My New "Job"

Hello Friends! I know it has been a few weeks since I have posted, but I have been really busy.

I have a new "job"....Well, it isn't actually a job. I don't get paid for it (I actually paid money to do it...how crazy is that.) :-) What is it?? I joined Weight Watchers Online. I have a significant amount of weight to lose that I gained after getting married and then having Anna (so that means I can blame Mark and Anna for my weight gain and not the fact that I REALLY love food...especially food that isn't good for me.) :-) I was trying to do it on my own, but right now do not have the will power to do what is necessary so I needed some external help. I have always been a fan of Weight Watchers and their program and think it really is one of the best of the best weight loss programs out there, so I decided to give it a try.

I know you may be wondering where the "job" part comes in....counting points is like a part-time job. For those not familiar, Weight Watchers has a point system where you are allotted so many points per day and all foods have a point value. This value is determined using a systematic formula based upon the amount of fat, carbs, protein, and fiber in the food as well as the city where the food was produced, the income level of the food manufacturer or farmer, and the consumers blood type and state or country of birth. (OK so I made some of that up, but you get the picture.) I am certain that counting points will get easier as time progresses, but right now it is very time consuming.

My time has been worth it, I do have to say that it seems to be working. I have lost almost 5 lbs in 2 weeks! Hoping there is more success in my future!

Watch Out...Martha Stewart!!

As most people know, I am lacking certain skills in the domestic area and always thought that Martha Stewart didn't need to worry about me competing with her as the domestic goddess of the world. However, the past few days. Martha may have to watch out (OK...so not really, but that makes this blog post a little more exciting if I say that.) :-)

First of all, I have actually cooked dinner for my family 3 nights in a row. I mean actually cooking from a recipe...not leftovers, heating up something frozen or eating out. I know this is not a big deal for many people, but it is huge in my world. The even more impressive thing is that it all tasted good...AMAZING!! :-)

Secondly, I decided that I wanted to have Anna help me make thank you notes for her recent birthday party. I have NO IDEA why I decided that because I am NOT a card maker. I have tried to make them and been to tons of Stampin' Up parties and workshops and have never really been happy with the results of what I made. I must have had a case of temporary insanity or something in deciding to do this. :-) Anyway...Anna really enjoys finger painting with her Color Wonder Paints (as a side note...whoever created Color Wonder is a GENIUS!!) So, I decided that we would use some of her masterpieces to create the cards. Since we had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed party, I decided to cut out Mickey Heads from her paintings (although I am not longer in the running for Mother of the Year, I did all the cutting since giving a a pair of sharp scissors to a 2 year old probably isn't the greatest idea.) :-) After that, I printed the words for the cards on the computer. Then I had Anna help fold the card stock and then glue the pieces on the cards. These cards cost me nothing since they were made from items that I already had in the house. Overall, I think they turned out to be pretty cute and the beauty of it is that I can say that they were made by a 2 year old if anyone doesn't like them. :-) Here is a photo of the finished product:

So, I have the cooking and crafts down...now I just need to move on the cleaning part. On second thought, I bet Martha pays someone to clean her house. Maybe I should consider the same!! :-)

Definitely Disqualified

Well friends, it is official....I have most certainly been disqualified from winning "Mother of the Year." I am incredibly disappointed because I had visions of standing in front of my adoring fans in a size 2 designer dress (don't laugh..this is my dream.) :-) I pictured myself sharing my acceptance speech that started with "I'd like to thank the academy..." while being flanked by celebrities like Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman.

Even when great friends like Heather N. said things like "I am not going to win Mother of the Year, but neither are you" as a form of encouragement, I politely nodded. However, I secretly knew that I was destined to win this prize.

If you look at the facts, it is obvious that I was a serious contender. Here are just a few of the reasons that I thought I had it in the bag:

• I took Anna to Disney World for her first birthday.
• I have all of her scrapbooks up to date.
• And although my house isn't always the cleanest, I was spending the time I should be cleaning with Anna making crafty birthday thank you notes or reading books (that or spending time on Facebook...where I most certainly was gaining valuable parenting skills.) :-)

However, that dream was shattered today at around 4:45 PM. I entered the kitchen to start cooking dinner (an accomplishment in and of itself.) I usually bring Anna into the kitchen when I cook dinner and have her help or play with her toy kitchen set, but she was finishing the rest of a DVR'd episode of Sesame Street (DVRing educational TV...another reason I should have had the Mother of the Year Award in the bag.) I decided to let her finish figuring she would be OK for the few minutes it took to finish receiving words of wisdom from Elmo. While in the kitchen, I heard a loud thud and then screaming. I ran into the living room to find Anna on the floor in front of the couch. I am guessing that since Mommy and Daddy weren't in the room she decided that it was the perfect time to jump on the couch and ended up falling and face planting. She had a bloody lip, swollen nose and a red mark on the forehead. Once the bleeding was stopped and we were certain that we didn't need to take a trip to the ER, I sent Mark to the store for popsicles since she would not put ice packs on the injured areas and figured that was the next best thing and would at least help with swelling on her lips. Like any good mom, I fed her chocolate and fruit snacks while we waited for the popsicles (because it is never to early to learn that certain foods always make you feel better.) :-) Anna was fine the rest of the evening, but I think she will have some interesting marks in the morning.

However, since I left her unattended and she got hurt, I am guessing my chances of being Mother of the Year are no more. Maybe it is time I give up that dream and start aspiring to something else....maybe a TONY Award. My tap teacher told me I looked like a real dancer the other night after I fell while dancing and had several bruises on my knee and elbows. I think that was her subtle way of telling me that I should move on to bigger and better things. :-) Broadway...here I come!!!

Relaxing Friday

I am pretty excited for this weekend. Anna is turning 2 on Tuesday, so we are having a party for her tomorrow. I thought that my day today would be filled with cleaning and prepping for the party, but thanks to the snowstorm and things being cancelled we were able to get most of that done already. That means a relaxing Friday (until our overnight houseguests arrive a little later today.) I am thinking that I am going spend some of the time reading once Anna goes down for her nap. I love to read, but don't often get a lot of time to do it. I am trying to make a more conscious effort read in my spare time as opposed to messing around on Facebook, watching TV, or playing "Angry Birds"on my phone (my latest addiction.) :-) So far in 2011, I have read 7 books and am in the process of reading 4 others. (I know...4 at one time is weird, but they serve different purposes and it depends upon my mood which one I want to read.). I am considering getting a Kindle or some other e-reader, but still not sure. I like the idea of having all my books in one compact little device. However, I am a fan of getting books from the library rather than buying them and I know that is not possible with a Kindle (at least for now.) I would love to hear feedback from people who use an e-reader.

Anyway...here are some of my favorites so far:

ROOM by Emma Donoghue

This was a book that I could not put down. It is the story written from the perspective of a 5 year old boy who has lived his entire life in a 12 x 12 room because his mother was kidnapped and held captive for many years (similar to the Jaycee Dugard story). He only knows life inside this room. It is a compelling story about the things his mother does to make life good for him and his adjustment to the real world once they escape. In some ways it reminded me of the movie called, "Life is Beautiful" where a father tries to protect his child from the horrors of life in a concentration camp during WWII. I usually have a difficult time reading books that involve abduction or violence against children or young women, but this one didn't seem to affect me as badly as others that I have read involving these topics. It was a compelling story and one that I kept thinking about for days after reading it.

STUFF CHRISTIANS LIKE by Jonathan Acuff

This is a hilarious book! It is based upon Jonathan Acuff's blog based of the same title. If you are a Christian who gets offended easily, I would not read it. However, if you can laugh at yourself as a Christian, it is a great read. I love his sarcasm and humor intermixed with the ability to make a point. Great read and a great laugh!!

HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX by JK Rowling

This is my 3rd time reading the Harry Potter Series. I don't know what it is about Harry Potter but I can read them over and over again. There are very few books that I want to read more than once. Actually there only 2 that come to mind right now: "The Bible" and "To Kill a Mockingbird." Anyway, back in September, I decided that I would try to re-read the entire series before the movie of the Deathly Hallows came out in December. Obviously, I haven't accomplished that goal, but I haven't seen the movie yet either. :-) Maybe I will finish the series before The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 comes out this summer. This is one of my least favorite Harry Potter books. I think partly because Sirius Black dies in this book (Sorry if I spoiled it for anyone, but the books and movies have been out for ages...so you had your chance to find out on your own.) :-) I also think it is not my favorite because things begin to get darker in this book without any resolution. I still enjoyed it and love my Harry Potter.

LIFE AFTER SUFFERING by Chris Williams

I actually know the author of this book so when I found out that he had written a book, I ordered it. (As a side note, if you ever write a book count on at least one sale because I will purchase it.) :-) I received it in the mail yesterday and thought that I would put on my pile of books that I will read at some point. However, I did read the first couple pages and I was hooked. I finished last night (sacrificing watching "The Office"...thank goodness for DVR's, right?) :-) Anyway, in this book Chris tells his personal story of suffering when he tragically lost his parents in his freshman year of college along with telling the biblical story of Jeremiah (which is also a story of suffering.) He has many great points about suffering, but my favorite quote of the book was at the end of a chapter when he talked about how different people supported him during his time of grieving. "I had always been told that God put on flesh two thousand years ago as a Middle Eastern Jew, but in my darkest moments of despair it seemed that God put on flesh again and again in many different faces and names." I thought this was a beautiful quote and a great reminder that I need to be "BE JESUS" to people who are suffering around me. There were also many personal applications for me (that I will not go into here) because of the experiences we have had in losing Mark's Mom, Brother and my Dad over the course of the past couple years.

Well..those are my favorites over the past few weeks. How about you? I always love to hear book suggestions.

Good-Bye January

I cannot believe that it is the end of January already! What is even harder to believe is that I will have a 2 year old in 8 days. It seems like just yesterday that she was born. We are having her birthday party this weekend. It is going to be a pretty laid back lunch with a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme. She likes that TV show on Disney Channel and I have a "few" Mickey Mouse things lying around the house so it made sense. :-)

I am excited that I have done pretty well on my goals for 2011. I have 8 big goals and I would say that I was successful at meeting or working toward 6 out of 8 of them in the month of January. I think that is a good success rate and feel pretty good about that.

I am particularly proud of the fact that I have met my exercise goals for the month of January. This is a hard one for me because as I posted before I would rather be kicked in the head than exercise (well maybe not that extreme, but pretty close.) :-) I finally beat Mark last week at the number of minutes. He has been winning because of all the shoveling of snow that has had to be done in January (which we count as exercise.) I think he will probably win this week if we get the major snowstorm that is being predicted. However, I am OK if he wins because exercising is bad enough without being freezing cold on top of it. :-)

The two goals that I need to focus on in February since I didn't do too well in January are memorizing 2 verses of scripture per month and fitting into a pair a pre-pregnancy pants. Since the memorizing of the Bible verses is a Beth Moore idea, I probably should be surprised that it is one of the areas with which I am struggling. I have never finished anything Beth Moore. I have no problem with Beth Moore...just must have a Beth Moore block when it comes to finishing things. :-) The Bible passage that I chose at the beginning of January is about 5 verses long and is kind of complicated. I think I will start February with a passage that is one verse long.

As far as the pre-pregnancy pants, I think I have lost about 2 lbs in the month of January. At that rate, I will be able to fit into those pants in about 4 years. I would like to make it happen before that. :-) I think I do a decent job at eating healthy meals, it is just all the other stuff that I eat. Sugar and carbs are my best friends and my nemesis at the same time. I love those girl scouts and their delicious cookies, but that didn't help me work toward this goal this month either. :-)

Hello February! Here's to a fantastic month!

EXERCISE...A Dirty Word?

I HATE to Exercise! I don't know why, but I would rather be doing about 5 million other things than exercising. However, I do want to live as long as possible so exercise is a necessary evil toward than goal. :-) I am not certain where my dislike of exercise came from. I have never been very coordinated or good at sports so maybe that is it. I tried to play sports when I was younger but was terrible at them. The only sport that I had any success at all in playing was softball. However, even after several years of playing, I was an average player at best...although some of my former teammates might even dispute that I was even that good. Although, it is my blog and I can say whatever I want...so forget average, I was the BEST softball player that ever lived. :-)

Anyway, back to exercise, I still don't like it very much but as I blogged before Mark and I have a contract so I have been doing really well in meeting my exercise goals so far.

Although, I will never love it, here are a couple of things that I have tried that I sort of like.

ZUMBA-This seems to be incredibly popular right now and I can see why. It is pretty fun and sort of doesn't feel like you are exercising, but instead dancing at a party. I just got the Wii Zumba game and I really like it. Since I am not coordinated, this is great for me because I am sure that the moves that I am doing look nothing like what the instructor is doing. Doing the moves in the privacy of my own home lets me pretend like I look awesome doing them. :-) I also have taken a Zumba class at the YMCA with the senior citizens. Maybe sometime I will graduate to the regular Y class instead of the Silver Sneakers class. :-) My only problem with Zumba is that the Latin groove of the music makes me crave Mexican food. Not sure that exercising should make you want guacamole and enchiladas. :-)

CARDIOKE-I found this on ON DEMAND Exercise TV. I am really liking On Demand because I can try lots of different exercise programs without buying a DVD. Anyway...Cardioke is a combination of Hip Hop Cardio and Karaoke. I actually finished this workout and said, "I really enjoyed exercising tonight." Mark immediately got the thermometer and considered calling 911 because those are words that do not come out of my mouth. However, who couldn't enjoy exercising and singing "Don'tcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me." :-)

TAP-I have been taking Tap for about 3 years and it is really fun. I am really terrible at it, but I do enjoy it. We are learning a routine for a Glee song so that makes it especially fun this year.

We do have a membership at the YMCA, but I have not been there in 2011. This is mostly because of the crazy weather and our crazy schedules (which are legitimate for 2011, but does not explain why I didn't go there in November or December of 2010.) :-) I am hoping to get back there soon for some of their classes and cardio room.

I'd love to hear what others are doing to exercise that is at least tolerable! I need all the help I can get. :-)

Friday Randomness

It's Friday! WOO-HOO!!! Here are the random things in my mind this snowy Friday afternoon:

• I met my exercise goal for this week and still have a day and half left. Mark has met his as well so no negative consequences for either one of us. We have to wait until tomorrow evening to determine who has exercised the most minutes during this week and see who wins the coveted sleep-in day. Right now, I am in the lead..but only by 10 minutes so one brisk snow shoveling trip outside and Mark would beat me. Maybe I will offer to do the shoveling when Mark gets home tonight. :-)
• Anna is going to be 2 in a month. I can hardly believe it. We are planning for her birthday party. We decided to do a Mickey Mouse theme since she loves the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse TV show. Since I already have entirely too much Mickey Mouse stuff, it seemed like a no-brainer.
• I am so rooting for this Ted Williams guy to make it (the homeless man with the golden voice.) He has such a compelling story and I want things to work out for him. I hope he has a great support system around him to help him navigate all this fame and not turn to drugs and alcohol again.
• Anna peed in the potty last night for the first time. I never though 2 grown adults would be so excited about urine, but it was ridiculous in how we responded. I honestly don't think that she is really ready to be completely potty trained based upon what I have read about potty training readiness, but it was still pretty exciting to hear the music coming from her princess potty. Although, it was plain creepy when I heard the music coming from the same potty while I was taking a shower and Anna was in her crib napping earlier today. :-) Maybe the cat snuck in and used it. :-)
• On a sad note, we found out that one of our neighbors passed away. We didn't know him well but had several conversations with him as he tended his garden in the backyard of the vacant house next door during the summer. We have never met his wife and are wondering what it is that we could do to be good neighbors to this woman who we haven't met who just lost her husband. More than anything, it was a reminder that we need to make a conscious effort to get to know our neighbors.

There you have it...some of my random thoughts for today! Have a great weekend!!