Oh Christmas Tree

So we got a new Christmas tree this year. Last year I was trying to move a fully lit and decorated tree back towards the wall a few inches and heard a crack. It was never quite the same after that. lol.

We got a pretty nice one. I figured we would have it for quite a few years, so might as well get something we really like. It's prelit and everything. We usually do colored lights, but it was $75 more for colored lights... so we just got white. Which I do like, but dang... it's bright. That is one thing that you can't judge in the store. Brightness. I was under the impression that more lights are better. And under the harsh lights of the store it doesn't seem to matter. In fact, the trees with a smaller amount of lights seem dim. But when you get it home under normal lighting... wow. It's daytime all the time.

I wanted a prelit tree for two reasons. Not having to string it is one reason of course. The other is that I no longer have to spend two weeks rearranging the lights trying to fill gaps. I'm obsessive about it. I hate to have uneven lighting on my tree. It even bothers me if there are a grouping of one color, but I have to let that slide cause that is bordering on nuts. I can't very well restring the whole tree because there are 4 red lights right next to each other and it's catching my eye. In fact, that might be how I broke the tree last year. Trying to turn an unsightly lighting situation towards the wall.

Anyways, all these white lights have caused us to think twice about our ornaments. The only ones you can really see are the red bulbs. And they look so pretty against the white lights and green tree. So next year we are only going to put up red bulbs and the ornaments that are important to us. Yeah, a theme. I'm going to have a themed tree. Something I swore I would never do. But hey, I think red bulbs is fairly acceptable as far as themes go.

Catch up

Hello! Gosh this week has been crazy. I know I haven't written... with the craziness it's hard to have a moment to sit back and put it all into perspective. Thanksgiving for example, there was stress and confusion about when the turkey was going to be done, but in the end it worked out perfect. So was it good? Or was it stressful? I guess it was both.

I also have two tests to study for, as well as a final and a group project. So the moments that weren't spent cooking have been spent studying and writing papers.

And I've started Christmas shopping! Believe it or not, the person I'm having the most trouble shopping for is Connor. It's not a lack of choices, quite the opposite. I can walk down any aisle in any store and find 50 things I think he would like. The problem is spending the money in the wisest way. I don't want to just walk into a store and drop a couple of hundred bucks on any old random thing.

Notice today is Saturday and I'm not doing an operation skinny update? Because I was seriously lacking in tracking everything. I took a few days off there. So I'm starting again today. I did work out everyday, but I just didn't keep track of anything.

Ok, so I think we are all caught up.

Yay for Thanksgiving!

Well, I just finished my grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner. Which happens to be my absolute favorite dinner of the whole entire year. Yay for Thanksgiving!

When I was a kid I would spend Thanksgiving with my dad. And since I only saw him two or three times a year, it was pretty exciting. We rarely even stayed in the country. Which is strange when you think about. It is Thanksgiving after all. Why are we going to Mexico, exactly? But we did. We traveled. Always someplace luxurious and fancy. Which was fun. We would have Thanksgiving dinner prepared by french chefs. Which is odd. I remember one year we were served "vegetable pie" for dessert. It was their take on pumpkin pie. I can just picture them in the kitchen trying to figure out this strange American dessert.

"I remember something about a pie made from some kind of vegetable."
"Well, which vegetable?"
"I don't know... just use them all."

Around the time that tradition ended my dad opened a bed and breakfast up in the mountains. So quaint and beautiful. He would host huge Thanksgivings. He had the space for it. I would go spend the weekend up there and people would come from all over. The place would be filled with folks. The views were amazing, the air crisp and clean. It was sweaters, turkey, family and friends. It was hot chocolate and porch swings with mountain views. Pictures and smiles and squabbles over whose recipe to use. Kids running around and a dog that could play a killer game of fetch. A thanksgiving straight out of the movies.

Then, after Maddy was born, my roommate invited me over to her parents house for Thanksgiving. And while I was there I met her brother, Larry. My husband to be. The love of my life. Not to many people can say they met their spouse on Thanksgiving day. We ate, played board games, hung out on the porch and laughed. Then we all went to Larry's house and watched movies until it was much to late for me. We had fun. And I had no idea that we would spend the rest of our Thanksgivings together.

Operation Skinny: Week 11

Hello hello. Eleven weeks and counting. I'm frustrated with my weight loss. I've only lost 5 pounds in 11 weeks. And it's not from lack of trying. I know that I've gained a lot of muscle from working out, but still, it would be nice to see my hard work reflected on the scale.

But hey, I'll take what I can get... and I'm not about to stop doing it so I suppose it doesn't matter in the end. What I should be doing is trying to go down a size in my pants. I think that is my new goal. But you can't measure that in small increments like you can with pounds.

I lost .2 pounds this week. Which just offsets the .2 pounds I gained the week before.

I ate an average of 1,565. Which surprised the heck out of me because I felt like I kinda threw caution to the wind there. I even ate french fries from Wendy's.

I walked 20.5 miles.

Totals:
Weight loss: 5.4 pounds
Distance Traveled: 221 miles. Click here to see how far I've walked.

Ducks

We went to the park again today. The one I was telling you about with the tiny train. It was pretty fun. We rode the train again and then walked over to the lake and ate lunch and watched the ducks. Connor liked them, but not as much as I thought he would. He was more interested in "climbing the mountain". Which just means walking to the top of the little hill we were sitting on. Which put him directly behind me so I had to turn completely around and stare right into the sun to see him. And he was just far enough away to be able to pretend he couldn't hear me. We had this conversation about 50 times.

"Mommy look! I'm on top of the mountain."
"Yes I see you, now please come back." squint squint squint
"I'm on top of the mountain!"
"I know, come eat your sandwich." squint squint squint
"I'm on top of the mountain!"
"Connor! Come here!" And he would come so I could coerce another bite of peanut butter and jelly into him.

Doesn't that sound lovely?

The funny part was that he thought the ducks were farting.

"Mommy, the ducks are farting."
"hahaha... no honey, they are quacking."
"oh, quacking... right."

Then we fed them a piece of Connor's sandwich which was fun. He liked that. He keeps telling me that "they ducks ate Connor's lunch". Yes they did sweetie, yes they did.

A Saturday that dreams are made of

Connor had a fantastic weekend. I'm just now getting a chance to tell you about it but, seriously, it was a little boy's dream.

Trash is picked up at our house on Wednesday mornings. Recycling is picked up on Saturday mornings. Every single Wednesday and Saturday we are standing dutifully on our front porch waiting. Actually, that's a total lie. On Wednesday I bounce off the couch and go running for the door because I just heard the trash truck and we rush out on to the porch just in time to see him empty our trash. And on Saturday... well, I don't know cause I sleep in.

But I got reports that this past Saturday the trash man actually stopped, got out, and let Connor sit in his seat and turn the wheel! How cool! I wish I had pics. But he has talked about it quite a bit since then. "Sit in the chair... and the wheel!" I'm kinda nervous about tomorrow since I highly doubt he will get that chance again. I'm pretty sure he thinks this is a regular thing.

Then later that day we went to this park near the house that has a train you can ride. It's small but it's a real train. It takes you around the park and Connor LOVED it. Oh, riding the train. A dream come true. It's pretty cheap and we have tickets left over so I'm going to take him again on Friday. They also have a small Merry-go-Round and another little ride. Have I mentioned it's small? Cause the whole place was tiny.

So yeah, he got to ride a train and sit in the garbage truck. Both in one day!

At the carwash

Connor and I took the van to the car wash the other day. Oh my gosh it was so gross. The windshield was so dirty it had the "dirt M" across the top, where the wipers can't reach, as if the bird poop streak down the door wasn't enough. I realized I've been silently waiting for Larry wash it. It was at that moment I decided I am, in fact, old enough to take the car to the car wash all by myself. :) Wearing a wedding ring does not take away basic life skills like washing a car or taking out the trash. Although that would be kinda nice... "Sorry honey. Married. You are going to have to carry in the case of bottled water yourself. Oh, and the light bulb in the closet is burned out. I'd change it myself, but you know..."

Anyways... the car wash. First they wrote on the window with a wax pencil, which Connor found hilarious. Then we went inside to pay and watch the cars get washed through the huge plate glass windows. Connor went and climbed up into the "big chair" while I paid. The cashier stapled a paper to my receipt and said "This is your claim check, you will need to pick up your car." Ok, that's fine.

I join Connor and we watch car after car go through the car wash. He was loving it. Wash the tires, wash the windows, spin so fast. Every once in a while a rouge bubble would spin off the brushes and hit the window... which was fantastic. While we are sitting there I realize I don't have any cash to tip the guys at the end. There is an ATM but I'll be damned if I'm going to pay a $3.00 ATM fee so that I can give a guy a $2.00 tip. So I get the bright idea to buy a soda, maybe I can get cash back at the register. So I got a Diet Dr. Pepper from the fountain. But I didn't have the option to get cash back, and the drink was gross, so that did nothing but waste $.94.

I was really stressing about not having a tip. I felt bad. I spent the next 15 minutes worrying about that moment when the guy smiles expectantly and I just say "Thanks!" and hop in my car. UG. We go outside and wait for them to finish up the van. I stand there sipping my disgusting soda telling myself that I did try to get some cash, so I'm not a horrible person. And besides, I'm sure not everyone tips. Tips are for something extra, they shouldn't be expected. How dare they expect me to tip! Make me feel guilty. I paid good money for this car wash, and then they expect me to pay another $2.00 to this guy just for doing is job! I'm doing a public service by not tipping!

And then the car is ready. Oh gosh. Smiling man standing at the front of my car. Avoid eye contact! I focus on Connor. In my haste to get out of there I walked around the wrong side of the car, so then I had to go back and put Connor in his seat. The guy followed me all the way around the car. He stood there while I snapped Connor in his seat. UG. So when I was done I said "I'm sorry I don't have any cash. I'll have to get you double next time."

"That's fine. I just need your claim check."
"oh, yeah. hehe." Ah, the claim check. Yes, I remember now. I'm an idiot.

Operation Skinny: Week 10

I gained .2 pounds this week. Even though I ate an average of 1,394 calories per day this week.

I traveled 20.5 miles this week. Which means that I've walked just over 200 miles. It also means that I just walked though the Petrified Forest National Park. Here's my map.

From Wiki:
Petrified wood (from the Greek root "petro" meaning "rock" or "stone", literally "wood turned into stone") is a type of fossil: it consists of fossil wood where all the organic materials have been replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz), while retaining the original structure of the wood. The petrifaction process occurs underground, when wood becomes buried under sediment and is initially preserved due to a lack of oxygen. Mineral-rich water flowing through the sediment deposits minerals in the plant's cells and as the plant's lignin and cellulose decay away, a stone mould forms in its place. It probably takes less than 100 years for wood to petrify.

The park is the largest concentration of petrified wood in the country; possibly in the world. Apparently, there was a forest with a large river in these parts. Which is hard to imagine when you are walking through the desert. The minerals in the water were perfect for petrifying wood. Some researchers offer a “log jam” theory accounting for the concentration.

Petrified wood is very hard. Only topaz, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds are harder.

Totals:
Distance Traveled: 200.5 miles
Weight loss: 5.2 pounds

A fresh face

As you can see... I spruced up the blog a bit. Did you know that my blog turned one the other day? Well... a few weeks ago now. As a present to my blog I gave it a brand spankin' new template! This is the view I wish I had from my front porch. :)

So I hope you like it. I was getting very tired of the gray and boring theme I had been wearing for the past year or so. Total blah.

The things they say

Maddy is grounded... and home from school today. The stars have aligned to drive me completely and totally insane.

Since she isn't allowed to do much of anything I had her go take a nap when I put Connor down today. I really didn't want her hanging on me the whole time Connor was asleep. Anyways, I tell her that it's nap time and, after some arguing, she goes rushing up the stairs in a little fit.

"What's wrong Maddy?" Connor said.
"Oh, nothing she's just being a..." I said, thinking I probably shouldn't finish that sentence.
"Butthead." he said finishing my thought. lmao. Oh, he knows me so well.

Operation Skinny: Week 9

Hey guys. Good news! I lost 1.2 pounds this week... which means that I have met goal number one! Wohoo... I am no longer over my max allowable weight. It also means that I lost weight two weeks in a row. So I broke that streak. Hopefully we can go for 3 weeks in a row. Now I'm going to start working on the next 5 pounds.

I ate an average of 1,469 calories. The calorie thing is getting easier. The first week with the elliptical machine was tough. Sometimes I get really hungry and I do have to make better choices. Since I'm burning more calories it's harder to keep the average down.

I traveled 27.5 miles. Which is a record for me. I have finally made it to the I-40 which was my first walking goal. Wohoo. Two goals met in one week. My next goal is to make it to the state line. Here is my walking map.

So here are my totals:

Weight loss: 5.4 pounds (goal #1 met; .4 pounds into goal #2)
Distance Traveled: 180 miles

When a car alarm goes off at midnight.

Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.

Wake up from very nice dream and think: WTF is that noise? Oh, it's a car alarm. That's too bad for that person.

Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.

I'm sure they will get it in a second.

Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.

This is taking a really long time. I'm sure it will just be another moment.

Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.

Ok. That's it! Who is the idiot who doesn't know their car alarm is going off? I Jump out of bed and close the bedroom window. Then peek out the blinds... discover there isn't a car in the backyard with the alarm going off, no matter how much it sounds like it. So I march down stairs to look out the front window.

Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.

As I hit the bottom of the stairs I realize the car is really really close to the house. OMG it's the van! It's me! I'm the idiot who doesn't know their car alarm is going off! I reach the window and peek out. Phew, no not me. But there is a car parked right in front of my house with all it's lights flashing. GRRR...

Honk. Honk. Honk. Honk.

It's my horrible neighbors. Luckily, shortly after I realized this it stopped. I wouldn't have missed this opportunity to call the cops on them... again.

Another kitchen fire?

Yesterday Maddy and I were cooking dinner. We were making Maddy's Pasta Surprise. She was standing on her step stool casually, yet obsessively, stirring the pasta and telling me about a funny story they read at school. I turned on the burner under the skillet to got ready to fry the bacon. A few wisps of white smoke came up from under the burner. Always happens as the drippings from last night's dinner burn to a crisp. But this time they didn't stop. A few wisps turned into a several wisps. Then they turned into streams. Since I am terrified of the smoke detector I turned on the fan above the stove. Then the streams turned into sheets. Just sheets of smoke coming from under the pan. I turned off the burner and noticed orange light coming from under the skillet.

"Larry!" I call.
"Yeah?" He called back without getting off the couch.
"Come here!" I say while waving my hands in a panic. As he comes around the corner he sees the light under the pan. He rushes over, picks up the skillet, leans over, and literally blows the fire out. Apparently it wasn't quite the fire I was expecting under there. I don't know what was in the little drip pan but it put up a fight. Anyways, we opened the windows to let the smoke out. Made a few nervous jokes and went back to our lives.

When everything calmed down I realize Maddy is still telling her story. She never even broke stride. She was still standing there on her stool, spoon in pot, telling me about this book they read. I stopped her and said "Sweetie, when there is a fire, most people stop telling their story." She paused just long enough to give me a blank look and then continued on, totally clueless.

No pacifiers: day 3

I mentioned the other day that we were going to take the pacifier away. Well we did it on Halloween night.

Connor collected all his pacifiers and put them in a box. Then we attached a balloon to the box and put it in the backyard. While we were trick or treating the Pacifier Fairy took the pacifiers to give to the new babies and left Connor a new helicopter. When we got back from trick or treating it was there waiting for us.

That worked soooo well. He knew the pacifiers were absolutely, totally gone. Which is what we needed. No one can cave at that point. Yes, we know the pacifiers are in a graham cracker box in the garage, but he doesn't. And we went through so much trouble making all the magic that it's going to take more than a pitiful cry to give up the jig.

The first night he was wiped out from trick or treating that I think it helped him fall asleep without the pacifier. He cried at first for a minute or two and then was quiet. Then about 20 minutes later he cried again and I went in there. He didn't ask for the pacifier but he did tell me about how he has a helicopter and the babies have the pacifiers. So he was clearly thinking about them and trying to convince himself that everything we said was true. I told him "You can do it. You can fall asleep without your "fire". You are a big boy now." And he said "ok." When I left he cried again for another minute or two and then that was it. He slept all night without a peep.

The next day went great, no issues at all. But he was still mentioning them. On the way up the stairs we always talk about how cozy his bed is and name all his bears and pillow and blanket. Kind of try to get him thinking good thoughts about bed as we head up there. So the last few days he's been saying "Going to lay down with C.B., and Cowboy, and Rocky, and pillow, and blanket, and no pacifiers"

Then yesterday was the day I've been expecting. No nap. Two hours of crying and he never did fall asleep. Which sucks. It's supposed to be quiet time around here. Time to get all that stuff done that you can't do while he is awake. But instead we just sat looking at each other while he screamed for two hours. Hopefully that's it. The night went fine, he was very very tired and pretty much passed right out.

I'm putting him down for a nap in about 20 minutes and I hope it goes well. I have stuff to do!

Trick or Treat

Trick or treating was a blast! Connor did sooooooo well. He was such a trooper. I thought we would hit a few houses, maybe 10 or less, and he would want to go home. And I certainly never thought he would keep on his eye patch, or "piratch" as he calls it, or his hat. But he did, the whole time. I could tell the piratch was bothering him cause he kept scratching at it and I could see the skin under it was red and irriated but he didn't want to take it off. He would march up to every house, knock a big knock, say trick or treat before anyone even opened the door, and then hold out his pumpkin for the candy. As soon has he had his booty he would turn and head to the next house.

If somone held out the bucket and said "Go ahead, take as much as you want." he would take one little piece and place it carefully in his pumpkin. It was so cute.

We were out there for well over an hour. His candy collecting pumpkin was stuffed full. It was too heavy for him to carry by the end. But he still wanted to keep going. We would ask, "Are you ready to go home?" and he would say "One more candy!" We played that game for about 15 houses. He never did quit. We had to make an executive decision and our little pirate got a piggy back ride home.

At one house this older lady gave him his candy and said "He brings back such memories." And I had to hold back tears for the next 20 houses. These are my memories. Seriously, I had so much fun trick or treating with him. I will remember it forever.

Operation Skinny: Week 8

Hello hello! I did much better this week on my calories. I ate an average of 1,555 which is pretty good, considering we have Halloween candy in the house. I really struggled to keep it down. So I guess this was the challenge I was looking for a few weeks ago when I thought about trying to lower my average.

I started doing a new program on the elliptical machine which burns 400 calories in 30 minutes. It also counts for 4 miles of running. It's hard and I only did it twice last week, but I like it. So considering that I walked 23.5 miles this week. Here is my walking progress so far.

***Drum roll please***

I lost 2.2 pounds. yay! Which is almost everything I gained last week. I've been keeping track of everything on a spreadsheet and have noticed a pattern here. I only lose weight every other week. So I guess I have to be happy with just a general downward trend. But here's to hoping I reach goal number one next week.

Totals:
Weight loss: 4.2 lbs (.8 pounds away from goal #1)
Distance Traveled: 155.5 miles