Just Like Before Kids. (Almost.)

I don't know about you, but it is a rare day that my husband and I get to go out like we used to BK (before kids). So, when a friend of my husband's told us that he and his band from the mid-1990's said that he was coming into town for Thanksgiving to have a reunion show we called "PaPa" and asked if he would keep the kids for the night.

We prepared for the show by napping the afternoon before, because the music wasn't scheduled to start until 10:30! That is about the time I am usually yawning and stretching and getting ready to go to bed if I am not already asleep by then.

Some of our other friends were going to the show too and we went to dinner with them. We talked about old times, about our kids and about our jobs; basically, the conversation was nothing like the conversations that would have occurred 10 years ago.

We knew that we were a tad early when the mothers of some of the band members walked in after we did. When the show started 30 minutes late, we were rockin' out! That band should have made it big. They were awesome! Talent does not guarantee success, because those guys have some major talent. Never mind that they all have kids and had their pants pulled up too high and are balding. They rocked the house down.

At one point at the beginning of the show, the bass player/singer went to the mic and said "Thanks for getting baby-sitters and coming out tonight." It was funny, because looking around the room was like being at a college party except that we were all OLD and had put on a few pounds. (ahem!) I thought to myself that I wished I could freeze time for a moment, but it was nice to just close my eyes and know that my husband was there and would be there even when we picked up our kids and when our routine starts over again.

I can't wait for the next reunion show. I hope that they don't wait so long this time.

Happy Thanksgiving

So, here's what I want to know...

If you do not believe in God Almighty who made heaven and earth and everything in it, why do you celebrate THANKSGIVING? To whom, exactly, are you GIVING THANKS?

So, my last post was in August

So, my last post was in August.

Great.

Does anyone look at this?

HELLO! (HELLO!)
ECHO! (ECHO!)

Filtering the cobwebs here....

I have some thoughts on this blogging thing and I may actually start up again or start a new one.

Is there any way to blog offline and post later? It seems like I have heard someone say that there is, but I cant remember how they said to do it. I think it is a blog "plug-in" or something.

And before I go, if anyone is still there, I will tell you a hilarious blog I look at daily. It is: cakewrecks.com.

First Day of Bible Study

Today was the first day of my Fall Bible Study. We are doing Kay Arthur's Return to the Garden: Embracing God's Design For Sexuality.

Really? Yes, it is a Bible study on sexuality. Can you imagine?

What I love about this is the age range of the ladies in the group. There are some who have great-grandchildren to new mothers to young adult women. One lady shared that she is 66 years old and is madly in love with her high school sweetheart since being reunited with him after 40 years. They have both been married twice before and lost spouses both from divorce and death. They are keeping themselves "pure" for each other until they are married after the first of the year. Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

I love that.

Today was the introduction and it was a general overview of our culture's emphasis on "in your face" sex and what it does to our view of ourselves and our intimate relationships.

Kay Arthur has quite a testimony that she shared bits of in the DVD today. Put it this way: she is qualified to teach this study. There was one moment when I literally thought, "Did she just say that? I can't believe she just said that!" But more importantly, she said that her goal is to teach each of us how to uncover for ourselves what God's Word says by an inductive method of study. Asking the "5 W's and 1 H" questions to each passage, highlighting key words and really understanding what God says. That is a skill that will go on long after this study is over.

One final thought that I had after the lesson today is that WE are responsible for teaching our children what God's word says and that it is ABSOLUTE TRUTH and what we base our behaviors on. If we do not teach our children, they will learn from the world and what the world shows us is the polar opposite of what God teaches. What a tremendous responsibility!

The Invisible Woman

I might be the last woman to see this, but I love it. I hope it blesses you as it blessed me.

One final challenge

Oh, the dreaded exercise. How I hate it. Not so much doing the exercises or being sore, or sweating, or any of that. It is all of the preparation to the exercising. Like putting on a sports bra. And shoes. And clothes.

Carving out time in the day to do the exercising is also a problem. I would like to exercise before showering so that I don't have to waste time showering twice in one day. After all, there are more important things to do during the day like writing self-deprecating blog posts about all of the challenges in my life in order to run off the one person who reads my blog.

What is frustrating to me though, is that I lead such a sedentary lifestyle that I know if I put in a little effort it would yield such a high payoff. But then, you have to put on shoes. and a sports bra.

Putting it in writing is actually helpful, because it makes me see how silly it is not to want to put clothes and shoes on.

To sum up these last few posts, my challenges all boil down to one thing and one thing only. I am LAZY. There is no one to change that, except me and me alone. I will let you know how I progress during the next few weeks, because I am committed to changing some of these (if not all of these) challenges into routines.

Here's hoping.

Still more on my challenges

Time alone with God.

You know, this is really a topic.

I love God. I love Jesus. I believe that the instant I die, I will be present with the Lord. I watch some christian shows on TV, one of which is Wednesdays with Beth on Life Today. Have you ever seen her on this show? Have you ever seen Beth Moore in anything? She always seems to be SO EXCITED to "get a word from the Lord". Sometimes she says, "Is there anything you would rather be doing besides getting a word from the Lord?" and, "Oooh! I'm so fired up right now, I just can't wait to read you this passage from the Bible."

You know, I'm not sure I have ever been that excited about reading the Bible or "getting a word from the Lord".

Is that a character flaw? Is that something I should be worried about? Am I not spiritual enough? Do I not love God as much as I should? What does that mean?

I have heard people say that when you fall in love with a person that you want to be with that person all the time so that you know everything about them. The point being that because we are supposed to be so in love with the Lord that all we should want to do is be in His word or in prayer all of the time.

I don't feel like that. I feel bad that I don't feel like that. But I don't. What does that do for my testimony?

Don't get me wrong, though. I love doing my Bible Study lessons and I love going to Sunday School and church and learning more about the Bible and how it applies to our current lives. I love all of that, but when it comes down to getting up an hour earlier than everyone in my house every. single. day. to have quiet time, I just don't feel it. It's just not something I feel so compelled and excited about. Now, I know, I could fit the quiet time in some other time of the day and I may do that, especially when I am doing a Bible study, but sometimes I don't.

So, I have prayed to get a longing and a hunger for spending time with the Lord. I guess now, the challenge is actually sitting down and doing it.

More challenges

So, yesterday, we covered cleaning/organizing.

Today, I thought we would talk about cooking. This one, I think I can get a handle on if I try, but there is the key word: try. The reason for my reluctance to try is that I think that cooking is a terrible job and I hate it. Eating, I love, but cooking is for the birds.

We go out to eat several times a week. This is not good on the budget and is probably not as healthful as eating home cooked food at home.

So, I have identified the problem. I don't like to cook, but eating out is expensive.

Here is the solution as I see it:

1. I need a meal plan.
2. I need a grocery list for my meal plan.
3. I need to discipline myself to actually cook what is on my meal plan so that the food is ready at the desired meal time.
4. I should get started on this right now.

This leads my to my next challenge which is couponing. I really like to get the receipt for my groceries and look at the bottom where it says "You saved $xx.xx today". I love for that number to be really high. What ends up happening, though is that I only buy what is on sale or what I have a coupon for and not so much of what I need. Then I wind up with the pantry filled with strange things that don't go together to make a meal. If I buy only from a list, I end up spending nearly $15,000/year on food, which I blogged about in the beginning of my blog. (I don't know how to link to that specific post, or I would do it here.)

Also, snacks and meals other than dinner? I'm not such a good planner of those either.

So, I'm going to get started on my meal plan for next week RIGHT NOW.

Challenges in my life right now

Oh, challenges. There are many.

Cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, couponing, bill paying, time alone with God, kids, exercising.

What I really need is a plan of attack. How am I going to get all of these things done? How does anyone get all of these things done?

I am not an organized or creative person by nature, so I am already starting behind the curve on most of this stuff. I have tried and failed at the FlyLady plan numerous times, but I think I see where she is trying to go with it. Do a little bit every day and see how much you progress over time.

I think I need a list or a schedule. My excuses include: maybe summer is a bad time to begin with this because there isn't really a schedule to our days. Also, since I work a totally random schedule, it makes it hard to say that I will do this or that on one certain day of the week, unless I say that about a weekend day, and I like to have the weekend days as flexible as possible. I can't clean with the kids around. There is too much to do.

One of my friends who has been a full time working mother, to a stay at home mother, to a full time student/stay at home mother has a daily chore list. She just looks at the day of the week, and does the chore. If she doesn't get the chores of the day done, she just does them the next week. Sounds like a good plan, but I get bogged down in the planning and not in the doing.

The other major problem to my housekeeping is that I tend to be a hoarder. I have things in drawers and stuffed in corners and in boxes in different areas of the house. If I go through the boxes, I can usually pare them down, but there always seems to be stuff that I don't want to get rid of, but they don't have a place. Some of these things include baby pictures that need to go in albums or scrapbooks. I have some scrapbooking supplies that are in a box and I have no idea how to scrapbook. I guess I thought if I bought the supplies, that it would just occur to me how to do it.

So, I have rambled on, whined and complained about my lack of cleaning finesse. Just wait until I elaborate on the rest of my challenges.

bloggy commitment issues

It has been so long since I have posted anything that the screen even looks different. Have they changed this thing?

Over the last few days and weeks, I have thought about so many things I could blog about, but I feel that my writing is so inconsequential that it doesn't matter if I write anything or not. But it would be nice to have some things documented if not just for my own reference.

It occurs to me that everything in life is a commitment, from committing to shower everyday to keeping house to blogging. Of course there are priorities in these commitments and so sometimes they may or may not get done in a day. Sometimes showering is a difficult task to get in, but as BooMama says, "We have to have GOALS."

So my goal for today is to get this boggy blog back to it's original grandeur.

100 things about me

1. I will be 40 this year. (yikes!)
2. My name is not "kardel".
3. I don't know why I decided to use that name and not my real name.
4. Maybe it is because I am afraid of the internet boogy man.
5. I wish I knew more about blogging and the internet.
6. I think of a lot of things to blog about, but forget them when I sit down to write.
7. My husband is 35 and our children are going to turn 3 and 5 this year.
8. I discovered this when I was looking at buying birthday candles for him and I realized that we could re-use them for the kids' birthday.
9. This post is late. It is actually my 105th post.
10. I am never on time.
11. People think I am funny when I am trying to be serious.
12. I spend most of my online time reading blogs.
13. I have read a bunch of these 100 things posts.
14. I never realized how hard they are to write.
15. I am half Norwegian and half Southern. I am a Norwegian Southerner.
16. I like grits and sweet tea.
17. I was born in Georgia.
18. I went to college in Mississippi.
19. I moved from Mississippi to South Carolina.
20. I swore that I would never go back to my hometown.
21. I don’t live in my hometown.
22. I work there. (Does that count as going back?)
23. I was married to the wrong guy for 8 years.
24. We didn’t have any children.
25. He had an affair.
26. Four months after we were divorced, I married his best friend.
27. They aren’t very close anymore, but they still work together.
28. We went on our honeymoon to Holland. (The Netherlands)
29. We were supposed to come back from Holland on September 12, 2001.
30. Then September 11 happened.
31. We got 5 extra days vacation after that.
32. I thought we were going to have to learn Dutch and get jobs.
33. But we didn’t.
34. Two years later, we had our son.
35. He looks and acts a lot like his father
36. Two years after that, we had our daughter.
37. She acts a lot like me.
38. I was 34 and 36 when I had my children.
39. I feel like the oldest parent of preschoolers when around other children's parents.
40. My mother was 36 when she had me.
41. My mother worked full time when I was growing up.
42. I planned to go back to work full time after I had my son.
43. When my son turned 3 weeks old I cried, because he was “growing up”.
44. I decided that day that I wouldn’t let him go to daycare.
45. Now I work part time.
46. I have been a registered nurse for 17 years.
47. That seems impossible.
48. I went to nursing school after my junior year in college because I didn’t know what else to do.
49. I never wanted to be a nurse growing up.
50. No one in my immediate family is in the medical field, except my husband.
51. My husband is a paramedic.
52. I always joke that I wanted to marry a doctor, so I married a ditch doctor.
53. Twice.
54. I worked in the Emergency Room for 8 years.
55. Now I work in Outpatient Surgery.
56. I like my job, but I miss the ER.
57. I have thought about going back.
58. Then I remember why I left.
59. This post is harder than it seems.
60. I have three older sisters.
61. No brothers.
62. I only talk to one of my sisters on a regular basis.
63. She is 12 years older than me.
64. We are nothing alike.
65. My best friend has been my best friend for 27 years.
66. That makes me feel old.
67. She lives in Connecticut.
68. I haven’t seen her in a few years, but I have rarely gone a month without talking to her.
69. Usually we talk at least once a week.
70. She remembers things that happened to me even if she wasn’t there and I remember things that happened to her even if I wasn’t there. We can complete each other’s memories.
71. We never talk about religion, politics or how to raise children, because we are polar opposites in those areas.
72. I like to watch boxing.
73. My favorite boxer is Ricky Hatton. He’s awesome.
74. I am deathly afraid of roaches.
75. It is because I had to look at their legs under a microscope in high school biology.
76. That is very gross, in case you were wondering.
77. I am afraid of heights.
78. I always wonder what would happen if I fell.
79. Ever since I had my children, I don’t want to watch movies, unless they are a comedy.
80. I am afraid of hail.
81. When I was in college, a hail storm broke all of the windows in my apartment.
82. While I was there.
83. I was terrified.
84. Summer is my favorite season.
85. I love to swim.
86. I was saved by the grace of God and the love of Jesus when I was 9 years old.
87. I thank God for that.
88. I did my first Beth Moore Bible study last fall.
89. It was about the Tabernacle.
90. I didn’t think I would like it and I didn’t. I LOVED IT.
91. I cried doing that study.
92. I cry at happy things.
93. I cry almost every week at church.
94. I like to read.
95. I would rather read a paperback than a hardback book.
96. I like fiction best, but also enjoy memoirs.
97. I am a disorganized person, but I wish I wasn't.
98. I like to keep everything.
99. This was really much harder than it seems.
100. I'm glad I'm finished.

I am THAT person

Do you know that person who doesn't know when to just shut up? The one who insults you without even trying? The total buffoon in social situations?

I am that person.

Yesterday, I ran into some people I knew (of) in high school. I think I said some things that were complete insults to them, but I didn't mean to. I didn't even realize it until today. Now I wish I could go back and not even tell them that I may (or may not) have known them.

So if you meet someone who doesn't know when to shut their mouth, it might be me.

Book Review: Between Sundays

Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury did not disappoint. She is becoming one of my favorite authors. Her books are strong on character and plot development without being complicated or difficult to read.

This book is a stand alone title. It is about a child, Cory, who believes that one of the most popular NFL players is his dad. His mother died and he is being cared for by his mother's best friend. She wants to adopt him, but can't, because of complications due to his belief that his dad is Aaron Hill, the quarterback of the San Francisco 49'er's. Aaron Hill has some problems of his own and looks for guidance from his teammate and backup quarterback. Fortunately, he leads him in the right direction. While Kingsbury is somewhat predictable in her outcome, this book is worth reading. I highly recommend it.

If it weren't for neighbors, what would we do for entertainment?

My sister lives in a great neighborhood in a nearby town. The thing is that she lives on a corner. A very busy corner. The road in front of her house has been used as a cut through road from some busier roads, so there is quite a bit of traffic there, so many things have happened at this particular corner over the last 15 or so years she has lived there.

One time a car, which was pulling a boat on a trailer, had an accident right in front of her house and the boat went flying off of the trailer and landed in the bushes of the house across the street from her. She said that it seemed like nobody really knew how to pick it up to remove it.

Another time, she had a girl jump out of a moving SUV in front of her house because she was having a fight with her boyfriend. They called 911 and she refused transport to the hospital. I think she actually left with the boyfriend in the same SUV.

There was the time a man attempted to commit suicide by slicing his wrist in front of her house and bled all over her sidewalk.

There was the time that a hot air balloon basket floated by on her eye level down the street in front of her house.

There have been some criminals being chased on foot in the middle of the night who were caught in her front yard. It could be that they were caught because of her youngest son's interest in digging holes in the yard. I think one of the alleged criminals unsuspectingly stepped into a giant hole and twisted his ankle just long enough for the police to catch him.

I can't think of anymore, but lets just say that it doesn't surprise her (anymore) to wake up in the middle of the night with blue lights flashing on her bedroom walls.

Well, I just want to say that she doesn't have the market cornered on excitement. Tonight, we were sitting outside talking to our neighbors and we kept hearing firetrucks getting closer and closer. I thought they sounded loud, because they cut some trees behind our house, and the road noise seems louder now, but as it turned out, three firetrucks and three police cars actually stopped about 3 houses down from our house. Being nosy and all, we walked down to see what all was going on, and we watched the firemen all decked out in their fireproof suits, go into the house, carry something ablaze onto the driveway and stomp it out. Then, they took a fire extinguisher and hosed it off a bit. After that, the three firetrucks packed up and headed out. It was quite a thrill.

I thought my kids would like to see the firetrucks and the lights and the firemen in their gear, but they were more interested in the dog in the back yard of a neighboring house. "Look Mom, a dog!" Obviously, a good time was had by all.

Wordless Wednesday

OK. It's almost 4 minutes and it's not wordless, so I cheated again. But I think it's very funny and if you are a fan of American Idol and/or Mad TV you will like it too.



Check out the Official Wordless Wednesday HQ and Wordless Wednesday on 5 Minutes for Mom.

Someday

I finished reading Someday (Sunrise Series-Baxter 3, Book 3) by Karen Kingsbury.

Y'all.

I can not wait for the last book to come out. Since I didn't blog about each individual book in the Baxter Family Series until now, it would be impossible to explain this one book.

Let me just say this. I have dreamed about the characters. I have been mad at the characters. I have laughed. I have cried. I have worried about the characters. I have dreaded that the last book in the series is coming out. I haven't been able to get into any other book since I started reading the series in January.

If you haven't read any of these books, read Redemption (Redemption Series-Baxter 1, Book 1) first. If you don't love it, don't read anymore, but if you are like me, you will blast through the rest of that series and move through the Firstborn series and then through the current Sunrise Series. These books are easy to read, but have exceptional character and plot development. They are rich in content.

I just can't say enough positive things about them. Go get the books and let me know if you don't love them too.

April Fool

I'm not really a fan of the April Fool's joke.

However, today was an exception. When I woke my son for school today, I told him that it is April Fools Day, just so that if any of the other 4-K goers (some of them have turned 5 already) said anything silly or funny he would know why.

Well, tonight at dinner, he proudly announced that he put a snake in his mouth. When we looked up at him, he smiled and said "April Fool"!

His first April Fool! My baby is growing up!

Spring Cleaning? No Thanks. I'll Read Some More Blogs.

I might be the laziest person on the planet. I just can't get myself organized. I don't really even want to start. All I want to do is read blogs, read my books, play with the kids, and that's about it.

What I need to do is some spring cleaning.

Not to mention the laundry. How is it that the laundry piles up like it does? I can't seem to get on top of it. It just seems like one minute I will be so proud of myself for having it all done, and the next minute my husband is huffing because he's out of underwear. Shame on me for letting him run out of clean undies.

I have a friend who has two kids and she manages to keep her house clean and organized while also going to school to get her master's degree and student teaching. How is this possible? I've never found the secret. All I have to do is work two days a week and keep the house.

Tell me, how do you keep your houses? What's the trick? Does anyone know a personal organizer? Maid service? Laundry service? Time saving tips and tricks?

Spring Reading List 2008

I am so excited! The Spring Reading Thing is here!

Last year when I participated, I didn't read as much as I thought I would. So this year, I am going to start small and expand as I read, so come back again.

As I posted earlier, I have been reading all of the Baxter Family Series books by Karen Kingsbury. I am currently reading Someday (Sunrise Series-Baxter 3, Book 3). I can not recommend these books enough.

My next book is Between Sundays also by Karen Kingsbury. A friend gave me a copy to read since I have enjoyed her other books so much. I will probably read this one next since I have to wait until the final book in the Baxter Series comes out.

Finally, I have had The Yada Yada Prayer Group (Yada Yada Prayer Group, Book 1) sitting on my nightstand for a couple of months. It is the first book in a series by Neta Jackson. I am looking forward to reading this one!

In non-fiction, I have plans to read and implement the strategies in The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey, however, I don't have a copy of that book yet.

So, that's it for now. If I get through those, I will add on, but this time, I'm keeping it simple. I can't wait to see what everyone else is reading.

You can participate, view reading lists of other people, get some tips and find out what it's all about by clicking here. Many thanks to Katrina of Calapidder Days
for hosting!

Oh, to Win this Prize. Yum!

There is a contest for $25 gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse at the blog of Chilihead, Don't Try This At Home.

Outback is one of my favorite local places to eat and because we have four mouths to feed, it is a place we seldom go anymore. To say that I want to win this contest would be an understatement. So I will tell you all about what I will do when I win this contest.

First, I will call ahead to get our name on the list. They have "call ahead seating" here. Then I will load up the car with everyone, unless I can find a sitter and then I will leave the kids home with some hotdogs and/or PB&J.

Second, I will sit at the lovely table and look over their special menu items that they have especially because they are celebrating their 20th anniversary this month.

Finally, I will eat like the non-dieting person I want to be. And then I will relish the moment and maybe even order dessert. After all, I have a gift certificate for $25. How awesome is that?

Thanks Chilihead!

If You Need to Purify Water, I'll Ask My Nephew

Do you remember doing science projects in school? I do. Mostly I remember coming up with a hypothesis and then trying to prove or disprove it. I never understood that. Why wouldn't you just come up with something you want to know and then do some tests to figure it out?

The only project I can remember doing was about the taste of Coke vs Pepsi vs "Big K Cola". Well, I did some taste tests at school during recess. The kids were all too happy to get a small cup of Coke. (That's what we here down south call all carbonated drinks. For example: "Jewgit the cokes at the WalMark?" means "Did you purchase soft drinks at the grocery store?")

Anyway, the kids. They just wanted a little bit of coke. Which was great the first day. I was the most popular girl at school that day. I would give them 3 small cups of each and they would have to guess which was which and tell me which was their favorite. It worked out beautifully for the first day. After that, the 2 Liter bottles lost all of their fizz. Well, who wants flat Big K cola? Nobody. I couldn't get anybody to say that they liked any of them or if they could decide which was which, because, well, yuck.

Needless to say, I wasn't winning any awards for my scientific prowess.

Which is completely opposite of my brilliant 7th grade nephew. He won first place at his middle school, first place in his subject for the region and third place in the region overall. Pretty cool, huh? I am so proud of him. Oh, and his project? He did testing on some creek water in his neighborhood to see if he could purify it for drinking. And that is about all I can remember. That and he said he was dealing with e coli in that very creek water. Maybe next year he can do a project about prescription drugs in their tap water.

I Have A Question!

There must be a party going on somewhere. I can't seem to get anything done because I can't quit looking at all of the wonderful party posts of the over 1100 partiers. Amazing the turnout those girls at 5 minutes for Mom get at these bloggy festivities.

I figure that I had better start posting this week if I am going to post my 100 things about me during the UBP '08. I am not completely sure I know 100 things about myself to begin with, but here's hoping.

The weather here is very comfortable with temps in the upper 60's, so I threw my kids out into the back yard. I hope they run and run and run and then run some more. We could go to the playground down the street, but they seem to be enjoying the back yard just as well. If anyone is still there from the blog party, I have a question. I was wondering if any of you have/had play sets for your kids and if you have any recommendations for those. We went to Lowe's and Home Depot and looked at what they have and we got a mailer from Toys R Us and looked at what they offer. They all look pretty much the same to me. Is one better/cheaper/more fun/more durable than the others?

I hope to get some good answers to this in the comments. My kids are 2 and 4 and we would like to pick the best one that will grow up with them and that we will enjoy for years to come.

Let's Get This Party Started!

Click the banner to go to the 5 Minutes For Mom website where the party is going strong!

OK, so I'm like 2 or 3 days late. But I couldn't help it. Friday, when the party officially began, I had to work 12 hours and yesterday I couldn't get into Blogger to post when my kids were occupied doing other things, so I know that you will all forgive me for being just a little more than "fashionably" late to this wonderful bloggy partay.

Let me introduce myself. I am an almost 40 year old mother of a 2 year old and a 4 year old, who will be 3 and 5 within a matter of weeks. I am the wife of a "younger man" He is 35 and doesn't mind calling me "the old lady" since I am older than he is. His friends wonder how he gets away with calling me that, but they don't know that he seldom, if ever, calls me that when I am present.

I am a nurse, but only work part time. It's all I can handle and at the same time, I couldn't handle not working. It's a nice break. I blog about my kids, I post funny videos sometimes, I talk about my futile attempts at losing weight and exercising, and many other random topics. You never know what is coming next.

I participated in the UBP 2007 and found some really great blogs. I hope that I will be one that you come back to during the next year, so come on into the blog. Look around. Make yourself at home. Comment if you'd like. I would call myself a random and sporadic blogger, but I like to think that I will post more often. Maybe. I hope.

Anyway, if you check back very soon, I will be doing a "100 Things About Me" post when it is my 100th post, which is coming in just a few more posts, so stay tuned. I hope to get it in during the festivities of this Ultimate Blog Party '08.

Enjoy!

It Starts March 20

Callapidder Days Spring Reading Thing, that is. Last Spring I participated in the SRT '07 and it was great fun. I even won a book! Diva Nashvegas by Rachel Hauck; it was actually very good.

This year I have read all of the Karen Kingsbury Baxter Series books, so I will have to pick some books that are equally as captivating. I can't imagine what they will be, but when I get my nose out of the two remaining Sunrise Series books I am finishing now, I will have a better idea of what they will be.

Just suffice it to say that I am looking forward to



Hope to see you there!

Catching up....again.

It's already March. Can you believe that? I just don't know where the time goes.

Just to let you know a little about what I've been doing the past month or so since I have posted anything.

I have read the entire Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury, the entire Firstborn Series by Karen Kingsbury and I am into the Sunrise Series by Karen Kingsbury now. Let me tell you it is the greatest diversion from reality I can think of. Especially since the writer's strike took away any decent television. (Speaking of the writer's strike and on a completely unrelated note, did you know that on "The People's Court" when the Plaintiff and Defendant are walking in they don't have a narrarator to tell the summary of what the case is about because apparently no other person who works on the set could come up with anything?) Anyway, I have been knee deep into the lives of the Baxters, the Flanigans and Dayne and Katy Matthews. I thought about blogging about each book, but let me tell you, I just couldn't have done them justice. These books are really, really good. They are easy to read and the suck you in like you know these people and live among them. I have dreamed about them, wondered what was going on with them when the story line would shift off of them. I've even been mad at some of the characters for doing something in the story. The best part is that when you finish one of the books, there is another one that picks up where the last one left off. You don't have to learn another set of characters and you don't have to learn a new author's style. I can not recommend these books highly enough.

The other thing I have been doing is exercising like a mad woman. I have lost only 5 pounds by the scale, but I think my measurements have changed although I haven't really been measuring them. Maybe I should start that so I can update my progress in that area.

My kids and I have been sick sick sick. For our first round, the doctor called it "flu-like cold symptoms" and said treat with Tylenol and Motrin. I felt like we didn't need her to tell us that and I could have saved my co-pay, so in the second round I waited until my son had ear pain before we went to the doctor to tell us that he has an ear infection. I think I have had 3 different versions of the "flu-like cold symptoms" and am dealing with a bit of that now. My nose feels like it is 3 times it's normal size and my head feels like it could explode. So, clearly, I am in a wonderful mood.

Hopefully I will be blogging more often as I am planning to participate in the Ultimate Blog Party on March 7-14. It may be that my 100th post falls during that week and I will post 100 things about me. I have no idea what 100 things about me will be, but I am sure it will be riveting entertainment for the one person who reads my blog and those unsuspecting new folks who will stumble onto my blog.

Anyway, until next time, if you haven't read all of the Karen Kingsbury Series books, GO AND GET THEM and then we can discuss. They are wonderful.

Wordless Wednesday: What were they thinking?

I know, its a video, but I couldn't resist.

Check out the Official Wordless Wednesday HQ

Bathing suit season, here I come!

I'm back! And I'm 6 pounds lighter. Yay! Keeping it up is a good thing. I am finally starting to see some results.

I'll keep posting about my losses, because without those, it just isn't a diet, is it?

I'll tell you what I'm doing. Ready? I'm eating fewer calories by replacing my breakfast with a protein bar and eating a very light lunch and pretty much whatever I want for dinner. I also eat fruit or nuts for snacks all during the day. I quit drinking anything but water with lemon. (And coffee, of course.) And I am doing an hour of Gilad about 2 or 3 times a week.

That is about to change though. I just bought a two DVD set of my new pretend boyfriend Gilad's "Express Workouts". Hopefully it will get me moving for 6 out of 7 days a week. And that, my friends is my ace in the hole. I will keep you posted. I'm not brave enough to do the before and after photos, but I'll tell you how it works anyway.

Random Randomness

First, you won't believe this, but persistence has paid off. I lost another 2 pounds. So my grand total weight loss is 3.5 pounds. No need to stand and clap. Silent kudos will be fine. This is the slowest. process. ever.

Second, my 2 year old is learning to sing the alphabet. She sings sometimes when she thinks that nobody is listening. For instance at the grocery store, she breaks out into "Old MacDonald" E-I-E-I-O! The other day, she was singing in the car and sang, (sing along to get the full effect) "A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-Ellenopidy-"

(The other thing she says that I think is too cute is "Hippopominus".)

And, finally, what would a 4 year old boy's life be without the tragedy of dropping a favorite Hot-wheel into the potty, while you are using said potty. I can tell you that I could have lived a long time without finding out about that. At least he wasn't in mid-flush.

You can't make this stuff up.

Because I am such a great Mom and all, we went to Wendy's drive thru tonight. The prize in the kid's meals were little stuffed puppies. My 4 year old wanted to know if we could "go online" to play with his "Plushy Pal". (Kind of like his webkinz dog.) I am not making this up.

He keeps calling it his "plushy pal". And he wants to go online to play with it. My how times have changed. In a million years, would you have ever thought to "go online" to play with your "plushy pal"? Or that your children would be asking for that?

I mean, the Jetsons had Astro and all, but he wasn't on a computer screen.

What's a girl to do?

Clearly it's the "sensible dinner" that undermines my weight loss.

Today, the scale shows only a one pound weight loss overall. How annoying.

At what point do we quit calling it a resolution?

Just wanted to say that after a couple of very painful days, I am already seeing a difference in my ability to keep up with the exercising and cardio routines.

The scale today showed a total loss of 2 pounds, but that was the very first difference in weight since I started my diet and exercising.

I was really beginning to get frustrated.

How is everyone else doing with their resolutions?

The life of sloth. It is over.

So.

It is January 3rd. Let me tell you what I've been doing. As is the most popular new year's resolution, I have decided to lose some weight and get "in shape" (whatever that means). I need to lose at least 20 pounds and really tone up.

I started looking for different options. I know that I could just cut back on portions, but I have little to no self control, so that was out. My neighbor told me about nutri-system, and that she lost 26 pounds on that, but it's kind of expensive. And what if I don't like it? I don't know anything about Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers or any of those, so finally I succumbed to the ad about Slim-Fast and since I have no idea how to diet on my own, I thought a meal replacement system that I don't have to think about would be best for me. So far, my only problem has been the "sensible dinner". I have to think about that one.

I don't know about you, but really, Slim-Fast is one of those things you might buy, but you don't really want anyone to know that you bought it, so it figures that just as soon as we put it in our cart and turned the corner my husband saw not one, not two, but THREE of his friends standing in the aisle talking. I only saw one of them looking at it, but I felt like there was someone behind me with a mega-phone saying "SHE'S TRYING TO LOSE THAT LAST 20 POUNDS OF BABY FAT! NEVERMIND THAT HER BABY IS ALMOST 3 YEARS OLD NOW!" Well, after he saw it, I really have no choice but to lose some weight or else I will look like a loser who buys slim fast for fun or something.

The first day I started (December 29, I think) I drank two shakes and ate "a sensible dinner". The next morning I woke up and had gained 2 pounds. But I am persistent. So, I kept going. I'm not seeing any real results just yet, but it hasn't been a week either. I have lost that initial two pounds, but that could be that my scale isn't the most accurate. Or who really knows, maybe I lost it.

As for the getting in shape part of my resolution, I got on my elliptical machine that I just had to have a couple of years ago. My husband left his iPod at home yesterday, so I got it out and put the "ear buds" in my ears. I hate "ear buds". I don't even like the name of them. They finally got in there and then I had to wade through the thousands of horrible songs to find something that I could stand. Just when I was really getting into the groove of the music and the groove of the elliptical steps (ellipsis?), I got the wire of the ear buds caught around the handle of the elliptical and in one swift motion, it jerked the earbuds completely out of my ears and I nearly dropped the iPod. I was thinking that maybe I could just put the ear buds back and keep going, but when I found the ends of the wire, the black foam things were missing. I looked all over the floor, when I realized that they were stuck in my ears! Thankfully they came out easily. (Can you imagine explaining that one in the ER?) Needless to say, that was the end of the cardio session for yesterday.

As for the strength training portion, Gilad from "Bodies in Motion" kicked my gluteus maximus. I can remember when I was in high school doing that show and wondering what was the big deal? Well, that was when I was playing tennis, basketball, and cheerleading every day and I didn't have an ounce of fat on my entire body. Those were the days. The days that will never return thanks to my two beautiful children and my ever slowing metabolism and general laziness.

I'll keep going and checking in with my progress at least to be accountable somewhere. I'm too afraid to tell anyone I see on a regular basis. What if I quit or it doesn't work?