I'm Back :)

Back from NC. It was fantastic to see my extended family. Everyone made it except one of my sisters (car trouble) and my uncle (kids not good at traveling far distances). It was a little crazy trying to corral that many people. There was some drama, but what family gathering doesn't have drama?

We FINALLY finished Pillars of the Earth. We loved it. It is just really long (32 cds). I tried to renew it, but someone had already requested it. So we are taking it back today. Towards the end, I gave an exasperated sigh about how many times the characters were going to be coming up against each other, cause it seemed to happen so much. But I love the way Follet tied up all the loose ends (in my mind).

We also listened to Eleven on Top (hilarious) and started Twelve Sharp (so far very good). I love the Stephanie Plum books by Janet Evanovich, and so does Chris. I'm firmly in the Morelli camp, but I still love the Ranger character (hot hot hot). I do wonder how much longer she will be able to keep readers hanging. Would the series lose something if Stephanie gets married? Janet Evanovich is good enough of a writer to make it work.

I haven't had a lot of time to get into The Host by Stephenie Meyer. I really like it so far, but I just didn't have a lot of time to read. I'm going to be getting the house ready for the in-laws (arriving in T-Minus 7 Days) and I have a feeling that will take up a lot of my time. On top of that, Chris starts school in 1 month and we have a bunch of decisions to make, particularly as work is DRAGGING their feet about the work at home options. So frustrating. I'm of two minds about what to do with the truck. Our friends that work at UK have offered to let me commute with them. Which would be the most economical path (if they still are up for it). Or one of us could drive the truck until I can work at home. Or we could trade the truck in and get a small car, but we would have to take a loan out to do that, and that would put off paying off our debt longer. I think in the long run we both realize that we need two vehicles that we can drive regularly, and the truck just isn't a viable option any longer. Which sucks. Cause we love that truck. Grrr. I feel very fortunate that we were able to save as much as we could by commuting together all these years.

Lots of other stuff happening right now too. :) Babies are definitely on my mind right now, and I'll be talking about all that with more and more frequency. Nothing to annouce yet. Sativa (my niece) has both Chris and I wrapped around her little finger. She is a precious, sweet little girl. She has a particularly strong bond with Chris. Without fail, he can get her to laugh. She is VERY expressive.

One thing that has been running across my mind lately is how much I love my husband. I feel so very blessed to have him in my life. Our marriage has been one of the good ones. We have had our moments when things weren't fantastic, but overall, we have been very blessed. It is easy to take that for granted, but lately, I have felt so incredibly connected and in-tune with him. No one gets me like he gets me. No one else can put up with me like he can. No one else finds all my oddities cute or charming. I'm so incredibly proud of him. He has been growing and changing, but still the same man I fell in love with. I can't believe that no one snapped him up before me. Your loss ladies. :) My life isn't exactly how I pictured it to be ten years ago. But I wouldn't trade it. Good and bad, it has all led us to this point.

Busy Summer

Things have been quite busy lately. :)

Posting will be sporadic for the next week or so, so please forgive. :)

I've still been reading, but nothing terribly challenging. Sometimes you have to read for the pure enjoyment and/or escapism. I'm getting ready to start The Host by Stephenie Meyer and The Dark Towers series by Stephen King. It will be my FIRST EVER Stephen King novel. How bizarre is that?

The house is a complete wreck. We were gone almost every day this weekend (Friday - softball practice, Saturday - youth event, Sunday - Ren Fest (also had a raging Migraine). I ended up staying home Monday because I could still feel the edges of the Migraine, and I was still nauseous. Hopefully after this weekend I will have the energy to put things back in order. Shortly after that the in-laws arrive, so I have a set Deadline!

BTW, did you all know that I knit? I haven't been very good about knitting lately. It has been ages since I did anything. I'm still a beginner. I got the book Mason-Dixon Knitting from the library yesterday, and even though I'm only a few pages in, I LOVE IT! This will definitely give me the knitting bug again. Maybe I'll start posting some FO (finished objetcts) in the future. :)

maintenance

so i'm messing around with my blog again. i'm trying to learn how to use google reader, and it turns out that two people subscribe to my blog. how weird is that. so in learning more about that, i've decided to join feedburner. so my rss stuff has changed. hope that doesn't mess anyone up.

Twilight Series

Longer review coming later.

Simply put,

I LOVED ALL THREE BOOKS

They will probably rank up there in the list of series that I read over and over. So good. Wish I had taken my friends advice and read them earlier.

Whew

Finally finished American Gods. I didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it very much either. It definitely captured my attention in the second half of the book. I'm glad that I didn't give up. I didn't agree with the vast majority of what the author was trying to point out. I also didn't identify with any of the characters. I was pretty much disgusted by all of them. And it took me forever to figure out what the point was.

Next up, Gone with the Wind, Water for Elephants and the Host.

Reading Challenges (non) update

So I'm starting to freak out because I'm falling really far behind on my reading challenges. I'm stuck on the book American Gods by Neil Gaiman. At first I hated it, now I'm warming up to it a LITTLE bit, but I'm having a hard time getting through it. Everytime I go to read it and make some real progress, I fall asleep. I don't think it is because it is that boring, I just think I'm really tired, and it is having a hard time keeping my interest to overcome the tiredness (does that make sense?). So I'm trying to really push hard to get through it. I can see why my friend reccommended the book to me, but I'm not so much into books that are THIS difficult to understand. I read for pleasure first and edification second (if at all). :)

I'm having NO luck getting the Twilight books from the library. I'm like 75th on the list. Sometimes I HATE the public library system in my town. Grr. That's okay, I'm pretty sure that I will like the books enough to want to own them, so I'll just pick up a copy at the store.

Hopefully tomorrow, I'll upload a progress report on the closet project. We have all of the necessary stuff purchased. The past few days I have been slowly getting a system worked out so that we can effectively go through all the stuff in the closet (as well as add the rest of the stuff from my room). I don't want to overdue it all at once, so I'm trying to break it down into pieces.

I didn't try and work on the computer last night. Part of me is magically hoping that it will fix it self. It won't happen, but I'm pretending it will.

Being a responsible adult sucks sometimes. We were going to purchase living furniture with our accident settlement. But then cold hard reality sunk in, and we realized we needed to do some very necessary repairs on both the car (breaks, shocks, exhaust) and the truck (timing pulley, air conditioner). So we are going to do that first, and probably just save the rest (if there is any). We will be leaving for North Carolina (Allie, we will be in the Fayetteville area, still trying to work out if we can head your way at some point) in a few weeks, so I'm really hoping that will be a good time. A few weeks after that we will be spending some time at the property in GA, and before we know it Chris will be starting school. Crazy how fast the summer fills up.

stupid computers

I hate computers sometimes. Even though I'm a helpdesk agent, I still make stupid mistakes. I moved our router and cable modem from the old office to the new office. The two machines that connect wirelessly are working without any problems. The pc that is directly connected to the router won't pick up a flipping ip address. It is configured with dhcp. Half the time it says that there is an ip conflict, but the ip it is picking up is 0.0.0.0. I tried "chatting" with the cable people, and that was COMPLETELY useless. I think even their chats follow a flipping script. I just need someone who knows what they are talking about to read what I tell them and then make some USEFUL suggestions. Why would it work in one room, but not the other? The only thing that I can think of is that in the move, I damaged the network card. But if that is the case, why is it even detecting that there is a network. I've rebooted half a dozen times, hoping it would pick something up. I connected my pc directly into the cable modem and it still didn't pick up anything. I want a new computer. But there are a lot of other things that I want more. And I need to be grateful. And I am. I'm just frustrated. This is the part of tech support that I hate. When it makes no flipping sense.

whewwwww

So I just had 30 minutes of anger/fear/frustration/agony. I was working on Chris' new computer on the budget. I had all the numbers for the past 6 weeks that I had to put into our budget excel sheet. I finally got it all in (after about an hour), and I was getting ready to email it to myself so that I would have it at work. But I couldn't find the files. Anywhere. I did a search. I looked everywhere that I could think of. I even looked in the temp files. But I couldn't find anything. The new laptop has Vista, so I wasn't as familiar with how to move around easily. We had a bunch of people over for worship practice, so I came out of the office complaining loudly. I work at a Helpdesk for goodness sake. I'm supposed to be able to fix this crap. After griping and complaining to Chris for 5 minutes, I thought of something else, so I came back, and low and behold, I found them. I had inadvertently saved them in the temp file, inside of a zipped file. I had looked there before, but I wasn't searching for the newest file extention for Excel. Stupid Rookie mistake. Unfortunately it was compounded by not being familiar with Vista. I could have sworn that I saved it in the documents folder. I'm just glad that I found them.

How NOT to Re-Organize Your Favorites

So I got a little carried away last week. I had been having a hard time finding a link that I know that I had in my favorites list. I had gotten pretty far behind in organizing my favorites. I hadn't really developed a consistent way of organzing them. So I had the BRIGHT (read: horrible) idea to put all of my links in ONE folder called Personal, and check each and every link to make sure that it was still valid and that I still wanted it, and to then go BACK through and find a consistent way of organizing. I started with 374 links. Holy Cow. Let's just say that this wasn't one of my better ideas. It took forever! I quickly gave up on the idea of going through the entire list twice, and started organizing as I went through. I'm finally done. But it took over a week to do it. And it wasn't nearly as satisfying as I thought it would be.

Someone suggested that I use StumbleUpon as a way to manage my favorites. I'm not as into using social networking sites as others. I have facebook, but I don't use it often. StumbleUpon just seems . . . nosy. If I have a link to share, I put it here. Any other ideas?

Gourmet Popcorn

Since we have been following the Core version of Weight Watchers, we have been having popcorn more and more often. A few months ago, we bought an air popper, and a big bag of generic popcorn. Popcorn is popcorn, right? I also have high blood pressure, so I have to be very careful of how much salt I have. We were noticing that we were having to put quite a bit of salt on the popcorn to make it tasty. And the hulls were getting stuck in my teeth (A LOT). So I thought I would look up gourmet popcorn and see what I could find. It didn't take long before I found a few places that sold in online, and I was SOOO surprised at the different kinds. The main site that caught my attention was Riehle's Select Gourmet Popcorn. They had a sampler pack where you could get 2 (4 oz) pkgs of all 13 kinds of popcorn that they have. A 4 oz packet is exactly how much will go in one batch in the air popper. It wasn't too badly priced. I ordered it on like a Wednesday, and it came on Friday. :)

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Sorry the picture is kind of washed out. I couldn't figure out what setting to use on the camera. This is one of each of the kinds of popcorn that we were sent. I'll try and do periodic updates on how they do. So far we have had the Baby Blue, Baby Yellow and Sunburst. The Baby Blue and Baby Yellow were very tasty. When it popped, each kernel made a very small popcorn. They were very "delicate" for lack of a better word. They kind of just melted in your mouth. Quite tasty. The Sunburst was good, but nothing about it really seemed to stand out. Chris said we would have to try one right after the other to really get a good comparison. I'm most excited for the dark red popcorns and the one called Candy Stripe. It looks like a peppermint candy before it is popped. It is supposed to be kind of sweet.

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Does anyone out there have any gourmet popcorn preferences? We definitely have to do the air popped, otherwise, it loses its effectiveness as a healthy snack.

New Blog Template

So I made some changes. Obviously. Ultimately, I would like to design my own blogger template, but until I figure that out, we will have this. I'm not in love with how large the 100+ Reading Challenge Text is. I'm trying to figure out how to change that. Let me know what you think! :)

**Edited to add . . . I figured out how to make the sidebar text a different color (it was black) and a smaller size. I forgot how much I liked programming (at least at the begining). It was kind of exciting figuring out how to change the settings. How LAME does that make me! Oh well, I'm not ashamed!

Stephenie Meyer Mini-Challenge

I'm joining another book challenge. I'm telling you, I'm addicted. Plus it makes it fun! And it gives me something to blog about. I've been hearing about Stephenie Meyer for awhile, and just haven't had a chance to read any of her books. This particular challenge is a "mini-challenge" where you only need to read two of her books between June 1, 2008 and January 30, 2009. I think I'm going to read all of her books:

* Twilight
* New Moon
* Eclipse
* Breaking Dawn (available in Aug '08)
* The Host (not in the Twilight Series)

The nice thing is, my main challenge, the 100+ Reading Challenge is broad enough, that I can count all of these books as well. It just helps give me some more suggestions.

BTW, I'm really finding some FANTASTIC blogs out there. Makes me ashamed. I'm going to try and ramp up my book reviews. My favorites that I found yesterday are:

• Becky's Book Reviews
• The Hidden Side of a Leaf
• Reading Adventures
• The Bookworm

EW Top 100 New Classics

I found the following list on another blogger's website of the top 100 New Classics. Entertainment Weekly put the list together here. The ones I have read are in purple, and the ones I plan to read are in red.

1. The Road , Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
3. Beloved, Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club, Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral, Philip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River, Dennis Lehane (2001)
7. Maus, Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories, Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami (1997)
11. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer (1997)
12. Blindness, José Saramago (1998)
13. Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (1986-87)
14. Black Water, Joyce Carol Oates (1992)
15. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers (2000)
16. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood (1986)
17. Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez (1988)
18. Rabbit at Rest, John Updike (1990)
19. On Beauty, Zadie Smith (2005)
20. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding (1998)
21. On Writing, Stephen King (2000)
22. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Díaz (2007)
23. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1996)
24. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry (1985)
25. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan (1989)
26. Neuromancer, William Gibson (1984)
27. Possession, A.S. Byatt (1990)
28. Naked, David Sedaris (1997)
29. Bel Canto, Anne Patchett (2001)
30. Case Histories, Kate Atkinson (2004)
31. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien (1990)
32. Parting the Waters, Taylor Branch (1988)
33. The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (2005)
34. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold (2002)
35. The Line of Beauty, Alan Hollinghurst (2004)
36. Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt (1996)
37. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (2003)
38. Birds of America, Lorrie Moore (1998)
39. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri (2000)
40. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (1995-2000)
41. The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros (1984)
42. LaBrava, Elmore Leonard (1983)
43. Borrowed Time, Paul Monette (1988)
44. Praying for Sheetrock, Melissa Fay Greene (1991)
45. Eva Luna, Isabel Allende (1988)
46. Sandman, Neil Gaiman (1988-1996)
47. World's Fair, E.L. Doctorow (1985)
48. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
49. Clockers, Richard Price (1992)
50. The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (2001)
51. The Journalist and the Murderer, Janet Malcom (1990)
52. Waiting to Exhale, Terry McMillan (1992)
53. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon (2000)
54. Jimmy Corrigan, Chris Ware (2000)
55. The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls (2006)
56. The Night Manager, John le Carré (1993)
57. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe (1987)
58. Drop City, TC Boyle (2003)
59. Krik? Krak! Edwidge Danticat (1995)
60. Nickel & Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
61. Money, Martin Amis (1985)
62. Last Train To Memphis, Peter Guralnick (1994)
63. Pastoralia, George Saunders (2000)
64. Underworld, Don DeLillo (1997)
65. The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)
66. A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again, David Foster Wallace (1997)
67. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003)
68. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel (2006)
69. Secret History, Donna Tartt (1992)
70. Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell (2004)
71. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Ann Fadiman (1997)
72. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon (2003)
73. A Prayer for Owen Meany, John Irving (1989)
74. Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger (1990)
75. Cathedral, Raymond Carver (1983)
76. A Sight for Sore Eyes, Ruth Rendell (1998)
77. The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
78. Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
79. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell (2000)
80. Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McInerney (1984)
81. Backlash, Susan Faludi (1991)
82. Atonement, Ian McEwan (2002)
83. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields (1994)
84. Holes, Louis Sachar (1998)
85. Gilead, Marilynne Robinson (2004)
86. And the Band Played On, Randy Shilts (1987)
87. The Ruins, Scott Smith (2006)
88. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby (1995)
89. Close Range, Annie Proulx (1999)
90. Comfort Me With Apples, Ruth Reichl (2001)
91. Random Family, Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (2003)
92. Presumed Innocent, Scott Turow (1987)
93. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (1991)
94. Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser (2001)
95. Kaaterskill Falls, Allegra Goodman (1998)
96. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown (2003)
97. Jesus’ Son, Denis Johnson (1992)
98. The Predators' Ball, Connie Bruck (1988)
99. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman (1995)
100. America (the Book), Jon Stewart/Daily Show (2004)

Okay, now that I have actually highlighted the ones I have read (painfully few) and the ones I want to read, I realize how pathetic it is. Oh well. I love lists, and this will just be a future reference if I ever run out of stuff to read again. The whole reason I started looking at the NY Times Best Seller Lists, and discovered reading challenges was because I felt like I didn't have anything left to read, and I was tired of re-reading my favorites. I realize now how naive and shallow that statement was. Thankfully, my eyes have been opened to a whole new world of reading. It will be a LONG time before I ever say/think that again.

How was your weekend?

Chris and I had a very productive and fun weekend. Friday night I made some progress on the office, and Chris studied for the GRE. Then we headed into Lexington for some hang out time at Shooters with some friends.

Saturday we had a wedding to go to in Wilmore. It was a beautiful wedding, and a nice reception. She did something for wedding favors that I had never seen before. Her colors were red and white. She had a tablescape set up with probably 15+ kinds of red and white candies in different containers. Each person got a small cellophane bag, and got to pick the candies that they wanted. That evening we went to go see Get Smart with Steve Carell. I don't remember ever watching Get Smart when I was a kid, but I was familar with the premise. I had seen some bad reviews of the movie, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the movie. Steve Carell was hilarious, and perfect for that role. I would classify this as one of my favorite movies, but I didn't feel like I wasted my movie ticket either.

After church on Sunday, a friend from church came over and helped me finish organizing the office. That night I babysat for Bri for awhile, and then hung out with Christina and Amber. Like I said, we had a very full weekend!

Book Challenge Updates:
I'm a little stalled on my reading challenges. We are really enjoying listening to Pillars of the Earth, but there are 32 cds in the unabridged audio book, and we are only on 14. I'm also enjoying the Last Jihad by Joel Rosenburg (I think), I just haven't had much time to read this week with everything that is going on. I should have brought my book to work, because I have a dr. appt this afternoon, and that is always a great time to catch up, but of course I forgot it. I will either pilfer a magazine from somewhere, or start one of the ebooks that I have on my computer.

The CORE diet with weight watchers, is going really really well. I had a few lapses this weekend, but that was more due to poor planning. I'm feeling SOOO good physically when I follow it. And not really hungry at all. And the results on the scale are helping a lot too. I'll try and post my White Chili recipe that I make this week. All the ingredients are CORE!

I have a blog planned for this week on our Gourmet Popcorn Experiment. Stay Tuned!

Coming Together

The new office is really coming together. Chris has worked very hard to get the desks put together. We had the cable guy come yesterday to "Fix" the cable outlet in our room so we can move our router in there. Chris got some of his stuff put away on his desk, and it is really looking nice. I think it is going to work well. Now we just have to find time/money to get up to Ikea to get the book shelves.

I've been trying to catch up on all my "filing". I've decided that I keep far too much paperwork. I've tried to get a sense of how long you are supposed to keep bills and paperwork and such. Everyone seems to have a much different opinion. I've tried to come up with an easy medium. So the last few nights, I have spent the evening with our paper shredder. I hate that shredder. It seems to get jammed every 4-5 papers or so. I remember the time when I thought feeding papers into the shredder was sOOO much fun (yes, i'm a dork, but we are talking about when I was a kid), and now it just seems tedious. So how long do you all keep your "filing" stuff?

Right now we are trying to work on our summer schedules. We were joking with friends of ours that their honeymoon (that they just got back from) would be the last major vacation that they take for awhile. The rest of their "vacation time" will be spend visiting family. It seems like after you do that, you are either out of time and/or money. :) We have a family reunion/vacation scheduled for mid July to visit with my side of the family. My grandparents, great aunt and great grandma are coming up from Florida, and my second cousin and her (new) husband are coming from VA. My whole immediately family should be there as well. We are going to meet in the "middle" and hang out at my brothers house in NC. Crazy times. We are also trying to figure out when we can visit with Chris' parents when they are back in the states. Plus, Chris starts school in late Aug. Plus we have youth activities with Church. The next thing you know, all our weekends are taken up. Who said summer was supposed to be relaxing?

boring update

so, there really isn't anything exciting or even interesting to update you all. It took me 1.5 hours to do my grocery shopping and to pick up my perscriptions tonight. That was just a tad bit ridiculous. And didn't really leave me much time to do anything else with my night.

We are watching Jim Gaffigan - Beyond the Pale right now. That man is hilarious.

I've started a new project. Goes hand and hand with moving the offices. I'm currently reorganizing my filing system, and then I'm going to start a home inventory program. Let's see how long THAT takes. :)

Have a good night everyone.

Happy Father's Day!

Hope that all you Dad's out there had a good father's day. We have been getting the office ready to put in the new furniture. :) We picked it up from Office Max today (we had to use the non-air conditioned truck). Then we cleared most everything out of the office, and put it in the foyer and living room. Chris doesn't quite understand why you have to create a bigger mess in order to organize and/or re-arrange things. It makes him crazy to have stuff all spread out and in your face. He doesn't mind if things are messy, as long as he can't see it. Denial can be a wonderful thing. :P

I think the office is going to look fantastic. I took some (really bad) before pictures, so once we get everything arranged, I may put up before and after shots. We are kind of doing it in two phases. Right now we have moved all of the stuff out, and we are going to put up the desks and get our office stuff put away. Next we need to purchase all our extra shelving. I think a trip to Lowes and Ikea is in the planning. :) So it will be a little while before it is completely done. I'm thinking by mid-July we should be good to go. Well before school starts.

The book challenge is going well. I'm still busy trying to add all my books to Good Reads, but after I finish that, I think I will start doing reviews. Question for you all. I have the Good Reads widget on the right-hand side of my blog. Would you rather it list the books that I am currently reading, or the ones that I have just finished reading, with my rating listed?

I don't want to jinx it, but right now I'm LOVING the Core program for Weight Watchers. It took a few days to adjust (stupid carb addiction), but now I feel great. I don't feel like I'm focusing on my food as much, and I'm definitely feeling more satisfied throughout the day. And with the extra weekly allowance points, I have the freedom to splurge in moderation. So far, I'm down 4 lbs in 3 days. I have definitely broken through the plateau! I'm hoping to stick with Core for at least the next month. Chris may switch back to flex, because it makes him a litte crazy to feel like he can't have certain foods (even though he wouldn't normally eat them). Anyhow, I was very apprehensive about trying Core, but now I'm very glad that I did

New Office Furniture

We went to buy office furniture today.

Chris and I both got the same desk. The main difference is that he got the L desk with the hutch, and I just got the L desk. We are going to pick them up tomorrow after church.

Right now, I've been playing with the layout of the office trying to figure out how to make it all work. Hopefully I will be working from home soon. That is part of the motivation in getting the new combined office setup. We talked about trying to share a desk, but between each having our own computers, and all of our stuff, and possibly needing them at the same time, we just didn't think it was feasible. If I'm working from home, I definitely need my own space without other stuff as well. The set we bought was on sale, so that was nice. We still need to buy a few more things from the office, but I'm glad that we found the big stuff first!

We went to Equus Run Vineyard tonight with a few of Chris' friends from work. There was a catered dinner, and a theather group put on a production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was a little hot, but it got better as the night wore on. At least it didn't rain. It was nice to get to put a face to all the names that I have been hearing. I'm pathetic at trying to understand Shakespeare. I usually just gather what is going on by the actions, and not necessarily by the words. Chris, of course, was quoting the play right along with the actors. I think once he gets done with school, and we get settled back down, he may do theater. He would be fantastic at it.

Eating Clean Works

I came across a post on the Weight Watchers forums about "Clean Eating". I had never heard of it before, so I did a search and came up with this website. Even though the website has only been around for 6 months or so, it had a lot of very helpful (but not preachy) posts. I would definitely reccomend checking it out. The two pieces of advice that I will be taking away from this site are take flaxseed oil supplements and fish oil supplements.

There is also a Clean Eating magazine here.

**Edited to Add - This is basically a diet about eating sensibily and not eating junk. I'm mainly interested in it for the recipes that will also apply to the Core diet for WW.

Weight Watchers: CORE

Chris and I have both been following Weight Watchers. He has his meeting at work over lunch on Mondays. Mine is in the evening's at a local church. I only recently started going back to meetings. I tried to do it on my own to no avail. Anyhow, we decided to switch to core. Today was our first day. It does feel very similar to the low-carb diets we have tried in the past (and had good success with). Basically, out of a certain food list (mostly whole foods, fat-free foods) you can eat as much as you need to feel satisfied. You can have any vegetable or fruit you want. Dairy has to be of the fat-free variety. Low fat meats. Whole Grains (1 a day). The nice thing with WW is that the give you 35 weekly points that you can use on whatever you want. So they opens up the flexibility quite a bit. I'm really hoping to see some decent movement on the scales by switching.

One of my favorite new things that I have discovered in the past few months are "Green Smoothies". The basic concept is a smoothie made with Greens. Sounds disgusting, but it is surprisingly good. I haven't tried many varieties, but right now, this is my FAVORITE!

Green Smoothie

2 handfuls spinach
1 cup water
1 banana
1 apple
1 cup ice

Basically, you take two big handfuls of washed spinach (I usually use the bagged kinds) and put it in the bottom of your blender. Add the water. Put on the lid of the blender, and choose the liquify option, and run until the spinach is liquified. Add the banana (the riper the better), and blend till smooth. Add the apple (cored, but not peeled. Cut into slices) and blend till smooth. This makes about 2 big glasses.

This takes me about 5 minutes to make in the morning. For about 2 weeks, I made one of these every morning. I have fallen out of the habit, but I thought since we were switching to Core, it would be good to get back into it. I truly felt like I had a lot more energy. There are tons of different combinations out there. Just do a Google search for "green smoothies". You'll be surprised what you find. :)

Cicadas (and other stuff)

We have a large infestation of cicadas in our area of KY. I has been getting worse and worse over the last few weeks. Today, Chris and I noticed that our trees in the front yard are completely COVERED. Disgusting. Plus they are so flipping loud. I tried to take a nap this afternoon, and it was just too loud. Chris has a new trick. He will catch a cicada and put it in his mouth (alive) and wait for it to make its sound. It is SOOOO freaky. He also put about 5 of them in his mouth at once, and then did the whole Mummy thing where he opens his mouth and they all fly out. BLECH! He is even a little creeped out right now, since there are SOOO many of them.

We are both feeling better (pain wise). Chris has been a litte woozy lately, but I think it may just be something he ate or dehydration. It is so flipping hot/humid here. I know that it is probably hotter in other places, but I HATE hot weather. With a passion. I just feel miserable in hot weather.

I'm stalled on my books. I'm having a hard time getting into my current book. Partly because I have too much other stuff going on, and also because I read so much last week.

We went to look at furniture this weekend. I think we have it narrowed down to one or two choices. I'm excited. But we are determined to pay cash for it, so we will have to wait for a little while. But it won't be too much longer!

Prince Caspian

Chris and I went to see the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian tonight. It was a very good movie, but it did depart from the book A LOT. Way more than I wanted. I understand some of it, because the way the book is written, it would be very hard to create a movie that followed the same path. So they would have had to change it some. But they added a few elements that didn't happen at all. They did some rearranging, so even though some of the storyline departed from the book, it still incorporated isolated events that DID happen in the movie (I would give you an example, but I don't want to ruin it for people who haven't see it yet). Definitely worth going to see, just keep more of an open mind. It is very well done, and the actors were phenomanal. I LOVE Georgie Henley (the girl who plays Lucy). It will be sad to not see Peter and Susan in the next movie. I hope that the studios do make the last book, and that they are able to use the same actors. I wonder if they will wait until the kids are older to make The Horse and His Boy. Or if they will just use other actors.

We went and looked at furniture today. I think we may have narrowed down our options to 2 different choices. We are looking for living room and office furniture right now. We would like to get leather furniture. I had a certain price in mind, but it looks like everything is a little more expensive than I anticipated. But I think that we will be able to get some good stuff if we are smart.

We didn't end up going to the Church Picnic. I had the stuff made, but we got caught up in furniture shopping, and lost track of time. :(

Plan for the Day

1. Study for the GRE (Chris)
2. Laundry (Sarah)
3. Get stuff to make dishes for picnic (sarah)
4. make stuff for picnic (sarah)
5. Go get some furniture ideas (both)
6. Go to Church Picnic (both)

The funny thing about the list above, is that I truly started out with only 3 things on my list. But as I was typing, I started thinking of all the other stuff that I should be doing today. See, that is why I make lists. . . because my thought process is expanded when I actually write stuff down. I have to admit I go a little crazy with my lists sometimes. I'm definitely one of those people that like to cross stuff off the list.

My next two books that I will be reading are by Meg Cabot. (Size 14 and Big Boned). We are currently listening to The Pillars of the Earth, and we are both really liking it. The nice thing about doing this challenge is that I am really expanding the books that I'm reading. I bought Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen last night, so that will probably get read after I finish the library books that I have.

An Additional Reading Challenge

So I'm really liking the idea of the reading challenges that are out there. I technically say that I am starting the 100+ Reading Challenge on April 1st. It comes out to be about 2 books per week. I'm almost caught up (I couldn't remember all of the books that I had read, so it looks like I'm behind).

So I found this other challenge, the Historical Reading Challenge, that I am planning on doing concurrently (I mean at the same time, is that the right word?) I have to read 6 historical fictions books in 6 months. I plan to read the following:

1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
2. World without End by Ken Follett
3. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
4. Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
5. Calico Palace by Gwen Bristow
6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

And of course, those will count towards the 100+ Challenge as well . . . I'll probably mark them differently in the long list at the right, to indicate that they are part of the challenge.

Update on the Challenge. I just finished the Harry Potter Series . . . I'm pretty sure that I finished it in less than two weeks. I usually don't start reading it till Halloween Night (as I'm passing out candy, it has turned out to be part of a tradition), but I had run out of books to read, and that is the only thing that sounded appealing. The series is fantastic, and if you haven't had a chance to read the books, I highly, highly, reccomend it. Fantasically written, completely engaging, and totally heart warming.

rental car

So we dropped off the car at the body shop, and picked up our rental car. Chris is in absolute MOPAR heaven . . . it is a Steel-colored ' 07 Dodge Charger. I thought he was finally adjusted to the idea of keeping the corolla for awhile longer, but I have a feeling that this is going to send him over the edge. . . I will admit that it was really nice to drive something new and smooth.

Work is going okay (I'm training a new person), but it is a little difficult to sit upright and still all day. My back/neck seems to be extra tight. So I'm looking forward to this weekend so that I can relax. Chris and I may take an impromptu trip to Louisville . . . just because we can with the rental car (prepaid for a tank of gas - have to make sure and use it.

I am making progress on my 100 book list. I'm on the last book of the Harry Potter Series. I should be able to start going through the books a lot faster once I'm done with that.

It looks like our camping trip will be canceled. All of the sudden it is hotter than Hades here, and if we are both still sore from the accident, sleeping outside on the ground won't help much.

stayed home today

Chris and I were both feeling a little achy, so we stayed home today. We have talked to the insurance agents, and it is going a lot smoother than I anticipated. Thankfully, the other person's insurance will be picking up the tab for a rental car when our car is in the shop getting fixed.

Chris' new computer has been delivered, and it is very pretty. :) I'm a little jealous, but very happy for him. At least one of us has a laptop now. That will make things go a lot smoother when we are out and about (out of town) and need to look stuff up. Plus, it will make schooling so much easier.

Minor Car Accident

ugh. Chris & I got rear-ended on the way to work. The roads were wet, and there was bumper to bumper traffic. Thankfully, I was completely stopped, and far enough away from the car in front of me that I didn't hit them. Our little Corolla held up pretty well, just bent the back bumper. The Jeep that hit us completely lost their bumper, and had some structural damage. Both Chris and I are fine, just a little achy. The seat belt got me across the throat though, so I feel like I have to cough a lot. I'm so VERY thankful that it wasn't worse. I'm just a little shaky and stunned and gun shy (this will make my tendencies to back-seat drive even WORSE).

Books That I Plan on Reading

So, for my own sanity (and since I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who reads this blog), I thought I would post the next 25 books I'm planning on reading for the challenge. That way I have an easy reference later.

1. HP and the Goblet of Fire
2. HP and the Order of the Phoenix
3. HP and the Half-Blood Prince
4. HP and the Deathly Hallows
5. Size 14 is not fat either: a Heather Wells Mystery
6. Big Boned: a Heather Wells Mystery
7. The Pillars of the Earth (audio)
8. World without End (audio)
9. The Woods
10. The Last Jihad
11. The Last Days
12. The Ezekiel Option
13. The Copper Scroll
14. Dead Heat
15. Eleven on Top (audio)
16. Twelve Sharp (audio)
17. Lean Meant Thirteen (audio)
18. Fearless Fourteen (audio)
19. Good in Bed
20. Certain Girls
21. The Kite Runner
22. Ender's Game
23. Twilight
24. New Moon
25. Eclipse

100+ Reading Challenge

Found something on a blog that I would like to try. So I signed up. I'm going to try and figure out how many books I have read so far. I think I will say that I started in April. I should be able to remember all the books that I have read since then.

I'll post the list of books I have read, and plan to read a little bit later.

I will warn you, I love to read, but have only recently decided to start broadening my horizons when it comes to the kinds of books that I read. I mostly read for fun. So I do read a good bit of fluff. And I'm not ashamed of that. Suggestions are welcome, bashing is not.

Book Review - Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch

So I have decided that I'm going to start doing book reviews. Here's my first.


Synopsis:

Southern housewife Linwood Breedlove Scott was happily content in her comfortable, complacent thirty-year marriage, but when her husband cleans out their bank accounts and runs off with a stripper, her life takes a hilarious, yet touching, right turn into reality. With no place to go but home, she's forced back to her insular hometown and the "eccentric" family she escaped by marrying at nineteen: her senile father, her loving-yet-controlling mother, her long-suffering aunt, her crazy uncle, and her good-for-nothing brother. But despite her newly dependent situation and her family's genteel insanity, Lin begins to stand on her own two feet and wake up to the joys-and perils-of life as a single woman. And she also learns surprising lessons about her family: that things aren't always what they seem, and that the power of love governs even the most dysfunctional of relationships. This joy-filled, moving, and wise-cracking novel delivers a portrait of Southern life, Southern families, and self-discovery that readers will never forget. (courtesy of http://www.haywoodsmith.net/queenbee.html)

I found this book courtesy of some random browsing at the library. I admit, I judged the book by the cover. I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't able to relate to the main character's situation, but I was able to relate to her. She was a refreshingly honest character. I had thought this would be a 15 minute a night book. Instead, I read through the whole thing in 2 evenings. I'm a pretty avid popular fiction reader, and I can usually determine the direction of the story pretty early. I found myself anticipating a certain direction, and then being quite surprised when that didn't come true. Sometimes this annoys me (seems like the author is purposely being misleading), but I didn't mind it here. Because it made sense. She wasn't doing anything out of character or storyline. I will definitely be reading Haywood Smith's other books. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

i am having a bad day

well the stress has shown itself.

i was supposed to get my ingrown toenail removed today. i called and made an appointment and said that I wanted them to take care of it that day, so she made sure to schedule enough time. well apparently, my doctor missed the point, because she said that she couldn't do it today. couldn't really give me a reason. she said it is because it was infected, but it isn't infected right now. there is no swelling or puss today. there was a few days ago, but i cleaned it out. so now i have to deal with this stupid ingrown toenail until after we move. on top of that, my blood pressure is high. it has been under control for the last year primarily because i was losing weight. well i gained about 5ish pounds in the last few weeks, and i'm incredibly stressed right now, so no surprise, my blood pressure was up. so now i have to go get these stupid tests, and she wants to talk about getting back on medicine. when i tried to explain that it was stress related, she didn't really respond, and still wants me to get some blood work done. so now on top of every thing else, i need to lose a chunk of weight before june 7 (my next appointment), and get my blood pressure under control.

i have had a blinding headache since I woke up. i had a nasty customer on the phone who proceeded to rip me a new one, and i haven't been able to stop crying since. i am having a bad day.

I've Finally Lost My 10%

For all of you that have done Weight Watchers in the past, you know that it can be a big deal to get to a weight loss that is equal to 10% of your starting weight. The first time I did weight watchers (a few years ago), I ended up quitting right before I got to my 10%. I proceeded to gain all the weight back plus 3 pounds, and when I did weight watchers this last time, I quit WELL before I reached 10% (I had only lost about 10 lbs when I quit this last time). Chris and I have been really focusing on losing weight since we got back from our road trip. We did Atkins for about 5 weeks. We both lost about 16 lbs doing that. We took a weekend off in between (and both gained back a few pounds) and started South Beach on the 19th. SB has worked really well for me (actually for both of us) but Chris is having a rough time sticking to the rules. We have one more week on Phase 1 (in SB) and then we will switch to Phase 2, which is a lot more liberal on what you can eat, you just have to be a lot more aware of your body. We will probably give Phase 2 at least 2 weeks, and re-evaluate at that point. The plan all along was to kick start our weight loss, and eventually phase back into doing WW. WW is ultimately more manageable in our day-to-day lives, even though the weight loss is a bit slower.
Anyhow, I have officially lost . . . . .drum roll please . . . . . . 32 pounds (total)!!!! I can really see a difference, and I have dropped a size on both bottom and top. I still have almost 100 pounds to go (in total), but I'm really focusing on the little goals, so I won't get overwhelmed. Chris and I have indefinitely put off having kids until I've gotten by BP a little more under control and I've lost another 40 lbs. We both want to be healthly and give our kiddo the best shot possible. Don't worry . . . it shouldn't take me longer than a year if I can keep up my current pace and movitivation.

The Family Stone

Chris and I watched "The Family Stone" last night. I really didn't expect him to watch it with me . . . . he isn't a big fan of "romantic comedies". But we started watching it during dinner, and he had a meeting afterwords, so I figured I would finish it while he was gone. But before he left, he asked me to pause it cause he wanted to see how it resolves. After it was over, he said he actually really liked it.
Sarah Jessica Parker does a fantastic job playing an uncomfortable uptight girlfriend who is meeting her boyfriend's loud exuberant family at Christmastime. She does a good job at making you feel sorry for her, even though she makes a mess of things. There are a number of touching moments, and quite a bit of hilarity. I think one of the reasons that Chris liked it, is that it doesn't follow the "romantic comedy formula". At least, it adds a new twist.

Battlestar Galactica

Chris and I have watched Season 1 & 2 of Battlestar Galactica. My dad had talked about it a lot, and friends of ours really loved it. Chris and I have to work hard to find tv series that both of us like (Lost, The Office, Scrubs, 4400) so we decided to give it a shot. My dad had bought season 1 and 2 on dvd, so we borrowed them. We made it through the ENTIRE set in less than 2 weeks (it may have even been just over a week). They are SO well done. It is a series that runs on the scifi channel. Season 3 should be coming out on DVD in august, and we just can't wait. Season 4 starts in mid January (I think). Unfortunately, we started watching a program that is getting ready to start its last season. Go figure. We find something we love, and it is ending. It has a little of everything in it. Action, sex, drama, comedy, etc. It's all there.
Plus, they don't use the "f" word. They say "frack" instead. You know you are a battlestar galactica fan, when you start saying "frack".

back to blogging

i kind of gave up for awhile, but now i'm back. :)
The final Harry Potter book comes out on Friday. I only started reading the books after the sixth book came out, so this is my first official "release day" book. Granted, I read through the books very very quickly. And have read them through a few times already. I even got Chris to read the whole series. He isn't as excited as I am about the final book, but I know that he will be reading it shortly after I finish. :)
My predictions. Harry doesn't die. Harry kills Voldemort. Ginny joins Ron and Hermione to help track down the horcruxes. Arthur Weasly dies. Snape dies. Neville dies. Most of the death eaters die. I think a mystery will be revealed that centers around a relationship between Lily and Snape. I think they will find a horcrux in Godric's Hollow. I'm guessing he will have to be at Hogwarts for something during the year . . . just because it would be like writing a complete different book to leave Hogwarts off. I think that Harry becomes the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
DO NOT even joke about giving away the book. I DO NOT want to read any spoilers, and I will seriously be pissed off if someone ruins this for me. Like actually upset, won't talk to you for awhile if you are that malicious.
I hope to blog more regularly. I have a bunch of stuff to write about, including:
1. applied for a new job at the hospital
2. our road trip to new england
3. weight loss success
4. pictures of my soon to be newly organized office/scrapbook room
5. ideas for a new website (not personal website)
6. and much much more.

Eye exercise

I found the following article about eye exercises . . . thought it looked very interesting. Enjoy!
Eyesight FitnessThese exercises, designed and used for patients at the Tao of Wellness Center, are helpful for maintaining and improving your vision.
Try to do these exercises first thing in the morning and just before bed. Another good time is when your eyes feel tired, such as right after computer use. Make sure that your hands are clean and that you are relaxed in body and mind. The key to progress is practicing regularly, preferably every single day.
1. Warming the Eyes: Rub your palms together to create heat, and then place them against your eyes for five seconds. Repeat this three times.
2. Pressing the Rim of the Valley: Use both thumbs and press slowly from the inside outward along the upper rim of the eye sockets. Then switch to both index fingers and press along the lower rim of the eye sockets from the inside outward. Repeat three times.
3. Rolling the Marble: Press the back of your thumbs gently against the eyeballs; slowly roll up and down 12 times. Then slowly roll from side to side 12 times.
4. Turning the Wheels of Fortune: Place the thumb knuckles at both temple areas and massage in circular motion three times. Repeat the same actions above the mid-point of the eyebrows at the forehead, then below the eyes on both sides of the bridge of the nose.
5. Staring at the Light: hold an object out in front of you as far as possible. Focus your eyes on the object while slowly moving the object closer until it is six inches from your nose. Then focus on the object as you move it slowly away from you. Repeat this three times and relax briefly in between.
6. Spinning the Basketball: With your eyes open, roll eyes clockwise, then counter-clockwise three times each. Try to look into the sockets of your eyes as much as possible.
7. Taking a Nap on the Job: Put your head back, close your eyes, and relax for three minutes.

Cleaned out my closet

I have been a little out of sorts lately. I feel like I'm in some weird kind of waiting stage, and I'm not really doing anything. We are still waiting to hear about Chris' job. This is taking FOREVER. But I'm learning patience. And trust. Just because I'm learning them, doesn't mean that I'm enjoying them. Anyway, I decided to work on some stuff that I CAN control while we are waiting for something that we can't.
So I'm starting at the corner of the house (the master closet). It had gotten pretty cluttered. So last night I dragged out all the stuff that was on the floor. I rearranged some of the storage, and sorted the clothes according to type. We put out the summer clothers, and put away the winter clothes. I vaccumed the flour and ran the rainbow on air filter for the whole night in there. It looks FANTABULOUS if I do say so myself. I will be creating a project plan for each room, that will list all the projects that I would like to do in each room with all the necessary details. For example, in the closet, I would like to get some more shelving so that we can have an area for our towels and such (oddly enough, our house doesn't have a linen closet or a coat closet). So I will write down at the measurements, and do a rough sketch, so I can get some prices together.
Tonight, it is the master bathroom. It shouldn't take too long, because we just got the toilet fixed in the master bathroom last friday, and hadn't been using the bathroom for about a month before that.
The best part about this plan, is that it is only about organizing, and not about cleaning. Chris and I have devised a new housekeeping plan. I do everything that has to do with organzing, arranging, and/or putting away. Chris does all of the actual "cleaning". If it involves a chemical or a tool, its his job. It really plays to our strengths. Chris doesn't like trying to figure something out, or doing a job that he considers to be "vague". However, I'm really good at that stuff. And I HATE the actual physical cleaning stuff. He doesn't mind it so much, and when he puts his mind to it, does a really good job (he has shown some perfectionist tendancies in that area). Plus, I feel like a burden is lifted off of my shoulders. I always felt so guilty because I very rarely got to the "cleaning" stuff unless company was coming, because the "putting away" took so long. And overall, this gives us a very clean deliniation of tasks.
So, after I'm done organizing the bathroom, Chris will come behind me and do the actual cleaning. Here is the order of the rooms:
Master Closet
Master Bathroom
Master Bedroom
Living Room
Kitchen
Entryway/Laundry room
Guest Bathroom
SMT Office
CMT Office
Garage
We may be getting a digital camera soon, so hopefully I will be able to take some pictures of the newly organized house and add them to the site.

taxes

Finally did our taxes. I LOVE owning a house. Before we itemized we were going to owe 1600. Once we itemized, it was on 400. And that is only with half a year worth of interest. Next year we are going to be golden! FINALLY! It all works out in the end cause we are getting more back from the state taxes than we owe on the federal. Now that was unexpected . . . if I had known that I would have filed back in February. I was just so tired of owing.
Next year you can guarantee that I will file early. :)

Pray for my husband

Hey everyone, if you could take a second and pray for Chris, I know it will make a difference. He is going through a very tough situation at work, and it has really affected him. He just needs wisdom and strength to get through this. This should be a happy time for him (hope to have an announcement about his job in the next few days (week), and it is definitely being overshadowed with some major drama.
Thanks a bunch!

I'm back

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back. I swear to you, last week felt like it was a month long. Between the grief, the driving, being away from home, planning, remembering, not sleeping, and regret, I feel like it lasted forever.
I wasn't sure that I was ready to come back to work, but I didn't think staying home would help me get more ready. Thankfully, knock-on-wood, today isn't crazy busy. Busy enough so that I'm distracted, but not so busy that I'm overwhelmed.
I think I'm still a little shocky, because I can't quite seem to get into anything. I had a number of projects that I was getting ready to start and/or complete before I left last week, and I looked at them last night . . . . and just felt nothing.

Grandma

My grandmother on my father's side, Gloria passed away on Monday, Februrary 19th at 11:35 pm. I was able to be with my Grandma and my family on Monday, and was with Grandma when she passed away. Please pray for the family during this time.

Been awhile

seems like the longer you are away from blogging the harder it is to come back. things haven't been particularly crazy lately, just haven't been particularly in the mood to update. So, at least for right now, instead of trying to catch up on what has happened, I'll just start from now and go forward. i think that a lot of good stuff has happened, but some of it has been kind of private and there is that weird line that is hard to know who might be seeing the info. so anyway.

my EXCITING (dripping with sarcasm here, its terribly exciting to me, but everyone else will think it is lame) news is that i have spent the last few weeks setting up my office. as part of my birthday present, chris helped me clean out my office to the point where i could get a handle on the organizing part. we rearranged the furniture a bit, and i'm in the midst of the organzing right now. i have spent quite a few evenings working on my filing cabinet. it gives me a weird thrill to see the nice organized, LABELED, filing system. i tried to get chris as excited about it, but it was a no go. i thought about taking a picture of it, and posting it, but then everyone would be able to see all of our accounts, and that is kind of creepy. but believe me, it is BEAUTIFUL! i am mostly done with the filing. probably about 75% done. i have all of the file folders labeled and put in the right order, but i have a big stack of papers to be put INTO the file folders. All of the papers are organzied, so honestly, that shouldn't take too much time. chris also made me a shelf to go over my desk for the various items that are cluttering up my desk. I have put on a primer coat, and the first coat of paint. Chris is going to install the mounting hardware, and then I will paint the second coat, and then install it. After that, Chris will help put up the decorations in the room, and i will be all set. I bought a 4 ft folding table to use for scrapbook stuff. that way i don't have to put away my stuff all the time. i'm also in the process of upgrading my computer a bit.
let me know if there is anyone out there still reading this! shamelessly begging for comments. :)

Backpack

I had plenty of time to blog today, since I was at work, and we were a little slow. but I have been busy setting up my new fun toy! probably not as fun as whatever you are thinking, but quite cool to me.

I have been looking for a good organization/to-do list/calendar program. simple, cheap, and something i don't have to carry around. well, i found one. it is like i am the one who invented this program. they must have read my freaking mind. it is EXACTLY what i want. how cool is that. It is a program called backpack by 37signals. I haven't had enough time to get it ready for other people to see yet, but it is quite handy. head over and check it out. I'll let you know how it works out for me, and post a review later.

hope you all have a SAFE and happy new year!!

Don't know what title to give this

I have been lacking in the blogging department. We are staying pretty steady at work, and doing the normal holiday activities. We aren't terribly busy, but I just haven't had the gumption to type a blog.

Things are going quite well. We are almost done with our christmas shopping. Hopefully everyone likes what we got them. Chris' parents will be with us for the next week, and then my parents are coming down for New Years. The house is decorated, and clean (for now). We have all of the presents wrapped except for the ones that haven't arrived yet. I'll be mailing my siblings' gifts today.

I've been busy working on some knitting projects, but you will have to wait till after christmas to hear about those (don't want to give anything away).

Life is good. Weight watchers is holding steady. haven't gained or lost for the last 3 weeks, but I'm okay with that. Pretty good for me during the hoidays. Plan on hitting it hardcore this week while I'm off. Hopefully I'll have a chance to hit the gym in the mornings. I think I'm going to make a vow to not watch tv during the day while I'm by myself. It's usually just crap anyway. . . we'll see how that goes. I'm going to try and get some scrapbooking done while I'm home too.

Entry for November 30, 2006

I just wanted to let you all know something very good that I found out about Ruby Tuesday. Most restaurants don't provide nutrtional information at all. Some will provide the information for a select few items of their choosing. But Ruby Tuesday has provided the nutritional information for their ENTIRE MENU!! That is incredible. It is so freeing as a weight watcher member, because I don't always want to stick to the few items that are the "healthy choices". Sometimes it is a special occasion, and I want to get what I want. But it is hard to make that choice when you have NO IDEA what the nutritional info is for that item. The freedom with weight watchers is that you can choose to splurge, you just have to know how much so you can work it into your points. Even though there aren't too many low points items at Ruby Tuesdays, I will still be going there more often, because I will have an exact idea of what I can and can't have. I have already sent them an email thanking them for providing this, and if you are a ww member, or just like having the nutritional information avaialable, please send them an email from their website as well.

That being said, it is SAD that the Carolina Chicken Salad has 26 points. That is just wrong.

sorry i've been M.I.A for so long

Things are trucking along over here. My weight loss is staying steady. I've lost 14 lbs so far. I have this horrible cold that is going around. I've had it for about a week. I was home from work Wed, Thur, and Fri last week. I could barely talk at all. I'm still pretty croaky, but thankfully we haven't been too busy at work, so my voice has had a rest. Getting ready for my parents to come for Thanksgiving, and then a few days later, Chris' parents fly in. They will be here on and off throughout December. And then my parents will be here for New Years. Busy busy few weeks, but I'm really looking forward to the company. The house is ALMOST ready. Just need to clean the guest bath tonight and do some generally straightening. We spent most of Sunday re-organizing Chris' office because that is where our guests will be staying. It looks really good now. We are also going to make Chex-Mix tonight, and maybe some homemade cookies! Hope things are going well with everyone out there, and I will try to post more regularly.

Check this out!!

Okay, if you are at all like me, then you will want to go check out this link.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/EverydayDinner/ShoppingListSplashPage.htm?e=email

They have made up 10 weeks worth of menus, and combined them in this very nice pdf file with a shopping list!! They include all of the nutritional information. They also coordinate together, so you don't have to buy as many groceries!! As much as I love to plan, sometimes I get too overwhelemed when trying to create a new menu each week (too many choices). This is going to be fabulous for the next few months. They have a really good variety, and most of the recipes are short and easy!!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is my five year wedding anniversary. On the one hand, it doesn't seem that long. On the other hand, I don't remember what is was like before Chris was in my life. We are the best of friends. No marriage is perfect, but I know that mine is perfect for me. We fight, we laugh, we love, we cry. But we are always honest, and always there. We seem to make our decisions a little bit slower, but we know they are always the right decisions for us. We are so different, but we know each other so well. No one gets me like he does. I never want to take it for granted that there is someone out there like that. And that he loves all the quirky, weird, stupid, and annoying things about me. And he makes me laugh. My life is so full and fun with him. I love you Chris!!

This is a picture of what Chris got me for our anniversary. It is called a Pandora bracelet. The "S" is obvious. He got the hedgehog bead because he once told my mom that the animal that I remind him of is the hedgehog (because they have a tiny head). The blue glass flowered bead is because blue is my favorite color. And the flower bead has 5 petals for our 5 year anniversary. One of the things I love the most about this is that Chris customized it just for me. And he will be able to add to it as we experience life. And I will be able to tell a story about our life when I explain the beads.

i've been a bad blogger

Sorry I haven't updated lately. I was doing good about updating for awhile, and I've been kind of lazy for the last few weeks. Things just got really busy here. We have been putting some finishing touches on our house, and it is really coming together. There are still some more things that I want to get, but it is starting to look really neat. And I have some cool ideas for my office that I want to do. :)

Chris' birthday was this weekend, and we had some people over for a cookout. I got Chris a homemade pasta maker and two cds, and a gift certificate to a woodworking shop. Our anniversary is this weekend, so we are going to a cabin for the weekend. It should be very fun! :)

I've been doing okay on WW. I have stuck to my points this week, but I didn't feel like I had lost anything. According to the scales this morning, I have lost, so we will see how that works out tonight on the scales. I'm still trying to find the good balance between protein, carbs and veggies. Cause sometimes, I feel like I'm eating all empty carbs and they don't fill me up very much. So I had more protein this week, and it helped keep me satisfied.

10 lbs gone!

Well, last night's weigh-in was successful. Down another 1.4, for a total of 10 lbs in 3 weeks. So I got my little 5 lb star to add to my bookmark (you'll know what I'm talking about if you are a ww member - past or present). I know that my weekly losses will start to slow down, so I think I need to be more intentional about adding activity. I was supposed to last week, but it just didn't get down. I'll work on some laundry tonight, and pack my gym bag tonight, and reset the alarms for early. Then I won't even have time to think about it in the morning.

This weekend we had a successful garage sale. The proceeds will be going towards new furniture. Just the little incidentals that we have been living without. The plan is to get two bookshelfs for the living room (one for dvds and one for games), two endtables, two nightstands, a table for the entryway, and shelving for my office. If we have anything leftover, some more art for the living room.

I went to Meijer and bought 2 bookshelfs for 19.99 each. We were at Meijer on Saturday night and saw the same bookshelfs for 49.99. I wanted to sleep on it, so we came back on Sunday to get them, and they had been put on sale for 19.99 each! We came up empty at Garden Ridge and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Last night we went to the other Meijer to see if they had any matching endtables, and came up empty there too. We headed over to Target, and found a console table for the entryway on sale for $80 (originaly $99). So, the next priority is to get two nightstands. We may wait awhile on the endtables. They aren't as necessary as the nightstands.
So right now, this is what I'm considering getting for nightstands. What do you think?

Option 1 IKEA Hemnes

Happy Days

My weigh-in last night was very successful. Last week I was only down 1.4 lbs, but this week I was down 7.2 lbs for a total of 8.6 :). Not bad for two weeks. I think I actually lost about half of it the week before, but I had some major water retention during last week's weigh in. I'm hoping for about 2 lbs a week for the next few weeks, and then about a pound a week. I know I can do it if I stick with it. But it felt good to see it pay off. :)

I hate weigh in days

Sometimes I hate them because I know I didn't do well. Sometimes I hate them, because I think I did well, and I don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed. In both cases, I guess I just hate the waiting. Its not like there is a lot I can (besides staying within my points, but that actually won't affect tonights weight that much). I had my hopes up so high last week, and then only came away with a 1.4 pound loss. Good for one week, but not so good for the FIRST week on weight watchers. Now I truly feel like I have made up for that this week, but the point is, I don't know, and I just have to sit here and wait. and wait. and wait for 5 o'clock to roll around. Then Missy will pick me up, and we will be on our way.

3rd time is the charm?

I have been trying to post this blog since I got here this morning (45 minutes), so we will see if it works this time. I got my daily email from Hungry Girl, and thought I should share it with my oh-so-few (but greatly appreciated) faithful readers.

Choc-horrific Calorie Catastrophes!

Outback Steakhouse - Chocolate Thunder From Down Under
(Approx: 1,220 calories, 78g fat, 130g carbs, 0g protein = 31 Points)

This evil Aussie dessert is legendary! No one stands a chance in a face-off with this 1,220-calorie thunder blunder. By the time this storm settles, you’ve been slammed with nearly 80 grams of fat! Board up the windows, or at least stay far away from the Outback.

P.F. Chang's - Great Wall Of Chocolate
(2,240 calories, 89g fat, 376g carbs, 20g protein = 52 Points)

If you find yourself at the foot of this frightfest with a fork, it may already be too late. There’s no escaping the colossal 2,240 calories and nearly 90 grams of fat this wall weighs in at. They must’ve built this thing with bricks made of carbs…it’s got 376 of ‘em!

On the Border - Chocolate Turtle Empanadas
(1,280 calories, 81g fat, 440mg sodium, 131g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g protein = 32 points)

Toss out any superstitious notions that turtles are a symbol of long life, health, and
cleverness. These turtles deliver 1,280 calories and 81 grams of fat to your dessert dish! It’d take more than a slow ‘n steady pace to burn off all of that!

Ruby Tuesday - Brownie
(1,030 calories, 43g fat, 138g net carbs, 8g fiber = 23 Points)

Nope, the scariest sweet on Ruby’s menu isn’t that Chocolate Tallcake. It’s the plain ol’ Brownie lurking quietly in the corner of the menu! This terror packs in 1,030 calories and 43 grams of fat. Um, no thanks.

Freakish Cake 'n Pie Blunders!

Applebee's - Sizzling Apple Pie
(Approx: 1,085 calories, 56g fat, 580mg sodium, 146g carbs, 7g fiber, 14g protein = 26 Points)

Apple desserts are safer for you, right? Uhhh, guess again. Run for cover – the Weight Watchers section of the 'Bee’s menu is an especially safe haven!

Macaroni Grill - New York Cheesecake w/ Caramel Fudge Sauce
(1,760 calories, 113g fat, 710mg sodium, 168g carbs, 1g fiber, 19g protein = 44 Points)

It’s no secret that cheesecake has lots of calories (doy). But we are truly in awe of the 1,760-calorie and 113-fat-gram price tag on Macaroni Grill’s cheesecake. Yowsa!

The Cheesecake Factory - Carrot Cake
(Approx: 1,510 calories, 84g fat, 600mg sodium, 179g carbs, 6g fiber, 129g sugars, 18g protein = 36 Points)

If you thought cheesecake was all you had to fear at the Factory, guess again. One slice of their carrot cake’ll cost you about 1,510 calories and 84 fat grams! No amount of superstitious safeguarding will protect you from those nightmarish nutritionals. Those POOR carrots...

Johnny Rockets - Apple Pie a la mode
(1,450 calories, 91g fat, 940mg sodium, 140g carbs, 6g fiber, 134g sugars, 15g protein = 36 Points)

J Rockets' Apple Pie a la mode contains a ghastly 1,450 calories and a morbid 91 fat grams. 91 FAT GRAMS?!?! Are they kidding???

Macaroni Grill - Dessert Ravioli
(1,720 calories, 89g fat, 770mg sodium, 214g carbs, 3g fiber, 16g protein = 41 Points)

This unconventional dessert may sound enticing, but with a horrifying 1,720 calories, 89 grams of fat and 214 grams of carbs, we think this pasta pastry dish must be possessed. Skip it, peeps!

I stick by my opinion that this is the reason that restaurants don't release nutritional information. It isn't because they don't have it, it is because if people knew how horrible the food was nutritionally, most wouldn't get it.

I'm doing well on Weight Watchers. I meant to post after my first WI (weigh-in), but I didn't lose as much as I thought I would. But instead of letting it get me down and pigging out, I chose to stay strong (might seem small to some people, but for me it was a big deal). I'm going to be extra cautious this weekend, and strictly count my points, cause I want there to be some major movement on the scales this Monday.

holding steady

Still holding steady. I think some of my water weight from last week is gone. I came up with a reward structure for my weight loss. I've come up with these before, but they never really seemed to be too much of a motivator. Especially because I usually end up buying the "rewards" for myself instead of earning them. So I came up with a non-food reward structure that isn't the typical rewards I would use. I usually just get my haircut at Great Clips, and have never been to a salon/spa before, so I thought going there would be fun, and different, and something I wouldn't normally do, but should enjoy. I will probably get all of these done at the Planet Salon and Spa in Beaumont.

1. 10 lbs - essential Manicure ($22)
2. 20 lbs - eyebrow waxing ($12) and haircut ($30)
3. 30 lbs (also my 10% goal) - Detoxifying arometherapy body wrap ($70)
4. 40 lbs - makeup lesson ($50) - (i suck at putting on makeup)
5. 50 lbs - rainspa manicure ($30) and rainspa pedicure ($65)

After I reach that point, I will come up with some more. I didn't want to focus on the big picture, because I have so far to go, it is easy to get distracted.

first weigh in

Well, my first WW weigh-in was tonight. I was down, but a lot less than I thought I would be. I thought I had lost 4-5 lbs, but I only lost 1.4. I'm really hoping that a big part of that is because I started my period yesterday and I usually gain a few pounds (water retention) during my period. I WILL stay on task this week, and we'll see what happens next week.

I'm starting a new bible study tonight. Hoping that will give me a little bit of focus.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

I decided to try some new recipes. I have never made Chicken and Dumplings before. I came across the recipe in "Kitchen Comforts by Gay Boassey", a cookbook that I picked up at a book sale at work. I tried to find someplace online that sold it, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Anyway, when I figured out that it only had 3 points per serving, I decided it was worth a shot. It was relatively simple to make, and it was super yummy.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings
1 rotisserie chicken (traditional or
herb)
3 cans fat free chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp salt (we will actually reduce this to 1 tbsp next time we make it,
it was a little salty)
1 cup fat free half-and-half dash pepper

DUMPLINGS
2 cups flour
1/2 cup plus milk

Remove all meat from chicken; discard skin and bones. Place broth,
water, salt and chicken meat in a large soup pot and bring to a rolling
boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

Mix dumpling ingredients in a medium bowl until stiff dough
forms. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch
thick. Cut into strips.

Return broth to a boil. Holding strip of dough in your hand, pinch
into 1-inch pieces and drop into boiling broth until all strips are dropped in
broth. Lower heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes.Add half-and-half
and sprinkle with pepper.

Serves 8 (3 points per serving)

Roly Poly Review

Thought I would review one of my favorite casual restaurants in Lexington. Roly Poly is a sandwich/wrap restaurant. They have a huge variety of wraps available, over 50, and almost all of them are healthy. The nutritional data is available on all of their selections. They have a lot of unique combinations. One of my favorites is the Turkey Applejack. It contains turkey breast, melted jack cheese, apple butter, bacon, onion, mushrooms, basil mayo, and it is lightly grilled. SOOOO tasty. And it is only 8 points for a regular wrap. According to my weight watchers guide, all of the wraps at Roly Poly are between 4 and 8 points. Chris' current favorit is the Delhi Chicken (curried chicken salad, fresh basil mayo, cashews, spicy thai sauce, avocado, lettuce, tomato and sprouts). It has 7 points. For all of you in Lexington, the Roly Poly is behind the Liquor Barn on Harrodsburg Rd. Follow the road right next to Liquor Barn back to the Kroger. The Roly Poly is the in shopping center in front of Kroger. I would be absolutely EXSTATIC if they built a Roly Poly at the Brannon Crossing shopping area. I would be eating there all the time.


edited to add: Well I blogged before I read by email. I subscribe to a daily newsletter from Hungry Girl. She regularly reviews "diet" products and sends "tips and tricks for hungry chicks". I regularly find good advice and new products from her site. This is what was in today's email.

Noodle SHOCKERS!

Think a little pasta dish here and there can't do any damage? Noodle THIS...

Ruby Tuesday - Baked Chicken & Broccoli Pasta (not including bread or dipping sauce served on the side) has a completely INSANE 2,119 calories, 135 grams of fat and 53 POINTS (if you count)! This disaster of a dish consists of pasta tossed with Parmesan cream sauce, fried chicken breast and marinara sauce, which is then smothered with Parmesan-Romano and Swiss cheeses and baked. Um, yikes.

Chili’s - Cajun Chicken Pasta isn't exactly diet-friendly. With its cajun-seasoned chicken, penne pasta and creamy alfredo sauce, it racks up 1,460 calories and 75 grams of fat. Oh, it also manages to pack in 5,800mg of sodium. That's just scary.

Macaroni Grill - Spaghetti & Meatballs w/Meat Sauce is the most offensive pasta dish we've ever come across. How a simple dinner of spaghetti and meatballs can manage to pack in 2,270 calories, 115g of fat, 5,330mg of sodium and 206g of carbs is perplexing to us. Seeing these stats scared us so much we may never step foot inside a Macaroni Grill again.

Now, I knew the pasta wasn't the best thing for you, but I honestly had no idea it was this bad. Now we know why most restaurants won't include their nutritional info. NO ONE would eat this crap if they knew how HORRIBLE it was in regards to calories, fat, sodium and carbs.

Popcorn Facts

One large, butter-soaked, movie theater popcorn contains more than 1,500 calories and over 115 grams of fat! Even if you skip the butter, that tub'll cost you around 1,150 calories and 75 grams of fat.

Got that little factoid from an email newsletter. . . how is that even possible?!?

Best 2 point snack EVER

ok, as some of you know, I'm back on weight watchers. I failed MISERABLY trying to do it on my own, so we will try again. a friend from work is going with me, and i know that that is going to help me enormously.

got through yesterday okay, especially considering i didn't have a chance to get to the grocery store before i started. so last night, because i was lazy, i went to the close kroger instead of going to walmart. i probably spent about $20 bucks more than if i had gone to walmart, but i didn't feel like driving across town (that is sad i know. walmart is really on 10 minutes away, but kroger is 2 minutes away). Plus, I would have ended up getting some other stuff at walmart that i need to wait on (new purse, video card, etc). anyhow, all that to say, that i discovered THE most fabulous 2 point snack. They are the new fruit parfaits from Dole. I'm not terribly fond of yogurt, so I don't usually go for the parfaits, but this one said that it wasn't yogurt, but cream. I saw that it was only 2 points, and I needed to get a wider variety of snacks (thank heavens for the 100 calorie packs, but they get boring after awhile). it was delecious. fantastic. didn't know a fruit cup could taste that good. probably making more out of this than it really is, but if you have ever done weight watchers, or any weightloss program, you know that what food you do get to eat is cherished. you have to make every bite count, cause you don't get as many. why would i waste my points on something that i didn't really like??

anyhow. free advertising for them. they were pretty cheap at kroger (looking at my receipt, they were . . . 1.96 for four, so not that cheap, but not bad). i'll try and post some weight loss stories (the positive ones) when they happen.

Well, I'm back at Weight Watchers. I failed miserably trying to do this on my own. So I decided to head back. A girl at work is doing it with me, so that should help quite a bit. I'm going to a different meeting. For some reason, I was having a hard time with the last meeting that I was going to. I'm not saying that as a valid excuse for me to quit, but it did make it a lot easier.

These are my starting pictures. Not really in the mood to do a full body shot just to do a before picture. These are the best full body shots I have from our vacation (usually avoid the camera like the plague if I can help it.

Since no one reads this site as of now, and even if it does get more popular (yeah right), hopefully by that point, I will have lost a bit more weight, so I won't be ashamed at my starting point, I'm going to go ahead and put my actual weight on here.

Starting weight: 294 (3 lbs more than the last time I started weight watchers).

Today has gone okay so far. I waited entirely to long to eat (well after lunch), but I didn't have a chance to go shopping last night, so I knew I needed a good amount of points for lunch.

Hopefully now that I'm doing weight watchers, I will be updating this more regularly.

We are Back!

Just wanted to let you all know that we just finished unpacking the Jeep.
We woke up in Nebraska, and will go to sleep in good ol' Kentucky.
Hugs!

We are Here!

We made it to Colorado. It was a very interesting drive. We got a bit of a late start, but it ended up being okay. However, in the late afternoon, I started feeling crummy. I had a headache, and it felt like my whole body ached. We stopped to get some advil, and I realized that I had a temperature. Go figure. I haven't been sick for ages, and now I am. Anyhow, we got some medicine, but my temperature keeps getting progressively higher. I got some zicam, and that seemed to lower the temperature and get rid of the aches, but if it wears off, then my temp is up to 100.3 or so. Needless to say, I'm trying not to miss anymore doses.

Kansas was interesting at first, but then it was very very boring and hard to stay awake. We are absolutely in love with Colorado. When we got here last night, it was dark, so we didn't really see the mountains then. When we got up this morning to head to the campsite (we stayed at my friend Shandra's last night) Chris is like "OH MY God" and I thought he had fallen, but he had gotten his first good look at the mountains surrounding Colorado Springs. At campsite is at 9500 feet elevation, so it was hard to setup the campsite. WE ended up having to buy a new tent because our tent is too big for the site, and it is about to blow away. So.

Sorry this has been all over the place. Please pray that I will get over this flu quickly. I'm frustrated that I'm sick, but I'm still trying to enjoy myself.

Love you all!

And We Are Off

So far, so good! Everything fit in the car, and we are on our way. Please pray for safe traveling and relaxing time!

Sarah and Chris

New Carbon Leaf CD TOMORROW!

My favorite band is releasing their new cd tomorrow!

Chris and I will be frantic-ly downloading the cd tomorrow night so that we can listen to it on our trip. Please check out their website. If you click on the launch player button from the main site, you can listen to the cd. It's awesome. So far we have seen them live twice, and we will be seeing them again on October 7th in louisville! Super pumped about that!

We are sooooo close to being completely ready to go. The plan tonight is to finish up all our laundry, and get our bags packed. I know pretty much what clothes we are taking, they just need to be clean, and then we are good to go. Tuesday night we will run any last minute errands, but I am soooooo excited :)