Thursday 13

I don't have the fancy graphics that my friend Cindi does, but I'm just getting started on this. Today's topic will be...

13 Things I like to serve for breakfast as breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.

13. Cereal to the imps. Their favorites are cocoa puffs, apple jacks and Lucky Charms. And the one they all agree on and my personal favorite, FROSTED FLAKES.

12. Cinnamon Toast. My mom used to make this for us and I always loved it. I dont make it for myself because it has so much sugar, but I do make a Weight Watchers variation of it on bagels with splenda and "i cant believe it's not butter"

11. Mini-Bagels/Bagels. The imps love the mini-bagels with white cream cheese for Ebeth, strawberry cream cheese for Joshi and "sprinkle" (shredded) colby jack for John. I use a diet peanut butter called PB2 on mine and all fruit. Also buy my bagels from Publix and get the "alternative bagel" cause it's only 1 WW point.

10. Pancakes. Now I'm not a fancy maker of these...I admit to buying the "add water" mix and cooking them up on the griddle. And, I buy the low fat version to make for myself. I always make too many and end up freezing the rest for fast breakfasts during the week.

9. Egg Sandwiches. I haven't proven to the kids how wonderful these are, but I love them. Josh & John will occasionally join me with them. I like mine with light mayo and 2 scrambled eggs. But when I have them at Waffle House, I add the bacon and cheese.

8. Scrambled Egg Mix. I do this with egg beaters, salt, mushrooms, onions, and diced tomatoes. Very WW friendly and good too.

7. Grits. Sometimes with cheese, sometimes just butter, sometimes with chopped up smoked sausage. Any way shape or form, Grits are the way to go in my book.

6. Oatmeal. A staple on Weight Watchers. Personally, I have mine with sugar free syrup and I cant believe it's not butter.

5. Pop Tarts. For the imps, not me. The favorite in our house is Strawberry and Chocolate ones.

4. Leftover Pizza. Always a good staple but I have to admit that I do heat mine up.

3. Omlettes. Preferably from Waffle House with ham and cheese and hashbrowns on the side scattered, covered and chunked.

2. Golden Corral Buffet for breakfast. EVERYTHING on it.

1. Sausage Egg & Cheese McMuffin from McDonalds. I admit it, I'm a junk food junky!!!

Weight Watcher Failure

How do I start over? I know it sounds like a stupid question....the obvious answer is you just do it. But when you're 40 years old...been on weight watchers for closing in on 2 years and you've gained back all the weight you've lost. ...you just seem to wonder what's the use? Obviously, since you've been over weight all your life, this is what's destined to be!

But then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror last night and i want to cry.)Heck, who am i kidding...i AM crying) At the sad blob I am. At the huge belly hanging down...and I dont want this! I'm huge guys! My eating is out of control...tons of excuses...none of them good ones. I start EVERY day with such good intent. I start each week with goals set...only to be broken. I start each week with pedometer on and exercise in mind...and my will power is so very week.

Here it is 530 in the morning and husband is AT THE GYM and has been for over an hour! Does that inspire me to do similar (we cant go in the morning at same time due to imps to get ready for school) ?? Noooooo. I MAY log in my 30 min on the treadmill...if i'm feeling extremely energetic. I'm so pathetic.

So back to the original question. How do i start over AGAIN? How do i get back into the swing of things? How do I become that person I was 1.5 years ago when i first joined weight watchers and measured and weighed everything? when I was counting every mouthful? When I lost 40 pounds in 6 months? (only to gain it all back!)

Any advice?

I'm Tarred

That's southern for I'm tired!! I've started a new part-time job working for a photography company that goes around to daycares taking pictures. It's a quality company that takes cool looking vintage, glitz and traditional pictures. My position is multi-fasceted. I help the photographer by getting the kids dressed in their outfits (we provide outfits) I set up the scene, I try to help them smile etc. And of course I help set up the backdrops and strike the set too. Additionally, I come back once the pictures come in and sell at the center. (We dont send them home ...we sell them right then and there) So I'm on my feet NON-Stop! And that's just not something I'm used to anymore. I am internet girl. I'm butt on a chair girl. But not at this job. so maybe it will help me out! Sure hope so. I had to get up at 5am this morning to leave by 530 so that I could be on the southside of Atlanta by 7am!! We wrapped up shooting around 2pm. Going back tomorrow for same thing.

The reason for this job? To earn enough money for us to make the move to Florida...hopefully by Jan 1. We'll see. Cross your fingers for us.

stuff

Ok, to catch people up on me and mine--

*** Mom's still in hospital but it's sounding better. Hopefully she'll be home in the next couple of days. Chemo is not set to start for at least 3-4 weeks.
*** Had a semi visit today. John's been sick so we kept him home from the visit and I stayed with him. Dale dropped the older two with her and brought Sheena home with him to go with me and John to lunch.
*** Which brings me to my eating. UGH. I have been AWOL from Weight Watchers for almost a month. I went back this past Friday with Christine and I was at the EXACT same weight I was 4 weeks ago. Which was UP from the last time I posted my weight on here. So I weigh in at 287.4.
*** I sorta have a part time job with a photography company but they haven't been keeping me busy. So, I'm thinking about becoming a substitute teacher here in Barrow County. The meeting is next week and we're still pondering it. It doesn't pay well and it's unstable. BUT, any money is one step closer to us moving.

All for now...

Mom

It's funny how when things are going well i'm all for blogging. Sharing my joy with the world. But one would think that in times of trouble I'd also find myself venting to my blog. But that hasn't been the case. It's like if I put the words down for others to read, it makes them all the more real. Well for the first time I'm putting down the words I learned a couple of weeks ago. My mom has cancer. As the chiild of a mother who's smoked all her life, I've always feared this day would come. That cancer of the lungs would rob her from me. But this colon cancer that has spread to her liver took me by surprise. It wasn't something I could be mad at her for contracting. It was noone's fault. She was in such pain and the doctors were mis-diagnosing her with diverticulitis. The surgery was last Tuesday and it went relatively well...but the doctors were unable to get the part that had to spread to the liver. So now she has to go thru Chemotherapy to shrink it (and hopefully disolve it all together) so they can go in and remove it too.

This has shaken me to my very core. I'd break out crying at the drop of the hat because I feared the worst. That she wouldnt be with us much longer. And it scared me. Scared me that we hadn't had enough good times together. Scared me that she wouldnt be here long enough to really get to be a part of the kid's lives. Scared me that I'd no longer have my biggest supporter around.

Her favorite words to me have always been, "if you think you can, you will. It's all in your state of mind." So I keep that mantra going these days for her. Trying to help her keep a positive state of mind.

Keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming.

First Day of School

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting

Weight Issues

Well tomorrow is weigh in day and it's going to be a large gain. I had a BAD
previous 2 weeks...and I'm one of those people that my body reacts
BADLY to being off plan. grins (dont we all?) I didnt weigh in at WW
but I did at home and I was UP about 8 pounds. So I jumped back on the
bandwagon this week. And it's slowly come down some. According to my
scales, I'm still UP from where I last went to meeting by about 4
pounds...but that's down 4 pounds from the end of last week. So you
can look at it either way. I had been toying with the idea of GOING to
the meeting but using the No-Weigh pass. But that's just playing
games with myself. I know I'm up I just need to face the OFFICIAL
music so to speak. Will post tomorrow after I get the BAD news...but expect about a 4 pound gain :(

Another Sunday, Another Visit

Another Sunday, another visit. We had a good time at ours (w/exception of a bad bad headache I've had all day) ...we went to Jillian's (an adult arcade/restaurant similar to Dave & Buster's) and had lunch and played games. The kids were taken to an outdoor flea market (not the best idea in my humble opinion due to the HEAT WAVE this area has been experiencing of late. But the kids like it because they know Linda will buy them something. It just helps re-enforce the idea they have that she's better because she buys them things. But that's another argument for another day.

Today's episode came when the kids were apparently hunting around for coke tops for me. I collect MyCokeRewards points to get free things like movie tickets. They apparently said they were collecting these for Mom. That pissed Linda off...and she fires back that "i'm not their Mother. She is!" Now somehow, I know that Elizabeth helped precipitate all this...she loves to stir things up like that. But still. And on top of this all, Linda had already been told by a stranger that the kids were horseplaying and needed to stop and she yells at the MAN that they're HER KIDS and she'll handle anything that needs handling. Oh good lord. I can just imagine she was talking to someone and the kids get to horseplaying and she never even notices. GROWLS. It's soooo unfair that she gets to put her name as mother on anything.

Reading

For those of you who dont know me that well, I'm an avid reader! I have been since the age of 8 or so when I discovered biographies (the first one i read was of Babe Ruth) then I discovered this line of western fiction books for young readers although I can't remember the titles. I've been thru Judy Blume and Norma Klein to Hardy Boys and Bobsey Twins. And it's really cool that my imps are picking up on my reading habit now too. Both Josh & Elizabeth have read Bobsey Twins books and each have read one of Judy Blume's...(I'm careful which ones I let them read yet tho...Josh read BLUBBER & Elizabeth is currently reading IT"S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD) John I think will turn into a reader soon too. He enjoys all kinds of books that I buy him including the Little Critter books that i ADORE.

Most recently, I've read THE MULBERRY TREE by Jude Deveraux (not sure if i spelled that right) and I loved it. I've read several of her books before because she writes time travel books which is a genre that I love in and of it's self. But this was a present day book that was both romance and mystery. Now for the most part, I'm not a mystery lover. I'm one of those people who turn to the last page and read who dun it and figure why read the book then...but then again I've been known to do that with romances too. I'll skim the last couple of pages and if i see the names of the main characters, I figure they end up together. I've been doing this for a while and only really been burned once. I read KRAMER VS KRAMER and the last line of the last page said, "And Ted Kramer got to keep his son" ...well, no sense reading that one huh??

Books have always been a wonderful past time for me...something to do while i'm in traffic (not a great idea i know!) or in the bath tub...or travelling. My ex and i use to read to each other in the long drives into work and home again (we lived 1.5 hours from work) and that was fun. Additionally, I enjoy the books on CD and books on tapes more than I ever thought I would...but nothing beats a lazy Sunday and a hot bath.

Dog Days of Summer

Well family fun week is officially done and over with and I have to say I'm glad! It was tiring. Oh we had a lot of fun and got the chance to do a lot of things I havn't done in YEARS (ie Six Flags & Stone Mountain Park) but we were on the go Every Single Day! Sheena's gone back to her home with Linda in Athens and I have to also admit that I'm glad of that too. Her presence here upsets a delicate balance we have. If she lived here full time it would be different...she'd have her own room and space and the kids wouldnt spazz out over her presence so much.

A couple of negatives going on right now...I got kicked in the butt by an old credit card debt wanting payment or they want to sue me. UGH. What kills me about it was that it was originally a $500 bill for a stove that we never even got to use. Don and I bought a stove for the house we were buying...and then lost out on. He kept saying he was going to go pick it up and return it...but of course that never happened. So that 500.00 stove is now costing me 1700 in interest and late charges. Growls.

2nd negative is my weight. I've put on about 6 pounds in 2 weeks. When I dont follow weight watchers, i balloon. Seems like it would be motivation to me to lose dont you think? to stick with things...but no!!! Sonic and other fast food demons call my name...and i respond. Thinking I'm going to do a No Weigh Pass this week.

On the positive, despite the huge cc bill that has befallen us, Dale has been so nice about things and positive that we can still make our move to Florida...I'm considering taking a job...preferably a part time position to help bring in more money til we do...We'll see. I've also put in for substitute teaching.

All for now.

Family Fun Week Begins

today was Waterpark day and the official start to Family Fun week. We gave up vacation in Florida this week to have a stay at home vacation instead. The video (if i can get it to post) is of the imps at the water park on the water slide. You can tell I was the photographer today, not a single picture of me. Oh well. Also, if you want to see all the pictures from FFW, go to www.dropshot.com/georgiagin I'm posting them all there too. Tomorrow is Six Flags!

Weight Watchers was :( this past week...i was only down .2. and This week isn't looking so good either if you take into consideration Steak N Shake tonight! But golly that turtle milk shake was amazing. Wonder if the grilled chicken sandwich I had with it off set each other? Somehow, I'm doubting it.

Weight as of weigh in...282.6

Having Fun

I'm getting better at this posting a blog thing....I want to be more regular even if it's just for me! Todays like today I really enjoy being a stay at home mom! (well most days are like that anyway....but today in particular) It was nothing extraordinary...we just had some fun. It's helped that Josh has turned over a new leaf sorta...He's gone 10 days now with no fits! That's the most since we got back from Las Vegas back in April. When he pitched that humdinger fit at Jeff & Christine's pool, we laid down the law with him. He was no longer allowed to go anywhere with me alone (meaning w/o Dale with us) so that one of us could watch after him and the other one pay attention to John & E'beth. That left him at home a LOT. Dale is sometimes able to go with us various places due to his schedule and working from home...but lots of times he can't. And I'm not one to want to stay at home. So he cried and pitched a lot of fits. Then one day, he just turned it around. I dont know what really did it. I think one thing was his realization that school didnt start back for another month and that he could get in 2 weeks to a month of good good behavior and still have time to make it on some outings before school started back. Whatever it was, it was nice to have him back with us today. I never liked leaving him at home even tho, truth be told, it's easier. Still, I wanted him with us.

So all we did today was go to Borders Bookstore for storytime. They made pet rocks after the story and got to paint -which is always a popular thing. Then we rode over to Mall of Georgia and they got to play in the giant water fountain. Both were free activities which is always a good thing. Tomorrow I think will be a stay at home day and then Thursday we'll go to the local pool. That's my good luck thing to do on Weight Watcher's day.

Went to the movies last night with Christine, Janice & her son John...RUN, DONT WALK to see Hairspray!!! I loved it!! Better I thought than the original..and that's saying something since i really like Ricki Lake in the part. I've already bought the soundtrack with the gift card Kim gave me for my birthday!! (Thanks again Kim!!!)

Joshi or Michael Jackson

Ok...so maybe they wouldnt be twins, but I told Joshi when he came home with this hat today he looked like a young Michael Jackson. He of course turns to me and says, "Who's Michael Jackson???" So I came in here and googled images of Michael and Joshi says, "MOM! You didnt tell me Michael was a GIRL!!!" But when I found the picture on here, he then understood.

How was your weekend? We had a busy day yesterday but it was productive. I went to one garage sale and got me a shelf for our videos for a mere $3...I bought Josh some stencils to create this that and the other with. And I bought a John Mayer CD for $1 which I promptly listed on Ebay and sold for $3 + shipping. Small potatoes I know, but I'm slowly trying to build a small nest egg in my Paypal account. Right now, it's pretty darn small. But give me time! Lately, I've also sold a couple of pairs of mens jeans that didnt fit Dale ($6) and some videos that the kids have outgrown ($5). Also sold some old Racquetball books ($5)...etc. So I'm slowly trucking along. I have the consignment sale coming up in mid-August so hopefully that will net some change too. Anything to help towards the moving fund.

Weigh In Day

The day is invariably the same! I get up and eat a normal breakfast but I down the water heavy duty. I eat lunch...very light one. Drink more water. But cut the water out by 2pm. Want to have it all out of my system by the 630pm weigh in. Nothing to eat or drink from 2pm on. Naturally i'm starving and parched by time i get to Weight Watchers! Today it was so bad, I swung into Walgreens on the way to pick up a Diet Coke and a box of fiber one bars so I could snack during the meeting. Couldnt wait for the meeting to be over so we could go out to eat. Thursday nights are free-for-alls as far as I'm concerned! Tonight, we went to Chili's and NO, i didn't order the Black Bean burger! LOL. I ordered the friggin greasy fried chicken crispers! With Corn and Fries and Honey Mustard sause...and split a dessert with Christine. Then tomorrow morning I'll be back on plan.

Bought a new journal tonight at the meeting. I really prefer the older ones that are thin and easier to take along with you. Luckily my meeting leader Jan kept a few older ones and sells em to me when she discovers them. By the way, I was down .6 this week. Not very good. That's what I get for having chinese food on Tuesday night! Growls. And the funny thing is I know that was it!!! I was down much more than that prior to that day...But maybe one day I'll learn.

Went to Dacula pool today and only got to stay for about 1.5 hours due to periodic thunderstorms. But at least the kids got to play some. That was good. I got in some too...but i need to do more swimming. I need to increase my exercise dramatically. That's my goal this week ON TOP OF trying one new recipe each week...to increase my exercise. I'll keep you posted.

Weight tonight: 282.8.

Shutterbug

i'm a shutterbug. Did i ever mention that before? i love to take pictures...for this past Christmas, my lovely husband bought me a new Kodak Z650 digital camera. It does 6.1 megapixels and even does vidoes with sound. For us anyway, it's almost done away with the camcorder. I've got a couple of memory cards and I can get all the pics & videos i want. Recently, a friend shared with me the site she and her husband use for online picture storage and I love it. I even paid the monthly cost to be a premium member (since I have so many pictures) and it's perfect for me. My computer is always on the brink of failure. I really need a new one...and I"m always scared that one day my computer is going to crash and I wont have a backup for the thousands of pictures I have. So this unlimited usage place I found is perfect. By the way, if you want to take a gander, it's www.dropshots.com/georgiagin

Maybe because I'm a shutterbug...maybe because I want to give the kids a record of their lives, maybe just because it's a hobby of mine...I love taking pictures of the kids. Today, John saw a picture we have out of Dale with Joshua and Elizabeth when she was a newborn. He was asking why he wasn't in the picture. And I said, "you weren't born yet"...He then replies..."oh...was I still in your tummy mom? " OH that about broke my heart! I wanted to say yes hun it was....but I just said you weren't born for another 2 years. We're going to have remind him that he was adopted...But right then wasnt the time I wanted to get into it with him. It does my heart good that he only thinks of me as his mom (and NOT LINDA) but one day we're going to have to explain about adoption.. and how technically...I'm only the step mom.

Anyway...a good weight watchers day so far...Just had one of those one point bagels with 1/2 slice of cheese on each half. That should last me til dinner time. Not sure what we're having yet.

Until we chat again...

An Ordinary Day

I was sitting here reading other blogs and I thought you know I COULD actually be writing in my own. The kids are in bed right now and Dale's taking a bath. I'm listening to Allison Kraus sing some bluegrass gospel type of music. An oddity for me, but I do love a few of her songs. We just finished playing dominoes with the kids. It's a good game for them but it can get trying. They care more about playing with the dominoes than the game it's self. But we're trying to play more games at night instead of watching so much television. Our repitoire isn't very large yet. Dominoes and Our First Uno game is about it. I'm looking forward to adding more kids games to our family.

Ran some errands today...had to drop some books off at the library and pay the water bill. Nothing exciting I'm afraid. Went by Mall of Georgia to pick up my contact lenses and walked around there some. Found some bargains at The Disney Store...the kids found a double dutch demonstration going on and they got to try it out. I was really impressed that all three could do it! With Joshi, I wasn't surprised. He has so much natural talent. But even little John was able to do it. I took some cute videos.

So this wasn't a very exciting blog, I wasnt very creative on a topic. But I posted and I like to keep things current. Weight Watchers is going well although I've maxed out on points today for certain!! I did try a new dish tonight which was a resolution of mine...to try new dishes. I made a Chicken Marsala on pasta that was good. Not great. But good. I lost 2.2 pounds this past week so that puts me at 283.4. Keep the faith.

Top List of Movies according to AFI How many have You seen?

1. Citizen Kane ---yes and doesn't deserve to be #1 in my opinion
2. The Godfather no...i know it's a sin in most men's eyes, but i've never seen it.
3. Casablanca -Yes, you realize where all those one liners you've said all your life originated from
4. Raging Bull - no
5. Singin In The Rain - yes....love it. But then i love Gene Kelly & Donald O'Connor!
6. Gone With The Wind - uh....YES. like a million times!!
7. Lawrence of Arabia - no
8. Schindler's List - yes. only movie i've ever walked out with everyone in the theater SILENT
9. Vertigo - No
10. The Wizard of Oz - YES. funny thing was my oldest daughter didnt realize that it was filmed partially in black & white and partially in color. she told me she'd only see the colorized version! LOL
11. City Lights - Yes in college. had to view it as a history of cinema class.
12. The Searchers - Yes
13. Star Wars - Yes
14. Psycho - No
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey No
16. Sunset Blvd. - No
17. The Graduate - No
18. The General - Yes
19. On The Waterfront - No
20. It's A Wonderful Life - Yes Yes Yes. over and over again
21. Chinatown - No
22. Some Like It Hot - Yes
23. The Grapes of Wrath - No
24. E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial - Yes. I remember my cousin had seen an advance screening of this movie and told me that I'd never think of the phrase PHONE HOME in the same way again. Same goes for seeing Reeses Pieces
25. To Kill A Mockingbird - Yes
26. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington - Yes same movie class. It was awesome
27. High Noon - Yes
28. All About Eve - Yes
29. Double Indemnity - No
30. Apocalypse Now - No
31. The Maltese Falcon - No
32. The Godfather, Part II - No, see #2
33. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Yes. so many great actors in their early roles
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - Yes
35. Annie Hall - No
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai - No
37. The Best Years of Our Lives - Yes
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - No
39. Dr. Strangelove - No
40. The Sound of Music - Yes and this would probably be my favorite musical. I think.
41. King Kong (1933) - No...did see the recent remake, but didnt like it.
42. Bonnie and Clyde - No, but i think i should
43. Midnight Cowboy - No
44. The Philadelphia Story - YES...and it's soooo under rated! It's my #2 favorite movie of all time
45. Shane - Yes. the ending scene with SHANE, Come baccccck.
46. It Happened One Night - Yes, I loved this movie.
47. A Streetcar Named Desire - Yes
48. Rear Window - No
49. Intolerance - No
50. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring - No
51. West Side Story - Yes. Rita Moreano was great (probably mispelled tho!)
52. Taxi Driver - No
53. The Deer Hunter - No
54. M*A*S*H - Yes
55. North by Northwest - No
56. Jaws - No. See #2...one of those movies I should have seen in my lifetime.
57. Rocky - No, See above
58. The Gold Rush - No
59. Nashville - No
60. Duck Soup - No
61. Sullivan's Travels - No
62. American Graffiti - Yes. See #33
63. Cabaret - No
64. Network - Yes, funny thing saw it just recently. Wasn't as great as I thought it would be.
65. The African Queen - Yes. liked it because of Katherine Hepburn not Humphry Bogart.
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark - Yes
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - No
68. Unforgiven - Yes. DEPRESSING
69. Tootsie - Yes. love it
70. A Clockwork Orange - No
71. Saving Private Ryan - Yes
72. The Shawshank Redemption - Yes. TONS of times and read the novella
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Yes...Paul & Robert at their bests in my humble opinion
74. The Silence of the Lambs - Yes
75. In The Heat of the Night - No but should as it won the academy award the year I was born
76. Forrest Gump - Yes
77. All The President's Men - No
78. Modern Times - Yes
79. The Wild Bunch - No
80. The Apartment - Yes. I think this is an underrated movie too. a very young Shirley McClain and one of my all time favorite actors Jack Lemon
81. Spartacus - No
82. Sunrise - No
83. Titanic - Yes. and it kills me that she DOES let go even tho she promises not to. SHE let go!
84. Easy Rider - No
85. A Night At The Opera - No
86. Platoon - Yes
87. 12 Angry Men - No, but i want to!
88. Bringing Up Baby - Yes
89. The Sixth Sense - Yes
90. Swing Time - No
91. Sophie's Choice - Yes and it kills me every time
92. Goodfellas - No
93. The French Connection -No
94. Pulp Fiction - Yes, under protest and i didnt like it!
95. The Last Picture Show - No
96. Do The Right Thing - Yes
97. Blade Runner - No
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy - No
99. Toy Story - Yes
100. Ben Hur - Yes

I would put Steel Magnolias on the list WAY ahead of Pulp Fiction!

It Was A Tie Dye 40th Birthday

Had my big 40th birthday party Saturday night and it turned out great. We had a lot of worries over it...We had reserved the party place with a 150.00 rental fee and a 250.00 deposit. The deposit, Mrs. Amaru told us, would not even be cashed, simply held and given back to us if everything was fine....but the housing company cashed it anyway!! We ended up bouncing 3 checks etc. Mrs. Amaru really helped us out and gave us back the $250 immediatly and she'll take the deposit when it comes in. We had about 20 or so people at the party and a little dancing and a lot of eating! LOL. But I'm back on the band wagon today. Wish me luck. I weighed in at Weight Watcher's last Thursday and I was down 4 pounds. So my weight today is 285.6. I could really see in the pictures how much of my weight I'd gained back.....My face to me, looked huge. Can only work towards the future.

Catching Up

So many things to possibly talk about...so little time. Grins.

Kids are in bed, Dale's fallen asleep on the bed as we were watching BIG LOVE (a VERY interesting series from HBO about Polygamy) and I'm sitting here surfing the web for Weight Watcher's success stories for inspiration. I've soooo sucked at weight loss the last 6 months or so and I've put back on 25 of the 36 pounds I'd lost. How depressing is that? But something in me switched last night and now I"m back to being poster child for WW. I've been an angel today and I've every intention of staying that dedicated.

Had some sad news from one of my dear friends...turns out her husband has been seeing another woman and even went so far as to exchange "i love yous" with this other woman. My friend is at a crossroads right now and thought i might understand. Boy do i ever. The last 24 hours...since she told me everything, i've been re-living the 1st week after Don confessed his transgressions to me. Unlike her husband... mine didnt want to make things work with me. You know the old saying, "oh he'll never leave his wife!" ? Not true in my case. I wanted things to work with us, but it wasnt meant to be. And golly am I glad that it didnt in my case. The best was yet to be...

I was listening to sappy ole Delilah on the radio the other night and she had a caller who was dedicating a song to her daughters...she'd never had children of her own and had wed her husband later in her life and was suddenly Mom to 2 imps. She was talking about what a wonderful change in her life they'd made. And it sounded like I could have been the one talking. Delilah played WONDERFUL WORLD for her and I just smiled out loud.

We're all doing well here..just getting ready for my big 40th birthday party. I guess i was a bit...self absorbed to have a party for myself but I decided...WHY NOT! I wanted to celebrate so many things in my life and this seemed like as good of a time as any. I think my timing sucked financially....probably should have had a delayed party in say September...but anyway. Cant resend the invites. Will post pics from party next week.

I'm going to start posting weights on here to keep me accountable. I'm not going to be ashamed. It's merely a number. So as of last night at WW... 289.6

Change in the Air

The winds of change are blowing this way. And hopefully blowing southward. A huge financial burden that's been a monkey on our backs for 3 long years has been lifted. We can now start thinking about buying a house. Or at least making changes. Currently, we're considering moving south. We've had variuos thoughts. California, Nashville, etc. Our thoughts these days seem to be running towards the Tampa area. It's so very exciting to me...I've wanted to move somewhere different all of my adult life. I was just on the cusp of moving to Raleigh when I met Don. Then he & I were on the verge of moving to Virginia when i got a huge promotion at work. Then it seems I was stuck here.

But Dale has a marvelous job that allows him to work from home. And home can be anywhere. He's going to double check with his boss to make sure nothing would be jeopardized by a move, but as of right now it looks good. We need to save a little money...and considering we're going to have a large birthday party for me in July AND we're going on vacation to the beach come end of July, it's not likely we could see this move til the end of the year...But I'm quite hopeful. I love this idea!!! A fresh start. New places, new people, new friends. I would never in a million years want to give up my current friends...but we'd like to try this for 1 year...rent a house down there while we save money for a down payment etc. If we like it, we can stay. If we dont, we can come back up here and buy a house at that time. We're talking about giving ourselves a year away so to speak.

I'm so very excited about the prospect.

Age Old Traditions

Today we had an Easter Egg hunt over at my Mom's. It's a tradition as old as time...well maybe i'm being a BIT dramatic. But they've always been a part of my life. Aunt Frances used to have one down at her house and I remember my Grandmother Siler having one for us all too. So it was GREAT fun hiding the eggs and various things at Aunt Marilyn's & Mom's today. The kids were running amok burning energy and just having a ball. Everyone behaved well and the food was delicious. The imps are on spring break next week so I need to come up with some not so expensive ideas to keep them entertained. Would love to take them to Six Flags one day but with three, it gets awfully expensive. And with our trip next week (can't wait!!) we dont have the extra money. So looks like it'll be the dollar movie, picnics at the park and who knows what else this coming week.

Afraid I have nothing earth shattering to discuss, but that in and of it's self can be a good thing. No major things to complain about other than my ear infection. So for now, I'll just say goodnite.

Just Wishin & Hoping

Ok, I admit it. I want a baby. A little imp of my very own. Josh, Elizabeth & John are sorta mine- i mean I'm the mom to them but anytime she wants, she can lay claim to them as she did Thursday night when she came to Josh's ballgame. She was mad because John asked me if he could go to the bathroom and not her. And she said her infamous line, "Afterall, I'm his MOTHER!" Growls.

I want a a child who is mine & Dale's and has no ties to her at all. I dont feel I would love this child any more or treat them any differently-but. This child would be mine in a way that I only wish the other three were. Oh well, a girl can dream. But physically, it's not probable that Dale & I would ever have kids...so we'd have to adopt...and I just dont know if that could truly come to be. There's a lot to take into consideration.

Grandmother King's 92nd Birthday

Had a bad night. It's grandmother King's birthday...all the family met out at The Blue Willow in Social Circle...kids were in rare form. Rambunctious as all get out. Too many people around in figure positions so they could pick and choose who they wanted to mind. Then Kim tells me I'm too "mean" to them. Really hurt my feelings. I feel like I work really hard in trying to keep them disciplined and respectful. I know those kids like the back of my hand. I know what triggers them, what they're going to do if allowed to do one thing....what will follow. And it really hurt my feelings that she'd say that.

Was a cool photo op tho..Here's a good pic of the kids before the whinning commenced. The "other" child is Dawson, my cousin's son who's Elizabeth's age.

A day of love

What a feel good type of day. Who says the day is all about candy and roses? Not I said this fly. Money was tight this year so we had already decided to postpone exchanging gifts until early next week (after payday and the weekend finances had passed) so this morning, i got the kids off to school and Dale went to the gym...He got back around 8:15am and we decided to indulge and just go back to bed! What luxury!! So we woke back up around 10:30...and he got a shower and we took off to Macaroni Grill. No, not exactly Weight Watcher's faire, but it was the location of our first date so to heck with the foods. Then we came back here and just hung out watching tv and talking. Overall, I call it a good day!

SuperBowl Sunday

The game is still in progress...an exciting 1st quarter for sure. I'm pulling for Peyton & the Colts. A bit ago, apparently Elizabeth was yelling for me or Dale while she was taking her bath..we didnt hear her until John came to inform us. Dale went to see what was up and she was crying in the bath tub..." All yall care about is that dumb ole cereal bowl!" gigggggles. Poooor Elizabeth is so mistreated. Prince is now squealing on the Half time show...that's one artist I've just never had an appreciation for. Oh sure i liked 1999 & Little Red Corvette...but past his pop stuff...nope...doesn't do a thing for me.

Well i'm going to crawl back in bed and snuggle with my man. Go Colts!!!!!!!!!!!!

In A Bad Mood

Ever just have a blue day? one where you're in a bad mood for no good reason? I had literally no good mood for it! I usually love rainy cold Sundays with a fire in the fireplace and football on TV. But today for some reason, I just felt grumpy. I would errupt into tears for no good reason. No food, no activity satisfied me. I can't explain it. It seems to be waning right now and even tho the team I'm cheering on in the playoffs is losing 21-6. Hopefully i'll be in a better frame of mind tomorrow.

Winter Ramblings

So it's playoff weekend and I love watching football with Dale! Don was never into football like I was. And when I wasn't married, there was noone to get excited with over the games/plays. So we've had fun the last couple of weeks watching the playoffs and rooting on teams (although it's a shame the Falcon's didnt do well)

Today has been a very low key day...kids have played, rode their bikes, got out the sidewalk chalk etc. It's been unseasonably warm and hit 70 degrees today. Went to a new McDonalds and the kids got to play on the playground. Then tonight, they've been playing and are now watching Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas. Dale's about to go out to get us some chinese food. I know, I know, I dont need it...I just seem to NEED it while watching football. It's become a habit with us. I started making a Potatoes & Ham au gratin, but it's not finished yet...so we HAVE to eat chinese.

Kids are going to stay with my mom tomorrow night which will give Dale & I finally a chance for some alone time. And to see Dreamgirls. Which i didnt get to see last time! But we do have to have a D**N visit tomorrow with Linda. She hasn't called them or seen them at all since Christmas Day! If it weren't for wanting to see Sheena....

This That & The Other

If it's not one thing..Irritated today with a sore knee. I fell Christmas Day at the movie theater. Took a wrong step coming down the steps in a stadium theater and my right leg fell down between the stairs and the concrete siding to the seats and my other leg got wedged in...couldn't move. was stuck...Anyway, the right ankle got all swollen and the left knee was hurt. The ankle has since healed but now the knee has gotten steadily worse. It's hurting to walk, to sit, to do about anything! GROWLS.

Mom's taking the kids tonight until tomorrow afternoon and Dale and I are going to dinner & a movie date night. YAY. We have some restaurant gift certificates we're anxious to use. AND, finally will get to see Dreamgirls. Will let you know if it's as good as I hope. I havn't looked forward to a movie so much since Chicago.

Went back to Weight Watchers last night and i was UP almost 3 pounds. To the unknowledged eye, you'd think, my how she sucks at this....and i was sucking big time! But i WAS up almost 10 pounds and i'm down to only up 3 pounds! Make sense? to me, yes! Anyway...I'm back on program and doing well. I know i'll get this weight off!

Out with the old and in with the new. The new year finds it brisk and chilly here in Auburn although last night we about burned up! I went up to Bath & Bodyworks to pick up some of their $5 air freshener refills while they were on sale and I went to pick up some Freecycle blue jeans for Josh. We can never seem to keep him enough jeans. The kids are all tired today as we let them stay up to see in the new year last night at Jeff & Christine's. They all had a ball. I've been bringing in the new year with them for the last 20 yrs or so. I think we may have missed one or two...but certainly not more than that. It used to be big parties, but now it's more of a quiet thing at one of our houses.

As for last year's resolutions, I did pretty well. The were:
Organize & Keep Neat my bedroom/office/bathroom (that one is debatable...Dale organized the bathroom and it's stayed pretty good...the bedroom goes thru stages as does my desk area...I wouldnt say it was as successful as I would have liked. )
Get my fasting blood sugars Under 200 (DONE!!)
Get BACK into my jeans (DONE!!)

So two out of three isnt bad.

For this year...hmm...
Yell Less (not really measurable...but something i want to work on none-the-less)
Find a Church & attend on a semi-regular basis
Get under 200 pounds.

So we'll see how I do this year.

countdown to Christmas

The countdown begins to Christmas. The kids are out of school finally and Sheena is staying here with us til Christmas Day. I think it will be fun having her here with the kids when Santa comes.

Sickness in the house the last couple of weeks has been a bit of a damper but we're getting thru it. Alas i've been AWFUL on my Weight Watchers. It's quite depressing! I just want to get thru the holidays with minimal damage at this point. At one time I actually thought i could lose during the holidays. YEAH RIGHT!

So most of the gifts are all bought now and that's a good things. Only have 2 left to get and I'll get them over the weekend after payday. I hate post poning purchases until paydays! Wish i could just buy when i see it. Oh well. If all wishes were horses, all beggers would ride. Still need to get some stocking stuffers etc bought. I'm posting a picture i took of our fireplace the other day...back when it was still cold here. I'm so jealous of the snow they got out in Denver. We fantasize about moving some day where it snows....who knows.

Apparently I'm the Moon

You are The Moon

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Moon is a card of magic and mystery - when prominent you know that nothing is as it seems, particularly when it concerns relationships. All logic is thrown out the window.
The Moon is all about visions and illusions, madness, genius and poetry. This is a card that has to do with sleep, and so with both dreams and nightmares. It is a scary card in that it warns that there might be hidden enemies, tricks and falsehoods. But it should also be remembered that this is a card of great creativity, of powerful magic, primal feelings and intuition. You may be going through a time of emotional and mental trial; if you have any past mental problems, you must be vigilant in taking your medication but avoid drugs or alcohol, as abuse of either will cause them irreparable damage. This time however, can also result in great creativity, psychic powers, visions and insight. You can and should trust your intuition.

http://www.flarn.com/~warlock/tarot/

1 2 3 All About Colorful Me

I read this and thought it was interesting so i filled it out.

COLORS

[ RED ]
1. Closest red thing to you? Old Navy Gift Card
2. Has anyone ever cheated on you in a relationship? If you dont know the answer to that one, you obviously dont know me very well AT ALL! Grins...and the good thing is i CAN grin about it now...somewhat. But the answer is yes
3. Last thing to make you angry? Dale's ex-wife Linda...she wants to see the kids the 23rd, 24th AND 25th...and it's NOT going to happen! Growls
4. Are you a fan of romance? BIG TIME
5. Have you ever been in love? Twice
6. Do you have a temper? Not majorly. I'm really quite easy going.

[ GREEN ]
1. Closest green thing to you? Dale's gym shorts that are laying on the bed
2. Do you care about the environment? I do but not enough to do much more than recycle and not litter.
3. Are you jealous of anyone right now? Linda...the ex...because she's able to say she's the kids "real" mom
4. Are you a lucky person? not inherently...i think some of us have to make our own luck
5. Do you always want what you can't have? i want what i cant have...yet.
.6. Are you Irish? nope

[ PURPLE ]
1. Last purple thing you saw? Joshua's purple magic marker that he left on my desk
2. Like being treated to expensive things? sure...on occassion. but the cheap things can be just as great.
3. Do you like mysterious things? NO. i wanna know everything. i'm one of those people who read the last chapter of mysteries because i cant stand the suspense leading up to the ending.
4. Favorite type of chocolate? Skor Bar Chocolate Toffee
5. Ever met anyone in royalty? No
6. Are you creative? no...people think i am...but i really just copy other people's ideas.
7. Are you lonely? NO not at all! but i have been in the past. i much prefer life this way.

[ YELLOW ]
1. Closest yellow thing to you? My plastic cup filled with diet coke
2. The happiest time(s) of your life? i'd say it's a tie between college years and now. Each had their own appeal.
3. Favorite holiday? Christmas. I know everyone probably says that...but it's sooo true for me.
4. Are you a coward? No, usually take things head on
5 Do you burn or tan? Burn, then tan
6. Do you want children? yes
7. What makes you happy? rainy sundays with no where to go where i can snuggle up in bed with hubby and watch football.

[ BLUE ]
1. Closest blue thing to you? Box of Kleenex
2. Are you good at calming people down? little people yes. big people not so much.
3. Do you like the ocean? oh yes. such a calming influence.
4. What was the last thing that made you cry? a bad weigh in at Weight Watchers
5. Are you a logical thinker? well i think so...
6. Can you sleep easily? yes. asleep the second my head hits the pillow.

[ PINK ]
1. Closest pink thing to you? Sticky notes
2. Do you like sweet things? oh yes :)
3. Like play-fighting? yes, like playing Mercy with the kids etc.
4. Are you sensitive? moderatly
5. Do you like punk music? no
6. What is your favourite flower? azaleas
7. Does someone have a crush on you? hopefully Dale!

[ ORANGE ]
1. Closest orange thing to you? an orange hotwheels car
2. Do you like to burn things? not a real "hot" button for me. (hehehehe)
3. Dress up for Halloween? only if it's a party...but do wear Halloween tee shirts.
4. Are you usually a warm-hearted person? i think very much so.
5. Do you prefer the single life or the security of a relationship? big time relationship
6. What would your super power be? i'd like to be invisible. learn very interesting things that way!

[ WHITE ]
1. Closest white thing to you? sheets of photo paper in my kodak printer
2. Would you say you're innocent? no...not hardly
3. Always try to keep the peace? yes. hate it hate it hate it when people are mad at me
.4. How do you imagine your wedding? My second wedding came as close to a dream wedding as possible. If we'd only combined the dancing we had at #1 with the simplicity and small gathering we had at #2 (and the beautiful weather)
5. Do you like to play in the snow? big time...so much would consider moving somewhere it snowed on a regular basis
6. Are you afraid of going to the doctors or dentist? no
7. Do you have Attention Deficit Disorder(A.D.D)? no

[ BLACK ]
1. Closest black thing to you? my diabetes monitoring kit
2. Ever enjoy hurting people? the question infers that i've hurt people in the past...and it's asking if i enjoyed it...that would be no....BUT i do get a sadistic pleasure out of THINKING about hurting Don & Cathy.
3. Are you sophisticated or silly? silly big time
4. Do you have a lot of secrets? yes
5. What is your favorite colour(s)? Red
6. Does the colour you wear affect your mood? sometimes.

Christmas Music

So almost all of the Easy Listening music stations that I normally listen to have switched over to all Christmas music. Additionally, I have a rather large & impressive Christmas CD music collection (not bragging...just fact!) and then there's Yahoo Music which i listen to a lot. So I've amassed a list of quite a few favorite Christmas songs from Traditional to not so traditional.

Top 10 Favorite Carols or Christmas Songs and the artists I prefer to sing them

10) Children Go Where I Send Thee: Peter Paul & Mary
9) Christmas Day: Dido
8) Hark The Herald Angels Sing: Styx
7) O Holy Night: Martina McBride
6) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas: Judy Garland
5) My Grown Up Christmas List: Amy Grant
4) Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer: Jewel
3) Christmas in Dixie: Alabama
2) Pray on Christmas Day: Harry Connick
1) Merry Christmas Darling: The Carpenters

Movies On the Mind

As i mentioned before, a friend of mine did a Top Ten List of her alltime favorite movies. So i decided to steal her idea and make one too. I've always been a movie buff and the movies span all decades. I have tons of honorable mentions too. They're really in no particular order until you get to the top 3....

10. Braveheart I was always a huge Mel fan and this one just cemented the deal. It combines my love of history and a wonderful story. Romance, action, humor & it made me cry in the end. Big sobbing cries.

9. Airplane My husband doesnt understand why i love this movie like i do and DONT like ones like Major League. But I think this one is the classic by which all others should be measured. I LOVE Leslie Neilson. And love the line about, " Surely you dont mean that..." "I do ...and dont call me Shirley" Makes me laugh everytime.

8. Overboard Another comedy makes the list. It's one that TBS shows all the time and i re-watch all the time. I think Goldie Hawn is wonderful and when Roddy McDowell does his impression of her near the end i think it's classic. I love the campy Wonders of the World putt putt golf course the guys build and I love the "best friend" character.

7. Mr. Mom I do soooo love this movie and have never liked a Michael Keaton movie as well. Teri Garr made two great movies in my book...this one and Tootsie...For that alone she should be immortalized (and she was great as Phoebe's mom in Friends) Best line to me: Martin Mull: "What did you use? a 38? " Teri Garr: "38 39 whatever it took"
6. Shawshank Redemption It was based on a Stephen King novella that i really enjoyed and when it made it to screen i wasnt disappointed one bit. I think that Tim Robbins is cute and so very understated in this movie. I think that Morgan Freeman is amazing as Red. He's amazing anyway...but this was the first movie that made me LOVE him. (Well i say that, but i loved him in Glory too which came before Shawshank i believe....anyway i digress) Another TBS classic, it's a LONG movie but i just live for the breakout scene.


5. Big Jake As a John Wayne fan and a big fan of the Westerns as a whole, I had to include at least one John Wayne movie and this one was my favorite. Again, I've seen it millions of times and love his dog named DOG. I love the running joke about everyone thinking he's dead all these years...I love his relationship with his sons (one of whom is his real son) I think Maureen O'Hara is wonderful and her complex feelings over ex-husband are wonderful to watch. Richard Boone plays the bad guy and my favorite line is said to him by John Wayne. "And now you understand. Anything goes wrong, anything at all... your fault, my fault, nobody's fault... it won't matter - I'm gonna blow your head off. No matter what else happens, no matter who gets killed I'm gonna blow your head off. " I repeat it often but without the blowing of the head off...

4. COMBO...the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks trilogy. When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle & You've Got Mail. I love them together, I love them individually. I can quote them in my sleep. Sooo many great lines!! "I'll have what she's having" "You dont want to be in love, you want to be in love in the movies!" "Once I read a story about a butterfly in the subway, and today, I saw one. It got on at 42nd, and off at 59th, where, I assume it was going to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake - as almost all hats are" I could go on for days. I think the writer of thes movies is a genius...(usually Nora Ephron or her sister Della)


3. Trading Places The cast makes this movie...and the one lines. My favorite Eddie Murphy movie. My favorite Jamie Lee Curtis Movie...etc. The story line is nothing spectacular...it's just the way it's delivered. So many great lines ( and i'm seeing a pattern...that's what makes a movie to me) But the one i quote the most is Louis: Looking good, Billy Ray! Billy Ray: Feeling good, Louis!

2. The Philadelphia Story God i love this movie...i love Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant & Jimmy Stewart. I love the chemistry and the fast dialogue that just crackles as they deliver it. The movie moves quickly...it's awesome. The only Black & White movie to make the list but what a great one it is!! "I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and going crazy' 'The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges. " And it taught me the meaning of the word Yar.

1. GONE WITH THE WIND an epic of monumental proportions. You'd think my favorite would be a comedy with so many on my list, but no...it's the 1939 classic movie Gone With the Wind. Acting like that is amazing and so rare to find today. It's a story that's ingrained in our southern hearts. And best line is... " As God is my witness, as God is my witness they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. " (This coming from a fat girl who couldnt bear the thought of being hungry!! ) So many great lines....So many great actors...TRIVIA: I name all my cars after a character from this movie....So far, I've had a Mammy, Bonnie Blue, Belle, & Corrine....I'm saving the Rhett & Scarlett for some really hot car i've yet to get.

And there you have it...the Main Honorable Mention is Steel Magnolias which i absolutely love...and it COULD conceivably knock Mr. Mom out of place...but today i was feeling Mr. Momish...who knows tomorrow. I'll think of that tomorrow...afterall tomorrow is another day.

I'm alive awake alert enthusiastic today. The kids are home safe and sound after a harrowing for them adventure yesterday. They had the dreaded visit with Linda and on their way home, they hit a deer (they think they hit a reindeer) and it really messed up her car...the air bags went off etc. The police came and the kids got to sit in the back seat of the police car til the tow truck came to stay warm. They were shook up over a) the SMELL of the air bags exploding (never smelled that so dont know what they're referring to) & b) that Linda wouldnt have a car to drive (OH WELL!!!) But we drove to Athens to pick them up last night (in the aftermath of a GA Bulldogs football game UGH) and got them home late. Hopefully they'll sleep late.

So to take their minds off the wreck, we're going to try and go get the Christmas tree today. Tomorrow is Dale's birthday and then John's is on Wednesday so have a lot to do in the next few days.

While the kids were with Linday yesterday, we went to see De Ja Vous (Did i spell that right?) and it was a really cool movie...but then i'm a sucker for Denzel Washington & Val Kilmer. It got me thinking about the post Cindi did about her top 13 movies (no this one didnt make THAT list) and i think i'm going to compose one of those soon. All for now as my bathwater is awaiting. I woke up early (for me) today (7:30 on a Sunday!!) and i cant go back to sleep.

Back on the Weight Watchers wagon yesterday after a disasterous Thanksgiving. Weigh in is this Thursday so I'm hoping to do some damage control this week. I'm down 34.6 poounds so far.

i forgot my anniversary

But it was a gooooood thing! I'm referring to the anniversary of my first marriage. 11-14-98. I remember that i wanted to get married in April or October because those were such beautiful months here in GA. But he didnt want to...so we chose November because he didnt have any previous marriages nor any prev wives birthdays in that month. And it rained cats and dogs that day!

But this is the first year that i've not at least recognized that it was my former anniversary. It didnt even occur to me til i was filling out my food journal from yesterday and wrote down the date. This is a big step for me...I'm such an obsessor and analyzer of my feelings...and yesterday i felt nothing! There's this song from A CHORUS LINE where the girl sings, NOTHING...and that comes to mind today. YAY me!!!!

Do I have an accent?

I was sorta surprised with the results...But it goes with what most people tell me. If they're from the south, they dont think i sound southern. If they're from somewhere else, they definitly think i sound southern. Oh well, you say potato, i say taters.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The South
The West
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The Northeast
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

Voter Tuesday

As it says, I'm a GA voter, Are you? Today I went to the polls and cast my secret ballot. I've never voted before in a firehouse. But hey, it worked, nice and roomy and plenty of space. The computers you vote with are really cool now. You just put your card in and press away. At the end it shows you what you voted for and allows you to make any changes. I just wish it allowed you to print what you voted for so you could take that home with you to watch the results with...but i guess they're assuming you had that with you when you came in to vote in the first place.

I have this very UN-scientific method of voting. I vote based on people I feel strongly about not considering the party they represent first...then i consider the party. I've always voted STRONLY democrat. Then I consider Male vs Female. Female Democrats (Cynthia McKenny excluded) would do well with me. I refuse to "vote" for an office where there is NO race! It's a waste of my time to pick when there is no choice. GROWLS. I dont think there should EVER be a case when someone runs un-opposed.

Anyway, the results will come in tonight...and the gubernatorial candidate i chose will probably LOSE because Georgia is such a red state. Oh well. at least my Democrat voice was heard here in Barrow county.

musings

I'm sitting here alone in the house with Eric Clapton singing softly in the background...Husband is at the gym working out as usual. I should be on the treadmill, but i'm just enjoying the quiet and stillness of the house. The kids are off to school. I've made the bed, worked my shift, had breakfast and am now literally just being still.

Brrr. it's cold today...our first cold day really of the season. Sent the kids to school in their big coats! Only 42 degrees now.

Halloween approaching and bad parents that we are, we havn't gotten costumes yet! Hope to get that done this week. Did go to the pumpkin patch this weekend and the kids got to pick out one each. Only this pic of John getting his came out well.

Weight Watchers is improving...I had a rough month or so! I was up and down everyweek. No continuity. I seem to be back on track even though i'm now behind by about 6 weeks. But i guess in the scheme of things it's not that bad. Tonight is weigh in so hopefully i'll have good numbers to post later.

By the way...happy birthday to little brother Steven. 34 today. I hope the coming year brings you more happiness than the last year. To you..and to those who love you.

Ok..Dale's home. Off for now

Sundays & Football

All my life, I've always loved Sundays. When i was a kid my family used to have a group of friends we got with on Sundays during the fall and football was the game of the day. Maybe because none of the kids were my age to play with, I would actually hang with the parents and friends to watch the game. This was in the day of Steve Barkowski and Billy "Whiteshoes" Johnson. I cheered along with the best of them and yelled along with my dad at William Andrews to "go thunder thighs, go!"

As I grew up I still looked forward to Sunday football. You can read my old journals and always see that I was following the Birds & the Braves. (I'll have to do a spring time blog entry as an ode to Baseball) Even when my family stopped watching,I would follow the progress and watch when I could.

In my first marriage, my husband knew NOTHING about football. Couldn't even tell when the next play was going to be a pass or run based on how the players were lined up. It was frustrating to see my birds finally go to the Super Bowl married to a man who knew nothing about the game.

But in my 2nd chance marriage,I struck paydirt. A man who loves football, who loves the Falcons....who loves to spend his Sundays in front of the tv eating PuPu platters or chicken wings with me. (Although he does prefer Subway to Pupu) Life is good!

what type of car are you?

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Am I glad i got divorced?

A friend of mine recently posted a blog about her divorce and how it's been 7 years since hers was final. Ironically, mine was final about 3 years ago this past month (August) Her blog was about how she was celebrating it because of all the good that's come from it...and it set me to thinking.

i want to embrace it for it has brought me what i never knew i wanted so badly. It's brought me a husband who really loves me! Like husband #1 never did. It brought me a family...with THREE children...that i never would have had with my ex.

Yet.

I never wanted the divorce. I didnt pursue it...i fought it tooth & nail. I wanted him to choose me. I wanted so much with him.

But God knew better. He answered my prayers...but not in the way I wanted at the time.

So, the question remains. Am i happy i got divorced? Is it something to be glad and to celebrate. hmmmm hard one. Yes...I guess i am glad. The woman i am now would never have stayed happy with my ex. She would have grown very dissatisfied. I just didnt see that at the time. I couldnt see past the hurt i was feeling. I'll never be glad of the hurt I went thru when he cheated on me...but I can be happy it's past and embrace the person i've become.

Have I mentioned?

How much i love my husband? and my life? Well, i do. In some ways my life is nothing like I ever planned. In other ways it's everything I've dreamed of.

We had a great day today...nothing monumental. But I think life is made up of the small moments that we have fun in. I'm smiling as i sit here and type this. He's off right now getting my tire plugged and a tail light for his Suburban. The kids are silently watching TV and i'm sitting here listening to soundtrack from the movie GLORY ROAD. Bout to go to weight watchers so wish me luck.

Garage Sale Finds

We spent the morning doing one of my favorite past-times...garage sailing! Dale decided to go with us and serve as chauffer (like in the kid's favorite song..."My poor old gray-haired daddy, driving my limousine") It was so much fun! And the bargains were there to be had! As you may or may not know, all garage sales are not created equal and with three little ones and 1 teenager with us, everyone doesnt need to get out everytime. I get out to scout it out with one child or by myself and then wave to the rest if there are things of interest to others.

Stop # 1...Elizabeth gets out with me to pick out some videos...A big bin to choose from at 3 for $5. We got three including JUNGLE BOOK...a must have!

Stop #2...Josh gets out with me and I find a Christmas Coca Cola Bottle (i collect Coca Cola memorbilla) for 1.50 and 2 paperbacks for .25c each (my paperback collection that was my joy got flooded over the summer and i lost them all to mildew. So i picked up FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLESTOP CAFE for a quarter, cant beat that. Oh and a cool multi-colored mat (for pictures) with stars cut into it. And a stool. Why did i need it? Well in our house the kids are always needing stools to stand on or sit on or what not. They had $4 on it, but i offered 2.50 and he said yes :)

Stop #3...a moving sale. Dale buys a tennis bag (he plays raquetball..and has a bag fetish!) I got some cassettes (I'm the only woman in America with a cassette player still in her car!) and a shelf that i need to re-paint and will put in Elizabeth's room (for a dollar!) The kids picked up some toys. I felt sorry for the owner of that sale...she was having to move to a 2-bedroom apartment and had to get rid of all her stuff.

Stop #4...THE MOTHERLODE! It was a basement sale in a gorgeous neighborhood. I waved the family on in when I found out they had lots of kids clothes...Apparently the woman used to have a consignment store. It was Make Me An Offer day. I picked up 3 dress, 1 pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans, 2 shirts, 1 teen shirt, 1 teen swimsuit, a skort outfit (that included the socks!) a set of binoculars and a toy horse that really walks, a giant bean bag chair (finally something for Joshua) 8.25! I felt like a theif.

It was a ball to me!!

On the Weight Watchers front, i'm down 31 pounds with weigh in on Tuesday this week due to Labor Day. Have been having a good weekend so far.

A Chain, but a Good Chain

A Chain, but a Good Chain

Review of: Monterrey Mexican Restaurant

By: Gina Simpson

Rating: 4

Read review on Judy's Book.

YUM. now that's some good mexican food. They have our favorite booth right there in the corner. Good service most of the time. I dont like how they charge for milk with kids meals...but the food is good. We frequent the one on Hwy 20 near Publix & Old Peachtree Rd.

A Marriage in the Family

So they finally did it. Dad & Lynne got married yesterday. I was gone off to the library and when i got back, Dale says my dad just called and he'd call back tonight...but that he was off work today and had just called. Well, my dad never takes off work! So i immediatly just knew that's what it was. Turns out yesterday was the 8 yr anniversary of Lynne moving in with him...so they made that their real anniversary. They took a boat out a few miles offshore (in Orange Beach) and had a local minister marry them. Grandmother Siler and Charles were both there as well as Dad & Lynne's good friends John & Pat and Lynne's best friend Renee.

I felt kinda bad that he didnt want me and Steven there....but it's also very Dad-like to want to get married without any "fuss" and then to go back to work the next day. I'm very happy for them and wish them years and years of happiness. I'll be honest...I wish he were still married to Mom...i wish they'd never gotten divorced. But i know they both need to be happy and after 32 yrs of marriage...they'd had enough. So i swallow my disappointment over that again and wish them all happiness.

More Weight Stuff & family update

So i did my BMI today and it's at 45.3...when i started Weight Watchers, it was at 49.6...so that's some improvement anyway. I've had a good week so far...stayed within my points everyday today except for one...so i did dip into my Flex points by 10. But i dont consider that a bad thing. I've been journaling and drinking all my water. Had a delicious dinner tonight...so things are going well. Last week i got my 25 pound magnet or my 132.00 magnet (the amount i've paid to Weight Watchers). My next goal is the 10% of my body weight goal...only 4 more pounds to that. Weigh in is tomorrow.

Got a full house today and We've been busy today...Linda asked at the last minute last night if Sheena could come spend the weekend with us...that they were getting on each other's nerves....so sick as he is, Dale drove to Winder to meet her and bring Sheena here for the weekend....so this morning, i take Eliz, Josh & Sheena out to Walmart and the dollar tree to get some things and while i'm there, Dale calls and says that his sister is bringing her 2 kids to our house in an hour for us to babysit! She'd asked us to 2 weeks ago or so and we wrote it on the calendar...but when she never called to confirm this week, we assumed (obviously incorrectly!) that they weren't coming. So, we rush home so i can help get the house picked up...and tonight we've had SIX kids in the house. But Courtney & Stephanie are good kids..much calmer than ours and that helps calm ours down some. So it hasn't been bad...just cooked a lot!

No visit this week..whoo hooo. grins. Bad Gina...Bad Girl!

It's early morning and Dales at the gym & the kids are still sleeping. I've been getting them up earlier this week at 7am to get them ready for school which starts Aug 3. It's hard to believe John will be starting Pre-K. When i first met him he was going to day care but then as soon as Dale & i got married and i quit my job, i started keeping him and Elizabeth home with me. Elizabeth was doing Pre-K for the second year because she has a late birthday, but she was so bored with it. And she's smart as a whip anyway! Really they all three are! It's amazing to me the questions they come up with! Lately John has been going thru a really rebellious stage and that's such a departure from his normally sweet and pleasing personality. It's nothing terrible or unexpected in a 4 yr old...but just heretofor unseen. Things like throwing down a toy very hard to the ground when angry and such. Stomping off and yelling back. We can handle it, but it's never been seen before in him.

Weight Watchers is still going pretty well...had a bad couple of weeks. On and off...gain, lose, gain lose seems to be the pattern. But at least the lose weeks are usually MUCH larger than the gains. So i'm at a total of 22.6 pounds down right now as i was UP this past Monday by .2 pounds. Good grief! that's LESS than a quarter of a pound. But still it was up. growls. One thing i stopped doing so much was journaling my food so i need to get back to that. And i need to increase the exercise. Since Dale has been doing his early morning raquetball appts with the guys at the gym, i havn't been going as often. And that's not an excuse...I've got a treadmill here i could use or i could go for a walk down the street. I just need to DO IT.

All for now! It's time to wake the kids.

Now it's about 627pm and i'm in here at the computer and Dale is mowing the lawn.

Steven (my brother) told me today that he and his wife Shannon are separated and plan to divorce. I wasnt surprised, but disappointed none the less.

On an upbeat note tho, I felt it today. a conviction down deep in my soul that we are going to do this weight loss burden that weighs so heavily on us. I was talking with Steven and telling him about my weight loss so far etc...and he is probably thinking to himself, yeah, i've heard it all before...but inside, i knew this time IS different. I want to do it for so many reasons...but the point is I, ME, wants this...not everyone else in my life wanting it FOR me, but me wanting it for me. And one of the reasons Don said he broke up with me was that when i wanted something, there was no telling me no....(he meant it in a bad way, ie..spend money on trips etc) well this time, it's a GOOD thing. I'm tired of hiding in the back on pictures or saying "make sure you only get my upper half. " I want to be the one smack dab in the front or stretched out on the floor even! LOL.

4th of July and WW stuff

I dont want my blog to be all about Weight Watchers and my quest to lose weight, but as the title of my blog says it's what's important to me...and right now losing weight is almost all consuming. As of this past Monday I was down an even 20 pounds in 6 weeks. Yay. This week is a "challenging" week for me because of a) the 4th of July and b) my birthday is this Saturday. But I'm just trying to keep it all in perspective and enjoy the day and some of the foods...but also plan ahead some.

Tried a Low-Fat Beef Stroganoff last night that was very yummy and i found the recipe here on the internet. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/BeefStroganoffLowFat.htm I used Dreamfields pasta instead of egg noodles but it was FINE!

4th of July was a lot of fun...we took the kids to my Aunt Marilyn's and we had a family cookout with my mom, grandmother, cousin Kim, Great Aunt Ebbie and of course my family...Dale was the only guy there. Aunt Marilyn has converted her big inground pool to one of those large hot tubs/swimming lap pools. So the kids (and some adults) played in there most of the afternoon.

I'm posting a picture made at my mom's house that day...

Catching Up

So weight watchers continues for me...I've stuck to the plan like glue this week but havn't lost anywhere near the weight i did last week...i dont know why...just hasn't happened. I'll be happy with ANY loss at weigh in tonight. But the good news has to do with my fasting bloodsugars. My new year's resolution was to get them under 200...today i took it at 150! For me that's amazing. Granted, i am taking meds too, but i was then too...so maybe one day i'll actually get off the meds. That would be amazing to the nth degree!

The kids are at Vacation Bible School this morning and John is in the living room watching Dora the Explorer. I just got out of the bath. Aaaah. feels nice. I'm attaching a picture of the kids i took this weekend when we spent the day at Janice's pool.

weight loss beginnings

so after almost a year of doing low carb dieting, i've switched teams. Christine & i joined Weight Watchers last Monday night and i've been sticking to the plan like glue. The weight is falling off this week. Now i'm sure if i'd stuck to Low Carb as well as i'm sticking to this diet plan it probably would have come off too, but I was so burnt out on it! WW seems so easy right now because of the variety. Wish me luck as i weighed in at a whopping 298 pounds!!! Below is my before picture...(ignore the hat..we were at a tea room that required hats) But i hate the picture! i can usually push double chins in or hide in the back of pictures and be ok with the way it looks...not this time.

guilty as charged

So we're riding in the car last night coming home from a nutritious dinner at TACO BELL talking about snacking etc...Elizabeth our 6 yr old chimes in, "i've seen you & Dad DOING IT" she exclaims in a very loud voice. Dale & i look at each other a bit worriedly. "Doing what?" we ask..."She excitedly says, "i know what you do after we go to bed! You eat ice cream and lie in bed and KISS!".....Yup...guilty as charged.

I chose Wisely

You know that scene in Indiana Jones #3 where they're seaching for the Holy Grail? He looks around at the huge selection of possible cups that could be the Holy Grail and chooses a humble looking container. The old man Sir Stephen i think it is says, " you chose wisely" in what i think was the most classic understatement in cinema history...well today i had an overwealming feeling of "i chose wisely"

In the last couple of weeks, i've run into two ex'es...the first was Rusty...and then today Greg. Both are now married and of course so am i...and i'm looking at my husband and thinking, I CHOSE WISELY. A friend recently said to me at a party i went to that i looked so terribly happy and "glowing" and i just replied that i've never been happier.

My birthday in History

So a friend showed me this site...you go in and type your birthday(not year) in the Search box and it gives you a list of events and birthdays on your day in history. Since i'm a big history buff, this was right up my ally. www.wikipedia.org


JULY 8

1099 - First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders mock them.

1776 - The Liberty Bell was rung to summon citizens of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the reading of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress.

1932 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, bottoming out at 41.22.

1997 - Mayo Clinic researchers warn that the dieting-drug "fen-phen" can cause severe heart and lung damage.

BIRTHS

1839 - John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1937)
1958 - Kevin Bacon, American actor
1961 - Toby Keith, American singer
1967- ME

DEATHS

1822 - Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (b. 1792)
1967 - Vivien Leigh, English actress (b. 1913)
2004 - Paula Danziger, American author (b. 1944) (i loved her books as a teenager! she wrote My Cat Ate My Gymsuit and other great ones like that!)