.
I had an incredibly hard time finding very many "before" photos that would show exactly what I needed to show. I covered up well so it just looks like I'm frumpy rather than fat. And frankly, the "after" photos don't really make me look all that trim in my opinion but maybe I'm being hard on myself... Fact of the matter is that I will never be a size 6. Ever. As M likes to say, 'get a ladder and get over it!'
First before photo is Christmas Eve 2007 and really shows off my post-baby belly (way post baby, she was a year old here). Second photo, sometime before that, just me looking frumpy. Too show off, because I don't get to brag too often and most people don't see my stomach anyway, I'm putting up two "after"shots. Me in my way-too-expensive 7 jeans and my ever flattening tummy. I'm pretty proud of it, I must say. ;)
Before:
Look at that tummy, how unflattering!
After:
BTW, I am still on WW, I just haven't gotten below 158. It's been up and down for 2 months now. My MO with weight loss is the same. Lose it and get comfy and eat again. It just can't be done. ;)
Your result for The Perception Personality Image Test...
Nature, Background, Big Picture, and Color
You perceive the world with particular attention to nature. You focus on the hidden treasures of life (the background) and how that fits into the larger picture. You are also particularly drawn towards the colors around you. Because of the value you place on nature, you tend to find comfort in more subdued settings and find energy in solitude. You like to ponder ideas and imagine the many possibilities of your life without worrying about the details or specifics. You are in tune with all that is around you and understand your life as part of a larger whole. You are a down-to-earth person who enjoys going with the flow.
There's kind of a lot going on these days and although it is exciting for me, I don't know how exciting it will be for you.
Biggest news, I suppose, is appearing in the post below. Cute as a button, we got ourselves a new family member. Cara is our new dog, almost 2 yr old black Lab that is as sweet as pie and fairly well-trained even. We had been looking but no decisions had been made - since M had his heart set on a white golden retriever like he used to have. Finally one day, M decided we could stop by a shelter on our way home from camping. We came close to a golden retriever but it had a few more problems than we were ready to deal with. Then we went to a lottery for 2 puppies available in a town nearby. We were one of two people who put our names in for one puppy and still didn't get it! Obviously, it wasn't meant to be. So we had put off thinking about it for a couple days until M (who was also looking for a used SUV) found the vehicle he was looking for on cra1gsl1st and we decided to head down to P0rtland to have a look. We stopped at the 0reg0n Human3 Soc13ty and found Cara. Oh, we bought the truck too. M had to go back during the week to pick up the dog. So she's almost been with us a week and she's great! E keeps calling her "Bella" which is the name of our friend's dog (who is also a black Lab). She doesn't realize (I don't think) that's it's a different dog. I keep saying "it's Cara" but she keeps saying "Bella, bella, bella" all the freakin' time! There's no hope and I'm thinking we might have to change the dog's name to Bella. LOL
A week ago I had my first ever mammogram. It took about 5 minutes, which basically means it took me longer to drive over to the clinic than to be seen by the tech doing it. I'd heard all sorts of stories about what it feels like and yes, as a matter of fact, it does feel like placing your boob between to steel plates and pressing them together. Fortunately for us mostly boob-less population, it wasn't too bad. I will find out the results in a week or so.
That same day I had scheduled my flight - the instruction that M got me for a birthday present. He drove me over to the local airport (not the international but a littler one that we can see from the freeway when we drive that way) and I met up with my instructor. Do you remember ever having a dream, something you've always wanted to do but as the years pass and it sits on the back burner, it truly didn't seem like something you always wanted to do? Like you've forgotten how much you wanted to do it? That's what flying is like. I always wanted to fly a plane. It seemed so out of reach, cost wise, I don't know I just never thought of doing it for myself.... Anyhow, I was reminded of it when we were taking off from that little airport in the 4-seater DA40 plane. The talk from the tower was Japanese, I hadn't a clue who or what they were talking to but I tried. I concentrated but it was definitely not to be. Fortunately, my instructor knew and we took off to the north and flew over Seattle on the gorgeous sunny day that it was. It was a perfect day. As we turned to the east, I could see my 'hood to my left, ferries down below, and the Pug3t S0und out in the distance, I don't know if I'd even seen it look so beautiful. When he actually let me "take the wheel" and I turned and dipped the plane a bit, oh my god, what a rush! A bit like driving for the first time, where you know you are behind the wheel of a powerful vehicle but you still have to find out what it can do. Scary and exhilarating all at once! The flight was only an hour but definitely the best way to see our city on a beautiful day. Who knows if I will take lessons - just not ready to give up that much time with E right now? But it's definitely on my mind and maybe in my future! :) Oh, did I mention that he let me land the plane as well?! Eep!
I haven't written lately. I've been busy. Working even. ;) I'm a big procrastinator when it comes to work projects - not enough daily satisfaction to sit well with me. I've had a looming project, I've slowly been working on and I've now moved into the most challenging part - coordinating cable broadband installation in an area where we have limited support but really need it. The cable company will only bring the cable to the offices and at that point, we have to network our office computers. Having the office employees do this would be next to impossible, having me travel down there to do it would be painful.... So, I'm working on coordination... I've got the contracts signed and am now waiting for the installations to take place. It's been keeping me busy.
This weekend has been a challenge. I have the munchies, a sick husband and a child that also wasn't feeling great/napping for the last few days. I've let myself eat a bit even though I went to yoga today and only burned 100 calories! Why does the class feel so hard yet you don't burn anything?! It was relaxing and I needed that too. I'm up to 30 minutes of running in my 5k training - the run is at the end of September and I'm fairly sure I will be ready. After that, I think I will set my sights on a 10k (it's been a few years since I've run one). I don't know if I can train for a 10k on the treadmill so I may have to move it outdoors - which at 5:30am is not going to be easy. Brr!
I've had a challenging weekend with the girl. I think I've mentioned before that I find it hard when she's sick. She's more demanding and needy of me. Yes, I know she is my child. But that doesn't mean I have to handle it gracefully each time she needs me more than normal... I'm only human! :) Anyhow, because she wasn't feeling well, she hasn't been eating much - it's normal, I've seen this before. She is going through a phase where she wants to open the fridge, pull herself up on the bottom step and stand there indefinitely, then ask for something that eventually she eats two bites of and hands back to me. Usually she eats like there is no tomorrow. Anyhow, getting used to the change always takes me awhile and then once I get used to her eating little bites, she's usually fine and eating again.... I know, my problem, not hers. :) I also know she's not well because I could not put her down for a nap yesterday -she cried or talked for over an hour- before we decided to go and look at an open house. She had a lot of energy, running around and having fun in the empty houses, only to fall asleep for almost 2 hours after we got back in the car. She was zonked. And still went to bed last night... I think she is getting a tooth (or two or four) - not sure. I was hoping to her move into her big girl bed this past weekend but with being sick.... well, it just doesn't seem like the right time. We have to kind of hurry though - the crib belongs to a friend whose brother is having a baby either in late Sept or October, I can't remember which.
I'm still managing to lose a bit of weight even though I haven't been right on plan (in fact, I've recently exceeded my alloted food points for the week the past 3 or 4 weeks) but with working out, I manage to stay even. I really have to be organized and sometimes that can be hard... now that the fruit season is starting to fade too - the blueberries taste a bit crappier and the strawberries get furry a lot faster than they were.... fortunately, I've been okay with vegetables and keeping my meals smaller. I made a mean green curry chicken dish - a recipe that I got from ww - although it needed a bit of red chili paste to make it the way I like it - spicy. Still the flavor wasn't bad!
We have one last summer camping trip next weekend, provided that this sh1tty weather we've been having improves a bit. We are going to Deception Pass State Park again - we were there a few weeks ago and had a lovely weekend and pretty nice weather. E truly seems to love camping and we finally have our bikes working and were able to take advantage of them around the campsite. I honestly can't wait until E is old enough to ride her own bike and play with the other kids in the campground... I wish I could say that it would be nice for her to have a sibling to play with but we all know that ain't going to happen. But, suffice it to say that I contemplate it a lot more than I have in the past two years. We better hurry and get a dog, is all I can say!
I'll leave you with a few memories of our last trip...
Building a fire with dad:
Practicing our "Cheese" for photos:
A shot with Deception Pass bridge in the background:
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I would love to show photos of our guests but as I haven't asked them about it, I couldn't upload any photos with their girls. As you can see, I had to cut someone out of the photo... this is our friend that E is going around calling "Daddy". Let's just say it's getting confusing around the house. Our friends have two daughters - K, 7 and A, 4 1/2 - and E has had the best time with them. Particularly A. They are as close to friends as I've seen E be with anyone, she adores them. Because K and A call their parents, "mommy" and "daddy", E apparently thinks that that is their names and she calls them "mommy" and "daddy" (as well as M and I, she isn't confused about it, just knows that that is their names!). It's hilarious. She loves her other parents to bits and often at the exclusion of M and I. :)) It doesn't bother me though, it's nice to have an extra set of hands. Anyhow, this photo of E and her other daddy was taken because she saw her friend A having HER photo taken and wanted to get in on it.
Yesterday we drove over to my friend's house, she was having a dinner for our guests last night. A sat next to E in the car and although I couldn't see what was going on, they were literally giggling about something for the whole 5 minute ride. Of course, the next minute A wants to hug E and E makes this screeching noise and looks at me like "Save me!". But there were plenty of hugs, E definitely has figured out the hug. It is sooooooo cute. She's really going to miss these girls.
On the plus side, they have been good company for E and she probably does more than she would because she's hanging out with older kids and trying to "keep up" as well they have been like babysitters because we can enjoy a moment of peace while the kids are on the back deck playing with bubbles or something. I don't have to be the play person. On the downside, they probably aren't the best behaved kids (although to be honest and fair to them, I don't know ANY kids their age nor have I spent the amount of time with their age kids like I have these two so they could ALL be like this) and the little one eats Nutella sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Don't get me wrong, I like the stuff but if this is all E wanted to eat, I'd struggle. I've had some issues with her wanting string cheese for the last couple days - like she goes to the fridge, opens it and points to the place the cheese is - but really, it's cheese so at least there's a protein and dairy mixed in with her saturated fat and cholesterol. :)
I don't know if you can see in the photo but E looks like she has a little eyeshadow on her right eye... she got a bug bite (maybe a spider?) while we were camping and it swelled up and looked like she got in a bar brawl or something. It's only now 9 days later starting to fade. It didn't seem to bother her at all though, but it sure bothered everyone else. I got lots of comments on it at the daycare... sigh... you try putting bug repellant (or sunscreen) on the face of a squirmy 21 month old!
So, anyhow, it's been a really, really nice 3 weeks. I actually love when people I don't know so well stay with us because I've really gotten to know them... I've gone out for a glass of wine and a pedicure with S and she and I had a nice chat. We've sat in the hot tub together, the four of us, and drank copious amounts of wine/beer (yes, my weight loss program has taken a hit this month!). I feel like I know them, that I've made friends which I haven't done in a long, long time. Yes, I'm ready for them to go, because frankly our house is too small to keep 7 people for too long. But if they wanted to live next door, I would be completely happy with that. :)
Weigh in last night brought me back down to 158.6. Unfortunately that, along with turning 40 took my points per day down, which is always a bit depressing. However, I've eaten crazily the past 2 weeks so I can't complain. I just need to settle down again. :)
Still working out though and I'm up to running 20 minutes without an walking breaks. Damn it's hard. The days of running 10k's are long ago... But I'll be ready for my 5k in late September!! That's all for now.
Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6
Wk 6 - 162.8
Wk 7 - 166.8 (I know exactly what this was)
Wk 8 - 163 (which shows here)
Wk 9 - 159.6
Wk 10 - 162
Wk 11 - 158.6
Hi all
It's been awhile since I've written, it's been a busy two weeks and last week I was in a fog of hangovers (hey, when you haven't been drinking at all, two glasses of wine CAN produce a hangover!) from my wonderful 40th birthday.
Let me start by saying that WW got put on the back burner last week. I mean, the minute I hit 159, I decided that I could relax a bit and I've gone back the other way! Our guests are only here for one more week so I will be able to "dry out" again after they go. In the meantime, I'm completely enjoying having friends here and chats in the evening, etc.
Let's see, where did I leave off? Did I mention that I weighed at 159 the week before my birthday? Then I proceeded to eat pizza Wednesday night (after my meeting), had a dept dinner at Trader V1cs in Palo Alto where I had a lovely prawn curry (which apparently is high in po1nts) and by two days in I was already over my extra points for the week. Oops! Our guests arrived on Friday, there was more pizza and beer, then the weekend (wine, beer, steak), then my birthday (actually not too bad, too busy talking with guests to eat and drink too much) aside from the birthday cake. Then just downhill from there until this weekend we were camping and drinking a lot of wine and eating Pringles and s'mores for breakfast and.... well, you can see where this is going. LOL
On the plus side, I worked out every day but the day after my birthday and only gained 3 pounds at my last weeks weigh in (could easily have been water weight!). I also, for some strange reason, booked a hydrostatic fat test on the day after my birthday. It was really cool. I'd been wanting to do it forever. You basically lay down on a scale that's in water and blow all the air out of your system and they measure your body fat. It's the most accurate way to measure body fat. Anyhow, it's probably good that I waited until I was 40 to do it because if I'd gone the day before, I wouldn't have been healthy for the 'guidelines' - lol - but on Wednesday I was healthy! 20% body fat, not bad. I was surprised. I guess I have a lot of lean muscle mass under all my blubber. :) I talked with the guy about WW and he said that it is a good program but rather generic - basically for people like me who burn more calories at rest since my lean mass is higher, I am probably not getting enough calories (which may be why I lost weight so quickly?) but that for most people it's really good. He gave me some things I could try to get my body fat down more but I really need to get back on plan before I start doing that! Anyway, I was pretty happy with that. I think 30% body fat would have ruined my day! lol
Let's see... what else? OH! The coolest birthday gift ever. I get one hour of instruction in this with M along for the ride (if he dares...). I cannot wait!!! The weather was crummy on my b-day, of course, and although I did go for the 90 minute massage I also got, we didn't schedule the other. Waiting for a nice day (which actually would've been any day but my birthday!). I had a lovely day with M (my boss gives her dept the day off to celebrate our birthdays which is FANTASTIC) and then we got the house ready for guests. We had an eclectic group but it was great fun. There were some balloons around the house and all the adults (about 15 total) were sitting around when one went into the air. We were batting it around the room and having a laugh. Then someone went and got two more and threw them in the mix and it was hilarious, trying to keep the 3 up in the air - something so incredibly simple and goofy and we laughed about it for 15 minutes, it was good fun. There was diving involved at the end and some close saves and just laughter. I wish I could say I got some video of E dancing (her new dance move involves jumping and slapping her knees) because she was absolutely hilarious but I didn't. She is having a great time with our friends two little girls though and it's great to see her interacting with the big kids.
I better get back to work! I'll let you know what happens next WI on Wednesday! bTW Joe, thanks for the birthday wishes... :)
Hi all,
I'm back with no photos at all this week. Last week was a tough one. I don't know what was going on with E but she was sick for the majority of the weekend and well into the week. I looked it up in my toddler guidebook and it was most likely a NSV (non-specific virus) because she had a low grade fever and also got a rash on Wednesday. She was super clingy for ME and it was verrrrry difficult to have her around while I was working. On Thursday I left to go to our office in Bellevue because she was just too hard to be around AND get work done. I think out of that week, she was in daycare one day and they sent her home two other days. She was unconsolable for them but happy as clam when she got home. Go figure. We started to think maybe something had happened at the daycare but after a full week, she had a good day yesterday at school so I'm guessing all is better. Poor thing. It's hard when they can't tell you what's wrong.
She's got all sorts of words these days - "wots dat?" being the funniest because it's said exactly as I've just spelled it. She's taken to calling M "daddy" now instead of "mama" (that's a relief) and calling me "mommy" which is cute. She says our titles ALOT. She calls herself, I think, meemer which I mistake for mommy but I have deduced that she just hasn't been able to clarify her name yet. It constantly amazes me. We read an incessant amount of "book"s and "choo" (shoe) is another one or and if her diaper is wet or worse, she points at it and says "gicky" which is hilarious because there's no guessing if she needs her diaper changed because, well, she tells you! I guess this isn't too exciting to anyone but me.
WW is still working for me. I broke the 160 lb mark last week and I was shocked. I lost my 10% which is the original goal they give you. I don't know what to do now so I just continued on the losing points values. I'm still doing the sculpte class 3 times a week (although I should really mixed it up) and running/other cardio for an hour the other 2 days. If I'm lucky, I get a weekend workout in but usually not. The sculpte class is really toning my arms, shoulders and legs/butt but does not do a thing for my chest and back. I just don't have the days to fit in more weight training so I'm letting that go for now. I have signed up to have a hydrostatic fat testing on the 30th. I've always wanted to know what my body fat is and this should be interesting. Hopefully it won't make me cry. ;)
Besides that, next week is the big Four-OH. I never thought I would get to this age and needless to say, M doesn't let me live it down about living with an "older woman".. doesn't he realize some day he will be 40 as well. And I will always be older than him. We have some friends coming in to town on Friday night and we'll invite a few other friends for drinks/appetizers/cake (oh yeah, I'm having cake!) that night. Other than that, I'll usher it in quietly, I hope.
Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6
Wk 6 - 162.8
Wk 7 - 166.8 (I know exactly what this was)
Wk 8 - 163 (which shows here)
Wk 9 - 159.6
I don't know why I haven't posted lately. I only have one photos from our recent camping trip over the 4th of July. You know how sometimes you have those trips where you want to go home when you just got there? Yep, we had that trip. The drive up was nice. We stopped to see some friends with a cabin and that's where we had the photo taken. We picked up a couple fresh, already cooked crab from my friend and took off within the hour. We arrived at the campsite, it wasn't the best place I've ever booked (site that is, the park itself was beautiful) but somehow we managed to get the tent up with no problem. We have this 'pavilion' for lack of a better word that has 4 posts and a top that goes over our table, keeps the bugs out in the evenings etc. We struggled getting that up for some reason, everyone was cranky. E kept falling off the bench seat of the picnic table, or screaming for food even though for once, I had food ready for her. There were mosquitos and we forgot a few things and the start did not look good.
Other bad signs:
- Sat morning, E was playing with bubbles and fell backwards into the firepit. Needless to say, there was no fire (thank god!) in it, not even a smidgen because it had rained on us the night before! Crying ensued.
- All night (felt like it) fireworks - M80s or bottle rockets or whatever they were called. E managed to sleep through it though.
- Rain. Period.
- Touristy resort nearby. You can imagine.
- Managed to plan my WW menu but didn't bring enough stuff for M and E! lol
Sigh. Maybe not so bad in the grand scheme of things but I would've gone home in a minute if M wanted to. LOL
We are going again this weekend!
Last weekend dawned hopeful as we headed out to our local street fair. Although she didn't spend much time in the sun, E became kind of sick on Sat night - hot, listless, didn't want to eat - and it continued on until yesterday. She seems better now but I don't know what it was. Not bad enough to warrant a visit to the dr but definitely not herself. She's been very clingy and emotional lately too which is wearing on our nerves. Maybe as a parent, we aren't supposed to actually SAY that but there it is, I've said it. I've been challenged. Today seemed better as she headed off to daycare.
Needless to say, not much more going on. I'll post weight loss stats (or non-weight loss stats as the case may be) - I'm happy with how things are going so that's all that matters. I wish I had a before and after shot at this point but I'm not sure you can see any difference, but I can!
Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6
Wk 6 - 162.8
Wk 7 - 166.8 (I know exactly what this was)
Wk 8 - 163 (which shows here)
We went to Irish day at Emerald Downs on Sunday, which really means nothing we found out. M joined the Irish Heritage club, hoping he'd meet some fellow Irish but to this point, we still have met none. It wasn't even anything where you might easily meet anyone but really just a bunch of people watching the horse races. It was a nice day out though and E loved seeing the horses (although she calls them 'puppies'). She would even pump her arm in support as they would run by.
We were wandering around and a good Irish sounding song came on the tannoy and our girl started dancing, as she does. There were a couple ladies standing by watching, that's why she is kind of leaning over at the end to see if they are still watching her. ;) We took a couple of funny videos but by far, her dancing is the most entertaining. Oh and she had her first s'more camping this weekend, THAT was funny too.
I don't know if I mentioned that E is in swim 'lessons'. Well, I searched high and low for a swim class with warm water so that we could work on e getting over her dislike of water. Although she doesn't really dislike water, she will splash around in a wading pool or even Puget Sound (last week when we were camping) and we all know how damn cold that is! But she doesn't like getting her face wet. We'd gone 6 times and she was progressively hating it more and more, screaming crying when the instructor would take her across the pool.. basically take her FROM me or her dad and then swim across and hand her back to one of us at the side of the pool. I guess it makes sense but the instructor was not really telling us what to do until she told M not to wait by the edge of the pool. M doesn't like the water and just being in an enclosed swimming facility was likely making him sick each time we went. It's highly possible that she was feeling a vibe off of him but more likely it was us handing her off each time to the instructor. She was freaking. I eventually called the registration area and told them I wasn't feeling the love, the instructor wasn't giving us any idea of how to handle things and I was not signing her up for the next session. We had a good chat and she suggested a bunch of things to try, starting with getting in the water. We've gone 3 sessions with me in the water with her and her dad stayed home. Last night was by far the best, there was a bit of apprehension and crying before we got in but I took her in the water and had her practice holding onto the edge while we waited for the instructor.. I warned her when it was almost her turn so she knew what was coming and when the instructor came over, e went with her and i swam beside. She even high-fived the instructor each time (even when the instructor blew in her face and then dunked her face in the water - blowing on it makes them hold their breath), which was a big deal because the last two times she was like 'no way' to the instructor. She wasn't sure she wanted to but she went down the little slide into the water and she even 'jumped' into the water as well (the instructor hangs out and 'catches' her). All in all, it was a GREAT class. She was really relaxed and we had a fun time together.
Last but not least, I am 1 pound or so away from my first 10% loss. I haven't weighed this since I graduated from college and frankly, I don't know where to go from here. Lose more or stop here and see what happens... I still have flappy underarms and leftover baby belly (much less than before) and I know I need to keep toning... I just wonder if I need to keep losing too. As you might see from the video, I don't look all that 'thin' to me.
Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6
Wk 6 - 162.8
We are still in recovery mode after our guests left last Sunday night. The nice thing is that M has gotten back to work finishing the little jobs that will make this house sale-able. He and his dad put up a fence out back, cleaned up some junk and mowed the grass. So we no longer look like The Clamp3tts out back... well, maybe a little. We still need a run to the dump but you've got to start somewhere!
I don't know why I like this photo - maybe because her eyes look blue (I don't know how clear it is but there is a brown speck in her left eye - left eye in the photo - and I like the fact that she truly has a bit of us both) and they are usually so dark that you can't see that. Anyhow, she had a great time with the grandparents... it was wonderful that she got to spend more than a few days with them and really got to enjoy them. M's dad would feed her breakfast every morning and they'd share a bit of his morning sandwich as well. We got a lot of lovely photos of the two of them sitting on the chairs facing each other and munching on a bit of bread.
As beautiful and fun as she can be, she seems to have become the devil's spawn during the in-between moments. Oh.My.God. Some days I have to laugh because really it's all I can do. The poor thing is mostly frustrated with the fact that she can't communicate what she wants all the time but it comes out in whining, screeching, shouting, laying on the floor in hysterics (that one makes me laugh, I don't know why) and it is truly a trial. I read that the "Terrible Two's" is very similar to having a teenager so in that case, I'm worried. ;) Mostly though, she a joy to be around, she laughs a lot (hysterically at times) and it's the best sound in the world. When did we stop laughing like that?? I wish I knew.
I got the coolest gift for M on Father's Day! I was reading kirida's website again and she had a little video on it and I followed the link to her review of the Fl1p Ultra camc0rder. M had been talking about getting on and this is about the size of a blackb3rry and super easy to use. He loved it. Hopefully I'll be able to post some boring videos in the near future! It's sooooo awesome!
I was truly sad to hear about T1m Russ3rt passing. I was a fan of M33t the Pre$$ (seemed like the only show that got real answers out of politicians) and we always watch the nightly news with br1an w1lliams and he was the political go-to guy. He seemed like a really nice guy - everyone has been telling the best stories about him... you wish that you'd known him!
Finally, last but not least.... WW is working! I bought a pair of jeans and shorts 2 sizes down!!! I guess since you know how much I weigh I can embarrass myself by saying I was in an 18 and now in a 14. With room to spare. Woo hoo! I actually saw some obliques showing up in the mirror this morning! I'm training with Couch to 5K so I've started running and I'm doing sculpte classes at the gym 3 mornings a week right now. Hopefully I'll find some Pilates Reformer classes soon, just to try something different. I better go and get to work!
Wk 1 - 180
Wk 2 - 176.4
Wk 3 - 171.4
Wk 4 - 168.2
Wk 5 - 164.6
Stolen from my pal Mostly Risible. I didn't think I'd have time to do it but I did. :) It's kind of fun.
A couple weeks ago, I met up with kirida (who, by the way, if you have time to read another blog, cracks me up continuously) and her cutie patootie son N. She's a photographer starting her own business and she took this very cool shot of E. While she was taking it, I thought, 'oh this is going to be very cool, why didn't I think of that?' and I guess the answer is that I am usually following my child around making sure she doesn't fall off of things (we were at the park) so carrying my spiffy camera around can be cumbersome.
It's been awhile since I've written mostly because I've been busy working and on weekends, entertaining Irish folks. M's family is here since mid May and we are settling into a routine. The weather has been brutal which makes life difficult in this small house, also because keeping E in the house all day isn't something I relish. We've been sending to daycare most days, although picking her up early so the grandparents can have some fun. She and her grandad definitely have a bond - there is a LOT of hearty laughter from the upstairs that I can hear while I am still working. It's great to see. I'm sure it has a lot to do with this great age she is at - somehow I manage to block out the tantrums because there are so many smiles and words. She still calls M 'mama' (although when asked "where's mama?" she points at me and "where's dada?" she points at M) most of the time but we continue to correct her. I'm sure she's just playing with us anyway to see how frustrated we can get....
We started 'swimming lessons' on Monday. I did this because she does not like the bath. I figure a bit of time in the water can't hurt. I researched places and we drive about 30-40 minutes to go to a 92 degree pool for 30 minutes. I don't care, it's worth it to me. She has 2 classes a week, 4 other kids of varying abilities with her. She wears little styrofoam thingy's around her waist and the instructor managed to dip her face in the water with no crying! She blew on E's face just before she dunked her face. I think E was so shocked she didn't know what to do but she didn't cry. It was fantastic! There's also a small slide that goes directly in the pool, that's the last thing the class does and she LOVES the slide. I can't wait to see her jump in like the other kids. It may be a ways off but it'll be so worth it. She's amazing. Every day she amazes me.
I love my life.
Week 1 - 180
Week 2 - 176.4
Week 3 - 172.8
Week 4 - 171.4
We've got this lovely expensive camera and yet we still can't manage to get a photo in focus! I don't know if that's because the girl is always moving or we are just really bad at taking photos with an auto-focus camera. (How can you be bad when the camera focuses for you?)
Anyhow, this was E heading to school last week. We put on the new coat but she put on the hat. Now that she can put them on herself, she likes to wear them. We had to laugh because she looks like an old British lady. ;)
The irish contingent are upstairs while I am working. E is with them and I can hear the irish music and E dancing away. She gets this look of concentration on her face when she's dancing (since it involves doing a circle) but she loves it. She is hilarious. Needless to say, the endless clapping for her isn't hurting her ego one bit! She should be fun to be around when her grandparents head home in a month! NOT!
I debated mentioning this or not because I've gone down the weight loss path before on the blog only to quit once I started to make some good headway. (Beware, posting poundage can be hazardous to your health). Anyway, last January I started watching what I was eating and cutting out alcohol. By the end of March (February), I had lost 15 pounds (from 195 to 180). Because that was my pre-baby weight, I guess I thought it was an okay benchmark, in which to adjust my eating and went back to a normal sort of eating pattern. For the last 2 months I have held steady at 180 with workouts and limited drinking, not snacking too much. Two weeks ago I decided to join We1ght Watcher$. I had been debating for a long time about what the best course of action would be for someone having a problem with how much food she eats, rather than WHAT she eats. I have been too comfortable for too long with this number on the scale... telling myself that I still look fine... that I hadn't weighed what the guidelines suggest I weigh for years.... but I also knew that if I kept going the way I have been going, I'd be 200 pounds before you know it. It used to be that 180 was my upper limit but 200 became the upper limit when I was pregnant. See how easy you can move the bar up?! Anyhow, my 10% goal, which WW uses as the first benchmark regardless of what you need to lose, will take me to 162. I haven't weighed 162 since I don't know when. My head can't even wrap around the number 162! I have to change that line of thinking because we all know the power of positive thinking. I WILL BE 162! And possibly less than that. Who knows? I know I have a lot of work ahead of me. And besides the work, I have to think of it as a change of lifestyle, which has always been the hard part... but should not be impossible! Wish me luck!
And by the way, I probably won't be mentioning the weight loss but will put a little calendar at the bottom of each post to record it for myself. :)
5/14 180.4
5/21 176.4
Martin's parents and sister arrive today. If we thought our house was small before, imagine the next month or so. Pray for us! :)
Needless to say, I don't have time to write and I have some really cute photos of the girl. This one of all of us will have to suffice for now. Ciao!
This photo wasn't exactly from the weekend but Thursday night. We took a walk with a friend and her dog, down by the water. Emer loves her Bella, even when Bella is whapping her in the face with her tail. And Bella will wait so peacefully while Emer does her version of 'petting' her which usually involves a harder-than-petting slap. I know that because she's gotten into this phase of 'putting the baby to sleep' (usually me or her dad but sippy cups or her stuff animal Ted work too) and we have to lay down on the floor and she proceeds to cover us with a blanket and pat us (hard) on the head, arm, back. There's really no chance of falling asleep when she's 'putting you to sleep' - it's more like time to go to the hospital! Just kidding, she's not that strong yet. ;)
The other day M went downstairs while E was having dinner. I was sitting with her and she said something and my mind slowly realized that she said "mama go". Now, she hasn't been getting our roles right for a month or so and I realized she was saying that M went! A sentence. Of sorts. She says it all the time now when one of us 'goes'. God, it's cool. It's so cool. There are definitely more words happening now-some only I can understand. She's got bye-bye and HI down pat.
We went to the grocery store yesterday and they have these neat little carts for the kids. She loves that thing and was pushing it around and saying HI to everyone. It was hilarious.
Besides that, we have exactly 2 weeks until M's parents and sister arrives. We are hurriedly trying to finish our two upstairs bedrooms for them to stay in. Basically we move the piles of clothes, toys, diapers, etc from room to room. This morning was definitely a melting point for us - just makes us want to cry that we have no storage. I sooo wish that M would get some help, he doesn't need to waste his time painting when he could be finishing the closet inserts, etc. I guess I could be helping instead of blogging but I try to stay at my computer for when issues come in (it's been slow lately) so that I have a job in the future. It's a great job to have but it's hard to prove your worth when people aren't having computer problems!
I didn't actually say anything about the weekend, did I? The weather was crappy on Saturday which kept 3 outdoor people cooped up for far too long (we finally ventured out and went to the library). Sunday was beautiful and we went to the zoo (with 500 other people - we have the zoo pass so we go for a couple hours and hang out) and then we went looking at neighborhoods and to open houses. We saw a huge house that was brand new and all I can think is, can we move now?
(Don't worry, M feels the same way!)
It's a Queen song, not sure if yer man was really referring to
actually riding a bicycle but there you go. M purchased a little gift for E last week, not really sure if she'd like it because a) she hates wearing hats and b) she cries in the bath. So how was she going to do on a bicycle wearing a helmet? Well, curiously, she loved it! From the look of the photos. In the other photos I got, she was looking at her feet or trying to take the helmet off and because I don't want anyone reporting me to CPS, I'll show the one where the helmet stayed on. She kept coming back for more. I bet if she didn't have to wear the helmet, she'd want to be on that thing every day. Now, you may notice that I was not as successful getting my hubby to wear the helmet (I thought if he did it, she wouldn't hate it so bad but he refused saying he was only 'going up the street'. well, guess what? cars can run you over on our boring little stretch of neighborhood road too. and frankly, since some people tend to use our street as a drag racing strip, it's probably more often than not). Anyhoo, we are very much looking forward to being able to bike this summer when we go camping, especially if E continues to enjoy it! Yay!
I just finished the application for M's 10 year green card. I can understand why there's so many illegal aliens in this country.... no one wants to bother getting all the crap together and then on top of that mailing a check for $545. It's not bad enough that we had to pay the first two times we applied - first for the f1ance v1sa and then for the adju5tment of status - but everytime we have to do something. Then if we decide to go and live in Ireland for awhile, we'll have to pay again, no doubt, to "save our place" or something silly like that. At this point, I'd say we easily have spent $1000 on this process. It's no wonder some people choose to be illegal, they.don't.have.time.or.money.to.do.the.paperwork... they are too busy working! I don't blame them.
You'd think having a little peanut would be enough 'evidence' but it's not. We have to provide all this other proof, no doubt I have gone overboard but the thought of getting a request for more evidence doesn't appeal. Sigh.
We went for a drive this weekend, looking at houses yet again, and we stopped in a cute little town while the rain had stopped and went to the park. We discovered something new about our little peanut, she's a daredevil. She went to the slide and slid down face first and, as you can see from the photo, LOVED it. Now if only she liked the bath this much!
I have finally put together a make shift slide show of M's work in the house to date, everything he has done. It's pretty impressive. I'm going to put it together in our application for 'removal of conditions' that he needs to go through to get his 10 year green card. Since it's essentially been his job, I need to show that he's committed to this place! Again, we won't be posting any photos at this point but maybe later when blogger starts working again.
above: my already messy office and the finished main room/bedroom
above: the master bath (if only you could see exactly how bad this looked in process, I took a photo of the toilet because I have a photo of all the exposed drainage/sewage pipes that I decided not to share here).
I have never been one for joking around on April Fool's Day so
this isn't a joking blog entry. It's just the same ole stuff!
Here's my 17 mo daughter strutting her stuff with the newest
outfit du jour. We got these leggings - called Baby Legs, go figure - at a Baby Loves D1sco event and I just started putting them
on her around the house since she prefers not to have clothes on but it's too cold in our state for that! She has the latest in diaper accessories and a t-shirt that her auntie got her that says "Little Irish Dude" (not sure why) and she felt an immediate need to put on her favorite coat. There's also one with her favorite purple hat but she doesn't look as trendy as she does in this one.
Besides my child turning 17 months old today, holy COW, we are unveiling the, hopefully working, heated tile floor in the bathroom today. M said if it doesn't work (after laying it down (can't test it) and putting the tile down) he will go to a bar for the rest of the afternoon. If it does work, he will take off all his clothes and lay on the heated floor drinking Guinness all day. So either way, it's a drinking day for him. ;) I promise in the next few days to take updated photos and show off all the space. I just wanted to bathroom to be more completed before I started showing off his work. We love it.
Last weekend I used the last bit of a gift certificate that I received for my birthday in July last year. I had a facial and a hand/foot treatment at an Aveda salon. Usually I don't do facials because my skin usually looks worse rather than better afterwards but I thought I'd try something different. It was almost as relaxing as the 1.5 hour massage I had the week before (also on the gc). But now I'm out of the gift cert and I won't be doing that again any time soon! I think for my next birthday (the big 4-0h) I'd rather have sessions with my personal trainer. Or maybe a long weekend here. Again, a little more than I'd spend on myself but if someone wants to give it to me...... I'll take it!
I must be getting old because if I wasn't, I would've known that this was going on last night and I would've been there before everyone else.
Sigh.
I better get out my walker.
This is the most recent thing that E does that M and I cringe over. Actually, she doesn't do too many but this one is hilarious. You can almost see her sticking a pea up there in the future. Since she can really get that finger up there, undoubtedly the pea will go back into her brain. lol
We had kind of an embarrassing, what-kind-of-parents-are-we? moment when M went to pick up E at the daycare and one of the head ladies at the daycare mentioned that E's shoes were too small. The teachers in her group didn't want to tell us - they were embarrassed I guess - but they can't possibly be as embarrassed as the mom who didn't notice they were getting too small. That could explain why one of them (the shoes, that is) constantly ended up on the floor of the car on the way home. Anyway, she seems to be much happier with the shoes that we found for her to wear, those ones do not come off! (Here I was thinking she was just bored with her shoes....)
Other than that, we managed to have our first tear-free bath the other night (hers, not ours). As you might also remember, we've been reduced to washing our child in the kitchen sink. M holds her up while I wash, then she is wrapped in a towel and M holds her over the sink while I wash her hair. It's quite a production and none of us enjoy it. So Sunday was bath day and I was doing a bit of cooking and E was asking to get 'up..up' and so I put her in the sink. Our sink is one of those double ones, so she was squatting in one side and I turned the water on to empty into the other one. E had all her clothes on and she proceeded to watch the water and put her hands in it. I plugged up the sink and filled it up a bit, then I added a little soap so she could see it bubble, then I unplugged the sink and we watched the water go down. I watched E get completely soak ed (I had to put my hands behind my back not to take her clothes off so they wouldn't get wet!)
and play in the water. When we had the bath about an hour later, there was no crying. When I washed her hair, she seemed to go 'in the zone' and actually enjoy it. Ok, well, maybe not enjoy, per se. But it was definitely much more relaxed for everyone.
Oh, and I made my first pizza today. From start to finish. Rolled the dough out, found a recipe for the sauce that turned out yummy and cut up some vegetables and threw some Hillsh1re Farm hot links on it (that's all we had in the house). It was a great pizza. M said it was the best pizza he's ever had (but I think he might be biased - not a problem there!). I may have to play around and actually buy ingredients for it.. I love it when we try something new and it works!!! Oh, and I did I mention I love my job ('cause sometimes I have time to do this!)
I couldn't type without getting the whole thing underlined but finally I figured it out! I put this photo up even though the girl isn't smiling because I can't believe my BABY looks like this. Almost a little girl. My dad keeps asking me if we own a comb in this house because her hair always looks like this. I try to tell him that we comb it but this is what it looks like 5 seconds later. Oh well! He never liked my hair much either. :))
The title of this post is 'a light at the end of the tunnel' because I literally see the end in sight. Well, the end that means that we can fully use the room, not necessarily the end that says everything is totally complete. M is notorious for leaving bits and pieces unfinished, which I understand, I am assuming due to the relief of the bulk of it being finished. I don't care though because if he wants to move onto one of the other projects left unfinished so that he gets a break, that's okay. Projects will get done. I will hire someone to finish them if I have to. ;) So the three of us can go out and enjoy our weekends again.
Anyhow, we purchased the carpet yesterday and we should have a measuring appt shortly. The carpet could be in by the end of March! Hallelujah! The new plan is for the three of us to move downstairs and have M and some soon-to-be-chosen handyman finish all projects upstairs. Painting both bedrooms, finish trimming the new windows (installed in October), replacing the crown molding (or removing completely). replacing the light fixtures (already purchased in December) and deciding what to do about the floors. Making E's room a true kids room for her - with a play area for her toys and a little desk and chair or something. I haven't decided what yet. Whatever it is, we will be moving my desk and computer equipment out of her room. I don't even like to sleep with electronics in my room but we really had no choice... I'll be glad to see it all moved.
We got an invitation to a first year birthday party for the little boy across the street. He was born last year (obviously!) and we saw him at the shower one of the neighbors held for the family. I can count on ONE hand the number of times I've seen this kid since then and now we are invited to his birthday party? It seems silly and I can't decide between wanting to go so we can see him and not wanting to go because the family is moving in a few months and we'll never see him after that. I would say that we are 'chatting' neighbors - if we ever saw them outside their house. Their place is about 4000 sq ft though and unlike us, their house is big enough to hold the 3 of them and they don't have to be seen outside. So can you see why I think it's kind of funny that we'd get invited to a birthday party? I'm sure there's something else I can do for that 2 hours.....
Anyhow, I better get moving. I'll write more later about our trip to Denver but for now, I actually have to take a shower and go to an office to replace a modem.
It's Valentine's Day... that holiday that Hallmark seems to have made up to encourage people to spend massive amounts of money to remember their sweeties. I think I read somewhere that the average dollar amount spent at V Day is $128. Since I only spent about $5 then someone else out there spent a lot of cash!! :))
We don't have any plans tonight, just the same thing we do every night except we'll get a takeaway Chinese or something. But I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be than with M and E.
I was talking with my boss/friend last week when I was in CA and we were remembering the Valentine's dinners we used to have together when we were single but pining over someone or another. We used to drink a bottle of wine and I'd drunk dial my favorite f%^& buddy who I unfortunately wanted to be more than that. Somehow she didn't drunk dial hers but oh well. I never did have a lot of self control in the romance department back in those days. As much as I loved our dinners together (we're pretty sure we were the only female couple out in Mtn View in those days), I wouldn't trade that for what I have now. Even if it means staying home. Romance is where you make it, on the day you want to do it, not some contrived holiday that says you have to. M is in my thoughts when I'm out and about and I always try to bring him a treat or whatever. He always moves the car (or truck) ahead when we've been out so I can just pull in, instead of having to parallel park. I know it sounds silly but things like that are what are special to me. Full dinners cooked because it's Tuesday or whatever. I appreciate everything he does for me and I try to let him know as often as I can. Because it's not just for Valentine's Day anymore!
Hope you all get to enjoy it with someone special!
