Tales From The Laundry Goddess

Twenty Days Until Jonas

2008-06-23T09:09:00.001-07:00

Yes folks, it's true...I am taking my kiddos to the Jonas Brothers Concert. Why you ask? Well, actually I am probably as big a fan as they are. I like them for many reasons and #1 being that they are a wholesome Christian based family. It is so refreshing to have music and teen heart throbs that are positive for your kids to enjoy. Now that aside they are pretty darn cute and have some great songs. I bought the tickets a month ago and just told my girls on Friday night aftert the Camp Rock movie premiered on the Disney Channel. They are so excited!! We are seeing them in Ahaheim and I also recently found out that they are filming the concert. I imagine it's for their movie they are making. The nice added bonus of this show is that I now have three weeks of leverage to use any time I need the kids to help around the house or to just behave.

Long Time No Blog

2008-06-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Well hello friends. Yes, it has been a long time since I have blogged and I have no excuse! I just have not been feeling up to it I guess. I have however been investing lots of time into reading everyone elses blogs. I truly find it so fascinating to read about other peoples lives. Kinda like the grass is always greener over there syndrome.
A quick update for now....kids are out of school for the summer. They both had great years and did very well. Next year I will have all three of them in school.

I am off to a barbecue...not very well planned out I know...come here with only a few minutes to chat. But until next time......happy summer!!

Wow, where has the summer gone...

2007-08-17T07:34:00.000-07:00

Wow, over a month since my last post. Believe me, I have thought about posting almost everyday but just never did.

Lets see, whats new around here....I have had a toothache for a couple weeks now...went to the dentist yesterday and I have to have a root canal. Sucks so bad....the only good part is that they gave me some drugs for the pain. I made my appointment for next thursday which happens to be boo boos 6th birthday.

Today we have a mandatory meeting at my work. I work at a heathy grocery store...a lot like Whole Foods but its a smaller chain here in So Cal. Anyway, the rumor is that we are being bought out by someone else. Everyone at work is getting worked up about what it could be. Are we closing, are we changing our uniforms, are we all getting big raises???

Boo Boo is turning 6 next week. We are having a party for her at a great local park. Summer birthdays are a bit hard because you lose touch with so many classmates. I made sure before school was out to get a list of all her friends and addresses. Out of the 14 invites I sent out I have heard from about half. Don't you hate that?? Its hard to plan. We are doing a Costco cake...love those and pizza. She is having a pirate theme so I want to get little treasure boxes and fill with gold coins or gold wrapped candies.

School is starting soon. We are pretty much ready. It's still very hot here so the first few weeks they will probably just wear summer clothes.

Well, there is your update...enjoy the rest of your summer.

Things I should have posted about but didn't...

2007-07-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hello, yes I have been missing in action. I have noticed a lot of regular blogs that I read have been less active the past couple of weeks. Why? Well, it's summer and lots of people are either getting ready for vacation, on vacation or recovering from a vacation. I am in the the third category. We had a great week with all of our family. We did just about everything we wanted to. Legoland, Sea World, the fair, the beach and the pool. It was great, tiring but fun.

We kept the fun going the following week with another trip to Legoland (we have annual passes) for the 4th of July. My parents joined us and we had a great time.

This week has been a bit different. We started the week off with a trip to the beach. Tuesday I took the kids to see Rataloolie (sp?) and wen't to my parents pool afterwards. Around 5 p.m. we got a call telling us that my uncle Ted had suffered a major heart attatck and was in grave condition. He was one of the uncles who was just here for the reunion. As of today he is still in the hospital in bad condition. They are unsure of the outcome. He actually stopped breathing for a bit so they don't know if he suffered any brain damage. We are praying for a miracle....please join me.

I hope to be back soon with an update.....until then we will be enjoying the summer as best as we can.

Having a Wonderful Time.....

2007-06-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well, we are on day 5 of our reunion. So far we have been to the pool, beach, Legoland, Sea World and had lots of laughs. Last night we sat in a big circle (about 20 of us) and shared our most emabarrassing or funny moments. My cousin Trish has so many!! Like one where they went to a drive in theater as teens and told the box office that their passenger in the car with them was blind(not true) so they wouldn't have to pay to get in. Since we are all friends here I will share mine....it is pretty funny...
When I was 19 I went out on a fancy date with a new guy I was dating. He was borrowing his dad's brand new beamer for the evening and taking me to a nice restaurant. So, I decided I was in need of a new outfit. So off I went and found a really cute crisp white bouse and black skirt. I got all ready and was getting approval from my cousins and aunts (who were all visiting) and suddenly we noticed that the blouse I had bought that had brass buttons over each bosom..........was a maternity shirt!! Well, they just could not stop laughing and making comments about easy access. I , being a young girl wanting to look perfect for this special evening was mortified. My date never knew but my family has never let me forget it.
Do you have a funny story to share....please leave it in my comments.

Vacation

2007-06-23T07:47:00.001-07:00

Here is a picture of the hotel where we will be hanging out at all week. It's right on Mission Bay. My cousins (5 families) are all staying here in the villas or suites. We will just drive down there for the day and then come home in sleep in our own cozy beds at night.

Anyway, it is only 7 am and I have not heard a peep from any of my cousins who arrived very late last night and are currently probably sleeping at a hotel only 10 miles from my house.

Summer Time

2007-06-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the kids have been out of school for almost a week and we have done zilch, nada, nothing!! It has been nice though.. just sleeping in, lounging around and watching tv. This weekend is the start of our family reunion. It will be filled with lots of fun stuff so I am sorta enjoying the calm before the storm!! For fun, take a look at out itinery:

Saturday: meet up with cousins at hotel and swim and visit
Sunday: big official reunion at Mission Bay park and the hotel (which is right on Mission Bay) There will be 19 kids and 19 adults
Monday: off to legoland with my brothers family and one of my cousins. Most of the other families have older kids who would not enjoy it much.
Evening adult night out...harbour cruise and dinner
Tuesday: Sea World with everyone!
Wednesday: Beach Day/camp fire/weenie roast
Thursday: pool day/San Diego County Fair
Friday: pool day/museums
Saturday:dont know yet

Should be lots of fun. I will try to update next week but it may be short and sweet.

It's time to fess up....

2007-06-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok...I will tell you the sad truth. I gained a pound at my last WI and have been waiting as long as possible to come here and tell the world. Maybe I was hoping that if I didn't report it, it didn't really happen. I'm still at a 10 lb loss which is a nice number to hang on to.

Yesterday I felt like crap all day. Actually, that's a lie. I felt exhausted all day. I actually don't really have any other symptoms. I just have no energy and feel totally lethargic. I think I have figured out why. McDonalds. Carls Jr. Candy. No water. No exercise or over exercising. I ended up staying home from work last night but didn't get any more rest because our new part came for our treadmill and Homer and I worked on that all night. He did most of the work while I assisted here and there. The good news is that it works again.

We also watched the movie Dejavu.....so good. You have to go and rent it. It kept my attention the whole time. Very suspenseful!!

I rented The Biggest Loser DVD from blockbuster and am hoping to find time to try it today. It's the second one and is supposed to be really good. I will let you know.

The kids only have three days left of school. My 3rd grader got awarded Principals Honor Roll yesterday. So proud of her!! Bye for now...

Treadmill Update

2007-06-07T10:28:00.001-07:00

Just wanted everyone to know that I called Epic (treadmill) and they are sending us a brand new panel for our treadmill. Thank goodness. I was so nervous to call but the guy....or kid rather...sounded like he was 18.....was totally nice and said we would have it in 3-5 business days. Amazing because the actual treadmill took 3 weeks to get here.

I am starting to get nervous about all the house cleaning I have to do in order to have my brother and his family stay here. I have absolutely no motivation to do anything. Must be that time of month or something.

I am also thinking about making a calendar of events for this summer. I just really want the kids to have a fun summer. Last year we didn't do much...which is fun sometimes too but why waste all that time. I am pretty sure we will be getting annual passes to Legoland. They have a great pay monthly plan. I think it's about $10 bucks a person per month. There are no black out dates and that includes your parking. I wish Disneyland had a deal like that. There are also lots of museums down in San Diego that I would love to take the kids to. Then there are always the regular fun spots like the beach, the fair and swimming.

I gotta go get my workout in. The kids get out early today....

Ok...who's punking me

2007-06-06T21:15:00.000-07:00

What the heck!! Our treadmill is on the fritz already and we just bought it in March. It all started when I noticed that I would be walking at a 3.5 speed and I would look up and magically it had gone up to 4.0. Then two workouts ago I noticed the panel dimming off and on. Then finally yesterday when I turned it on....there was nothing showing up on the panel. Has this ever happened to you? We got out the manual and read that you have to have a very specific surge protector on it. Did we read that before....umm no. I didn't have a chance to call the company today....but oh my gosh....what if we fried the thing already!! The treadmill actually still works but it just doesn't show your speed/time/distance etc. I am so bummed!

The other problem and this is a biggie for me is that I bought a bunch....were talking four packages of crappy food at Target yesterday. Are you ready for this....Little Debbie Nutter Bars...those ones that they used to sell at nutrition break in high school. They are 8 points for one little package. I have had three since yesterday. Do the math folks. Not cool at all. I also bought wafer cookies. These are huge red flags that I am about to give up on my weight loss attemp or that I am self sabitoging myself. I must stop. I will stop. Tomorrow is a new day.

Another Great Week

2007-06-04T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hello blog friends. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I can't believe summer is around the corner. Not because of school being out or all the fun things we plan on doing but because I am still sending my girls to school in winter coats. This is San Diego right?? Oh well, the heat will be here soon enough.

I didn't actually go to my meeting on Saturday. Friday night after work I was starving and ate a late dinner and some snacks. Saturday morning I was showing a small gain on the scale and just talked myself out of going to the meeting. As of Sunday morning however I was showing a 1.6 loss. I am at a total of 12 pounds loss now!! I am so happy! Things are going slow but it is an average of one pound a week. I will take it.

Oh Oh...I know what I wanted to talk about. I went to the Rock and Roll Marathon Expo over the weekend. It's fun to go and get freebies and see what's new and lets face it....get motivated by all of the beautiful people who are fit enough to run a marathon!! Anyway, in one of the handouts that I got it had an ad for the Ryka Iron Girl 10k/5k that is coming my way in July. I had never heard of it before. Anyway, I am totally going to do it. They also have a mom/daughter division which is so cool. My mom wants to do it too. Anyway, I will probably just do the 5k and try to run the whole thing. That gives me 8 weeks to train.....should be able to pull it off.

Guess that is all that is new. Two more weeks of school and three weeks until our family reunion. Bye

June 1st

2007-06-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is June 1st. This year is just speeding by!! We have lots going on this month. The kids have two full weeks of school left. Then on the 23rd we have 40 family members coming into town for a family reunion. We have people coming from Washington, Redding (CA), Watsonville (CA), Thousand Oaks (CA) and Simi Valley (CA). I am so excited to see everyone. We have a very close family and always have a blast together. Right now the only real plans are spending as much time as possible at the beach and Sea World.

My brother and his family are invited to stay here at our house. If he does I will be one busy lady!! It will kinda light a fire under me to do that deep cleaning that is needed but always put off. Things like baseboards, steam cleaning the carpet, touching up paint here and there, organizing things and working on the back yard.

Work is going well. We hired two new cashiers which was much needed. When we first opened the store in October we had 17 cashiers and now......5. Yes you read that right!! Most people left because they were not getting enough hours. Being a new store we didn't have a huge client base and now that things are getting busier we need to catch up. I have been training the new girl. It's funny because when I first saw her I noticed 1. that she was pretty and 2. that she looked really familiar. So while training her a few other employees were saying that she also looked familiar. She just kinda laughed and said do I look like someone on tv...well maybe a bit....then she said do I look like Raven? She does....a lot like her....so much that she gets asked or told so on a daily basis. She said it's like having a twin that you can never get rid of. Poor thing. Speaking of celebrities....Jason was in again last night. If you don't know who I am talking about go back a few posts and you'll see who I am talking about. It was cute because when the new cashier found out that he had been there and that he was a regular she freaked out. Apparently she is a big fan and is a bit worried about how she will react when he comes through her line. Cute.

I am off....

10 Pounds

2007-05-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Yes!!! I had my WI on Saturday morning and I am down 10.4 pounds. It has taken me a long time. I started WW on March 3rd!! I guess I should just be happy I am losing. I have been doing a lot better on the treadmill too. Yesterday for the first time I did a 16 minute mile. I jogged (4.0-5.0) for about 15 minutes within my 40 minute walk. I was able to jog for 5 straight minutes.
We had a fun weekend. Saturday we went to see Shrek 3 with the kids and my parents. I ate so much crap!! Candy and popcorn...ugh...I actually found myself falling asleep during the movie. I think it must have been a sugar crash. Yesterday my parents offered to watch the kids while Homer and I got to go out. We went to Chili's for dinner and to see Pirates. Dinner was good. I got the appetizer platter but found out this morning that it was about 35 points...can you believe that! It was worth it though. Pirates was good too. I am so glad we got to go and see it.
Today is Memorial Day. We don't have any big plans. I have to work tonight...boo hoo. I hope I get paid time and 1/2. I don't mind the working....it's the working when it's dead that I hate! How many people are going to go to a health food store on Memorial Day.
I better go. I have about 25 loads of laundry to do. Have a good one!

May Day Challenge Week 2 Results

2007-05-21T20:23:00.000-07:00

Great news...I am down another 1.4 lbs. Yeah!! That is a total of 8.8 lbs for me since March 3rd when I started Weight Watchers.
It was a great week. I ate pretty well and got all of my exercise in too. I even did a little jogging for the first time on the treadmill. The biggest thing I need to work on is getting my veggies in. I just really struggle with this. I am doing better though.
I guess that's it for now. I hope to have another great loss to report next week!! Can't wait to read everyone elses blogs!!

May Day Challenge Week 1 Results

2007-05-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

YES!! I am down about 2.5 pounds this week. I say "about" because like a dork I forgot to write down my weight last Tuesday. Now I am good and from today forward should be more accurate.
I also go to WW on Saturday mornings so this might get a bit confusing. Maybe I will just post my Sat WI's on Tuesday...yes that's what I will do.
Anyway, I am surprised I am down at all. My family had two birthdays in the past two weeks and then Mothers Day on top of it.

I had some NSV'S (non scale victories for those who don't know) this week.

Bought and fit into some size 16 pants.
Bought a salad to take to my Mothers Day picnic. Still had some treats but that's ok.
Worked out four times this week.

That first one is a big one for me!! I was in a solid 18 so I am glad to be getting out of that.

I can't wait to see how everyone else has done!! Week one down and 17 to go!!

If you are wondering what this is all about you can go here and read all about it.

My latest WI

2007-05-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I went to WI on Saturday morning. Remeber I missed last Saturdays meeting and WI because we went to the Wild Animal Park. Instead of giving me two weeks to show a big loss I think it gave me a ticket to eat because I knew I would have another week. Anyway, lets get to the point. I gained .4. That's point 4. Now one thing I have to say is that I worked my ass off last week. I have been alternating the treadmill and the Firm. I think I took two rest days last week. I am hoping the gain is due to that. I am not giving up because as you saw in my last entry I have lost inches. At the meeting there was lots of talk about the Core plan and how great it is. I am seriously considering it. I am going to look into it more this week.

This weekend has been full of fun again. Saturday after my WI I took the kids (Homer was home sick) to the train. It was my dads 66th birthday and we took the train from Oceanside to downtown San Diego. It was so fun!! Buddy who is still in love with trains was just beside himself. He stared out the window for the whole hour long trek. So cute.....but of coarse I forgot my camera!! We walked down to Sea Port Village and went to lunch. It was so pretty!! It was a long day full of walking...a lot. We are guessing we probably walked between 3-4 miles.

Sunday was Mothers Day and after getting everyone ready we went to the park where my husband claims he saw Denise Richards. Not that I don't believe him but wondered why he didn't run over and tell me right away. I could have taken some pictures of her and then sold them to Star Magazine or something...ha ha. She was with her two kids and some other moms. No Ritchie Sambora in sight. I guess she actually grew up in Oceanside so maybe she still has family here. Anyway, we had a picnic...which I brought a salad to...yeah me. It was absolutely gorgeous outside today!

The day was finished by a 5 hour shift at work. In case you didn't already know I am a cashier at a health whole foods store. It was pretty busy which I was surprised about.

Anway, I am off to go to bed...more this week.

One Month Measurement Results

2007-05-08T08:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share some of my non scale results. Here they are....and bare with me...I like to measure lots of areas.

Area/4.10.07/5.08.07
Neck/14.5/14.2 = -.3
Chest/44.5/44.5=no change
Chest under bra 38.8/38.5= -.3
Waist/41/39.3= -1.7
Hips (at stomach pooch)/47.5/46.2= -1.3
Hips/47.8/46.6= -1.2
Theigh/30/28.4= -1.6
knee/18.5/18 = -.5
Calf/18.8/18.5 = -.3
ankle/9.7/9.5 = -.2
upper arm/14.7/14.1= -.6
forearm/ 12/11.4 = -.6

So there is a total loss of 8.6 inches. So there you have it. I will post the results again next month! I hope to see a bigger change in my bust and waist area!

The May Day Challenge begins today!!

2007-05-08T08:34:00.000-07:00

In case you have heard, today is the first day of the May Day Challenge.
Here is my starting picture. It was taken over the weekend with my family.

What are my goals you ask...well to simply lose as much as I can. I have been on WW since March 3rd of this year. I have lost about 8 pounds so far. It is coming off so slow this time around but it is coming off.

This is the umpteenth time I have started WW. What is different this time? My focus on health not weight loss. We purchased a treadmill, I got a Polar F6 heart rate monitor, a digital scale for weighing my food and myself and I signed up for the auto withdrawl of $39.99 for my WW meetings and subscription (the monthly pass). I am in this for life!

Seriously though, I would ultimately like to lose a total of 70 lbs. As far as this challenge goes my number goal will be 20 lbs. lighter by the end of this challenge.

The other thing I am doing today is taking new measurements. I will add them here later. I highly suggest you to do it too. I notice that times when the scale aint moving the measuring tape is!!

If you are looking for an email buddy or just want to chat about fat, treadmills, eating or WW leave me a comment. Good luck to everyone else who is following this challenge. I can't wait until September 18th to hear everyones results!!

Busy Weekend Ahead = Gaining Weight

2007-05-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow....Cinco De Mayo....is my moms birthday. Every year we celebrate it by going to a Mexican restaurant and tease her that all the other mobs of people are there to simply celebrate her special day. Well, she called me last night to make plans for tomorrow. Turns out that my brother is coming to town. I guess he had a plane ticket that he had never used and was going to expire so he is using it to fly here. He lives up in the Santa Cruz area.

So my mom really wants to go on a Harbor Cruise. Its just a three hour tour of the Harbor and you are always in view of land. On a beautiful warm day its wonderful. I think they sell drinks and snacks or something. Well, I am just a nervous wreck. Three kids (two which don't know how to swim well) on a boat. I am sure it will be fine and the kids will be stoked about going out on a boat. If the weather is bad she has a back up plan....The Wild Animal Park. That would be my pick...no large bodies of water near, lots and lots of walking + lots of activity points and lots of cute animals. Plus it's spring so maybe there will be lots of baby animals too.

Not sure what we will be doing on Sunday. Most likely I will have to work that night. I think my brother leaves Monday morning.

So, it looks like a fun weekend. I have my WW meeting tomorrow morning. Not sure if I will be making it or not. Just depends on what time we need to head out.

Happy Friday Everyone!!

A New Challenge

2007-05-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed the new button in my side bar. It's the May Day Weight Loss Challenge. Here is some information about it.

What is the The May Day Weight Loss Challenge? The May Day Weight Loss Challenge is an internet wide blog challenge available to anyone wanting to lose weight. Whether it's five pounds or 125 pounds, this challenge is for you. Don't have a blog? You can still participate!When will the challenge begin? Tuesday, May 8, 2007When will the challenge end? Tuesday September 18, 2007. If you lose just two pounds per week (a healthy rate to lose weight) for the duration of the challenge, you would lose THIRTY-SIX pounds. Imagine yourself thirty-six pounds lighter.
How does it work? On Tuesday, May 8th, you post on your blog how much weight you want to lose, and your weight history, what other goals you may have for this challenge (creating activity, cutting out soda, etc.) and any weaknesses you have. Come back to this site and sign Mr. Linky. Begin your diet. You have one week from today to plan your diet and prepare yourself for finding the skinny girl inside of you. She's in there and she wants out.
Weigh-ins will be held once a week, every Tuesday on this site. This does not mean you must weigh-in on Tuesdays, just report your loss/gain for that week on Tuesday. Again, you will sign Mr. Linky and talk about it on your blog. You do not need to make your weight public! Just your goals, losses and gains.

If you would like to join in the fun go here and sign up!

Saturdays WI Report

2007-04-29T23:08:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't get here sooner to tell you that I lost 2.8 this week for a total loss of 7.8. I am very happy about it and hope I can pull off another great week.

I can't believe the weekend is almost over. Yesterday was a kick back day. Today there was a birthday party to go to and then I had to work. Work was pretty busy for the most part. We have a celebrity customer who came in tonight.....wanna know who??? He is a singer that some people don't know but has had a few hits. Anyway, its Jason Mraz. He lives near by and comes in about once a week. Tonight he wanted to know how to bake something so I had to try and explain it. He's cool, you should go check him out.

I had to request some time off in June. We have lots of family coming from out of state for a family reunion. Should be so much fun. We hope to spend lots of time at the beach and go to Sea World too. It's 8 weeks away.....hope it comes soon!

Switching Things Up A Bit

2007-04-26T23:05:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to do one of my Firm dvd's. I can't remember the name but it was a sculpting one. I have been doing the treadmill for a while now and someday's I will do my free weights for my upper body but not any real sculpting work. It was nice to switch things up a bit. The wierdest part was that a couple hours later I was almost craving the treadmill. Very strange....so I got on it for 30 minutes. So I got in a total of 65 minutes of exercise today.

This has been a buisy week for us. Pookie had a science fair project that was due today. Somehow, even with a months notice it snuck up on us!! I came up with a great idea from it though. This summer, when the kids are "bored", we will be doing some projects. That way we will already have them all done and ready for next year. Eventually we will have three kids in the elementary school at once...that's three science projects....I can't even imagine.

Tonight was the open house at her school. Her teacher who is loved by everyone, had emergency colon surgery in February. Well, I just found out about two weeks ago that her teacher has Cancer. It is so sad. He is young (30's), single, athletic etc. He went in with stomach pain and when they opened him up for the surgery they were shocked. He has Cancer everywhere.....colon, kidney, lungs and Lymph nodes. He is considered a Stage 4. The kids don't know. They just know he is recovering from a surgery. We pray for him all the time and hope that the chemo is succesful. Tonight, at the open house he was there. He looks thin, gaunt and frail. He walks with a cane and had to sit for most of the night. He told me that just him being there for the hour would keep him in bed all day tomorrow just from the exhaustion. I just really feel for him. It just really goes to show you that anyone, even the healthiest of people can get sick.

I better get to bed. It's late! I might go to my WI tomorrow depending on what the scale says in the morning. As of this morning I am showing a 2 lb. loss just from Saturday. I am trying so hard! I know it will pay off eventually.

Goodnight!

Weekly WI

2007-04-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! Another weekend has flown by. I had my WW meeting on Sat morning. I only lost .2. Isn't that pitiful. I guess it's better than gaining. Midweek I was showing a bigger loss but my monthly visitor decided to rear its ugly head Sat. morning! Nice....
Anyway, I am doing really well with my exercise and feel that I have gotten that down and want to focus more on my eating. Mostly to getting all of my fruits and veggies in. That will be my focus this week.

Other than that, not much new. We took the kiddos to Denny's for dinner on Saturday night. It's kids eat free night so with three kids it really helps. It hilarious cause the kids think it is so special to be there. Which I guess it is...but you would think we were at a gourmet restaurant the way they get so excited about going. We were thinking we should start going to Saturday night church and then to Denny's afterwards. Kinda make it a tradition. When I was growing up we would go to mass on Sunday and always go to breakfast afterwards.

I worked last night. It was pretty busy until about 8:30 and then it was just dead. There was literally nothing to do so we just sat around and talked between customers. Homer is home sick today with a migraine. It came on yesterday. He gets them every once in a while but when he does they are bad. I am hoping he is feeling better by tonight cause I have to work again.

My Weekly 5K

2007-04-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

I have had some new readers visiting me from the WW boards. Hello and please leave me a note sometime.
Anyway, since getting the new love of my life....my treadmill.....I have been doing a weekly 5k (walking). I know to lots of people 3.1 miles aint much...in fact at one point in my life it was just the warm up. Anyway, I guess I am doing it to sorta track my progress. I am definitely a numbers gal. I guess because like they say...numbers don't lie! So just to catch you up...if you are into numbers too here are my first three weeks 5k resluts.

Week 1 3.02 (dist) 61:36 (time) 20.31 ( average pace per mile)
Week 2 3.19/61.30/19.21
Week 3 3.17/60.00/18.92

So, pretty exciting to see that in only three weeks I shaved a 1.39 off my pace. It's still painfully slow but I will get there.

I am thinking about doing the couch to 5k program that is out there. Anyone have any experience with that?

Buddy and his first trip to the dentist

2007-04-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, I think I was more nervous than buddy this morning. He just turned 4 in March and was complaining a couple weeks ago about a tooth bothering him. I was able to get him an appointment this morning and we went. First of all let me preface the story by saying that my other two kids normally go to a "KIDS" dentist. It's basically a Chuckee Cheese with a dentist cleaning your teeth in the back room. I love the office but not the dentist. The kids love to go there....video games, toys, goody bags, movies and a tv screen on the ceiling so they can watch Disney movies (and listen with ear phones) while their teeth are being cleaned etc. Well, since I got new insurance I decided to look to go to a new dentist that my neighbor referred me to. Well, this was not a fun dentist. The office consisted of three chairs and a murky fish tank. Talk about disappointed! The hygentist was soooo nice. Buddy did an awesome job. He is used to me brushing his teeth and making him open wide, swish and spit so that all went well. The best news.....no cavities. The dentist thinks he may be grinding his teeth therefore making them sore. So for now we are cool. Oh and he did get a goody bag complete with a new toothbrush, floss (like he knows what the heck that is) a timer, stickers, pencils and a tooth brush shaped eraser. Not Chucky's style but good enough.

Afterwards I took him to Islands Restaurant to get lunch and use a coupon I got from them for a free burger and desert (birthday clubs are cool). I only ate half of the sandwich....so huge and brought the desert home. Anyway, according to a points source online my lunch was about 19 points....Ouch!! I will get my treadmill on later.

I also want to add that I saw a new lower number on the scale today. Then I had to go and ruin it by going to Islands....oh well.

An Easter Miracle has occured!!

2007-04-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well, somehow I lost weight at my WI today. I am down a total of 4.8. For those of you following my journey, I had a 3 lb. gain last week and I lost almost all of it this week. One thing I have learned is that it really isn't worth it to have a day or week off. I had to work so dang hard this week to get my gain lost and I still didn't even lose it all. The gain was caused by having many birthday celebrations and having a who cares attitude. Last Sat. I had the gain which was followed by Easter Sunday. What the heck. I told myself Easter morning that I would take the day off so to speak. Since I had just received my 35 flex points the day before I felt pretty good. The rest of week I was pretty much OP except for a few candy treats from the kids basket.
So, something that I am even more proud of are the Non Scale Victories (NSV). There were so many this week. First, I did a 5k on the treadmill (TM) on Wednesday and bettered my time by 1 minute from last weeks 5k. I plan to do it once a week and watch my progress. I am still terribly slow...about a 19 minute mile but I am getting my heart rate up and getting stronger all the time.
Secondly, after my WI I have always treated myself with a trip thru McDonalds for a breakfast sandwich, hashbrown and diet coke. The last time I did it...about two weeks ago....I was half way thru the sausage mc muffin and realized it wasn't even really all that good and threw it away. So this morning, I passed McDonalds and pulled in to Starbucks instead and treated myself to an iced coffee with about half the points which I enjoyed a hundred times more!! Yeah for me.
I am off to do yard work. I am actually looking forward to getting out and moving my body which is rare for me!! We are also supposed to clean out the garage which is in terrible shape!

Easter + WW = EVIL

2007-04-11T00:43:00.000-07:00

So, we have about 20lbs of Easter candy in the house. It is just everywhere. I just don't know what to do about it. I have read other people who just throw it away....I am just way too thrifty to do it. Plus my kids would be crushed if I did that. What do you suggest? Please leave me a comment and give me your suggestions please!! Or at least let me know that there are other moms out there dealing with the same thing.

Today is the last day of calm and quiet!

2007-04-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of calm and quiet. As of 2:45 today the girls will be on Spring Break. I have absolutely no special plans for them. Maybe a trip to the library, park, beach or a friends house. It seems like Easter really snuck up on us this year. Last year I think I dug out the baskets and plastic eggs in mid March. I quickly realized what a mistake that was when the kids had all of the eggs split in two and all over the house. They are still in my closet and I think I will bring them down tomorrow or Saturday. Also, it is a tradition in our family to make an Easter bunny cake...one in the shape of a bunny head....totally forgot about it and need to figure out when I will have time to squeeze it in on Saturday. Somewhere between an easter egg hunt, birthday party and shopping. Lastly, I have no idea what I will be wearing for church. Unfortunately I am barely fitting into most of my clothes (that's where WW comes in). I really don't want to buy anything new since it will only fit for a few weeks. Think it would be ok to wear sweats to church? I could wear a cute scarf...think that still fits! UGH!
I bought Pookie an adorable outfit at Target. Love that place....a new dress and sweater for only $24.00. I am hoping that Boo Boo will have a hand me down dress to wear. I guess I should get on that huh?? I bought new tights since all the ones in their drawer magically get runs in them or holes in the toes.

I will be going to my WI on Saturday. I have done the treadmill every day this week so far. (mon-wed). I upped it to 2.5 miles on Tues. Yesterday Boo Boo kept needing my help with something so my workout wasn't that great. I would just get going and she would call me again. I still did two miles but it took almost an hour due to the interuptions.

Enjoy the day.....

Back on my way...

2007-04-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry the last post was such a downer but I just had to get that out. I am still in a bit of shock. I wasn't able to go out to the gravesite yet but hope to go this week sometime.

So, on a happier note I went to my WI on Friday and am down another pound for a total of 5.8. I was terrible over the weekend. I had every bad food out there...doughnuts (garage sale), movie theater popcorn (saw Meet the Robinsons), candy (at the movie) and good ol McDonalds....twice. So, as of yesterday morning I was way up again but have already knocked two pounds down as of this morning. I really need to work on not totally blowing it over the weekends. I just set myself up for so much work to get it back down.
This weekend will represent another challenge. Easter!! I will just have to save my flex points for it. I tried to buy lite this year so there wont be too much left overs. Not sure if the Easter bunny is bringing Homer and me a basket or not. But I am sure the munchkins won't notice a few treats missing!!

I Remember....

2007-03-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I got some really sad news. A friend of mine that I have known since childhood but have not talked to in about 10 years has passed away. She is only 36. She has one son who is about 18. The day turned into a feeding frenzy of phone calls to old friends to share the news and dig for any information about why she passed. Her mom, who is friends with my mom could barely get the words out that she had passed...on March 16th....and has already been burried. WHY? That was the big question..we were only told that it was under investigation.
Well, this morning I finally found out....suicide. She took her own life. What could she have been going through to decide this was it. I just don't know and will probably never know. But instead of tearing myself up about the why I decided to do this blog entry and write all the great things I remember about her and our friendship.

Janell....

She was my very absolute without a doubt best friend, BFF, sister, pal, confident and secret confider from about the age of 7-14. We spent the night numerous times at each others homes, swam in each others pools, watched the Thriller video every 15 minutes for about 3 hours while eating Doritos and Dr. Pepper, played soft ball together, went on field trips, girl scouts, trick or treating, birthday parties, hours of roller skating, rode bikes, did bike car washes, got the same rainbow shirts and knickers, visited her dad at the grocery store he managed and got a behind the scenes tour of the store, played Monopoly, vistited her grandparents, went to movies together, church and youth group, six grade camp, slumber parties, school dances, boyfriends, cheerleading, football games, jr. high graduation dresses, her collection of horses, her big sparklets jug of change that her dad would fill for her, telephone calls, sticker books, Hello Kitty, trips to the mall, when she got chicken pox she only got three and they all left scars...one above her eye, sweet 16, millions of notes letters and cards and oh so much more.
We kinda drifted in high school and soon after graduation she met a guy who would later become the father of her child and husband. I attended her dental school graduation cermony, exchanged Christmas cards for a few years and then we just lost touch. I would get updates every now and then via my mom from her mom. There are three other friends from that original "group" that I am still in touch with and we tried to get in contact with her about a year ago to go to a group dinner reunion. I wish we would have tried harder.
So, if you have made it through this email....go run to your phone or address book quickly and look up those old friends that you keep saying you should call sometime and just do it. You never know what is really going on in someone elses life and just knowing that there is someone else out there that loves you and remembers the fun times like I have listed above is all it would take to keep that friendship alive.

One of my friends, Kim and I are getting together on Monday to go and lay flowers on her gravesite and plan to go to coffee afterwards to talk about the good old days.

I will remember Janell as the sweet childhood friend that I was blessed with knowing.

Going Digital

2007-03-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

Years ago when I did weight watchers I bought a food scale.

Kinda like this one where it has a removable dish so you can weigh the food directly on the scale or in the bowl. The problem was that it just wasn't very accurate. You could manually reset the dial depending if you used the bowl or not.
This time around I don't want any errors...I am really trying to follow the plan well and accuracy is important when it comes to weighing food and making sure the portion sizes are right.

So, I bought a digital scale. I love it.

This is not the exact one I bought but pretty close. It is well worth the $30 it cost. I have used it for lots of things such as meat, pretzels and just this morning cream cheese. I highly suggest getting one if you are just starting out or like me trying to tighten up any areas of slippage.

Vanished

2007-03-27T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, just wrote this big ol' post and then lost my internet connection...poof!!

Anyway, just wanted to drop in to say that I did not go to my weigh in on Saturday because we were at Legoland for Buddy's birthday. We had a great time, the weather was perfect and he had fun. The best part was that my dad was able to get these radio promo tickets for only $7.00 a person. So the whole family got in for $35.00 intead of about $200.00. We were so stoked!

I also wrote about how amazing Homer is and that he went from not exercising at all to being able to run on our new treadmill. RUN!! It is just amazing to me. I can barely walk 3.4 mph and he's running. True, he has more experience as a runner. He has done a couple marathons but he hasn't run in probably more than a year. Damn, I wish it was that easy for me.

We are having a garage sale this Saturday so I am hoping to go to my WW meeting on Friday instead. I will be happy to be even from my last WI. Currently I am showing a small gain mostly due to all the birthdays we have had in the last month (4) and a few too many treats!

A Random Meme.....

2007-03-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to attempt this meme that I snatched from "It Coulda Been Worse". I will do my best!

1. What time did you get up this morning? The alarm went off originally at 6:25 am but I actually got out of bed at 7 am.
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Night at the Museum
4. What is your favorite TV show? Amazing Race, Survivor, The Hills and any other reality show.
5. What did you have for breakfast? I had a granola bar and two strawberries
6. What is your middle name?Anne
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican
8. What foods do you dislike?Indian food or sushi
9. What are your favorite chips? Probably pretzels
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Jessie McCartney, Carrie Underwood and Lonestar.
11. What kind of car do you drive? Nissan Altima
12. Favorite sandwich? Turkey, Avocado, sprouts, cheese on a french roll
13. What are characteristics you can’t stand? Snottyness
14. What are your favorite clothes? comfy.....lounge
15. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would you go? europe
Where is sixteen?
17. Where would you want to retire? Close to family and hopefully grandchildren
18. Favorite time of day?evenings, after all the work is done and you can just relax
19. Where were you born?Burbank, Ca
20. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football, grew up watching it.
21. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Coke....seriously addicted
22. Beavers or ducks? Excuse me?
23. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night Owl
24. Pedicure or manicure? Neither, after I heard about people getting weird fungis from the tools used in shops I don't go. I used a thick lotion on my feet and cover in socks at night sometimes though.
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A teacher and then later a psychologist or family therapist.....would still like to do the latter.
26. What is your best childhood memory? Family trips to Lake Tahoe and Christmas mornings
27. Ever been to Africa? No.
28. Ever been toilet papering? Oh yeah.
29. Been in a car accident?Yes, a couple very small ones. Never while I was driving though.
30. Favorite day of the week? Fridays, the week is done and the weekend is coming
31. Favorite restaurant? Love Acapolcos (Mexican) and good ol' McDonalds
32. Favorite flower? tulips and poppies....think spring
33. Favorite ice-cream? Not a huge ice cream person but do enjoy Phish Food from Ben and Jerry's
34. Favorite fast food restaurant? Mickey D's.
35. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? 0
36. From whom did you get your last e-mail? Anna, my friend and neighbor
37. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Target
38. Last person you went to dinner with? my family and my parents to the Corvette diner (see previous post)
39. What are you listening to right now? The Regis and Kelly show
40. What is your favorite color? red/pink
41. How many tattoos do you have?one, a sun on my back
42. How many are you sending this Email to? Blogging.
43. What time did you finish this e-mail blog entry? 9:35 am.
44. Favorite magazine: Used to be People but they started focusing too much on celebrities..now I like Real Simple, Parents, Weight Watchers
45. Coffee or tea? Coffee.
46. Do you tan easily or burn easily? Burn.
47. Do you color your hair? If so, how often?I get it highlighted every once in a while..just so damn exspensive!!
48. What was the first car you ever purchased without the help of your parents? My Nissan Altima
49. What is your most dreaded household chore? The floor around the toilets
50 Who do you tag to complete this meme? I tag anyone who reads this and would like to participate....come on its fun!!
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Happy Birthday to me!

2007-03-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Do you like the new look of my blog. I love it. My hubby did it for me as a birthday gift. My b-day was on the 16th.

Today was a great day. Besides St. Patty's day we celebrated Homers, Buddies and my birthday. Homers was last week and buddies is on monday. Yes, three birthdays within a weeks time. We went to the Corvette Diner in Hillcrest. It was such a cute place. It like a scene from Grease. The girls all wear poodle skirts and the guys look like greasers. They dance and interact with the guests. The kids had a ball. At the end, the waitress threw about 20 pieces of bazooka bubble gum on our table. Afterwards we drove to Sea Port Village, an outdoor touristy place with stores and restaurants right by the harbor. We walked around, went to a bookstore, got some coffee and then took the kids to the candy shop. Overall, a great time was had by all.

I went to my WW meeting on Friday morning and had a small loss this week. Only -.6. Not as good as I was hoping for but it was a loss. Our treadmill is coming on Tuesday. I can't wait. I will post a picture of it soon.

Have a great week and let me know what you think of the new look.

-4.2

2007-03-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

Yeah!! My first official WI and I lost 4.2 lbs!! I really thought I had only lost a pound or two. My scale was way off! I am sure that next week won't be as great but I am hoping to reach my 5 lb. loss!

So, as usual on WI days today was a food fest. First off, I had to go shopping after my meeting and since I had not had breakfast yet I was starvin Marvin so I went to McDonalds and got a hash brown...no sandwich. Then, since today was my hubbies birthday we got sub sandwiches and went to a local park/lake and had a picnic and went walking for 40 minutes. We were supposed to go out for dinner but since I now have a cold and Boo Boo has a low fever we decided to lay low. I ran out and got McDonalds (yes twice in one day) and that was that. I have used all my daily points and abouut half of my weekly 35 flex points. Oh well, I am definitely not going to stress cause that's what they are for.

We made a chocolate cake but since boo boo fell asleep we are going to wait and have it tomorrow. There goes the rest of my flex points!

We still don't have the new treadmill. I am really hoping it comes this week. My birthday is on Friday and it would be great to have it by then.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

This and That

2007-03-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

I took a peek at the scale this morning and I am down 1.6 from last Saturday. Now, I weighed myself in my skivvies. Do you think they would notice if I walked into a WW meeting in my unders? My official weigh in (WI) is this Saturday. I definitely feel better already, just adding the water and taking out the mindless snacking. Also, I am really really trying to not eat past 8 pm. It's really tough because on nights that I work I go in at 5 pm (too early for dinner) and get home at 9:30 which is obviously past the 8 pm cut off. What I have been doing is eating a Luna bar on my break and this seems to help but I just hate replacing meals with bars but not sure what else to do. Any suggestions?

My dd Pookie has been sick since last friday. I sent her to school yesterday with a very low temp (99.4) on some Motrin and she was in the nurses office by 12:30 with a 100.8 temp and had to come home. I think she just has the flu....tummy ache, fever, poop issues etc. I kept her home again today only because you have to be fever free for 24 hours before sending kids back to school.

My dh's birthday is Saturday. Not sure what we will be doing yet. I told him it was up to him to pick something. Living in San Diego is great because there are so many options. He is leaning towards going to a park for a picnic and going hiking. Sounds like lots of fun as long as the weather is good.

Happy Thursday and thanks for stopping by.

Yeah...I have friends

2007-03-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

As a SAHM I often feel like I have no friends. I know there are ways to get them, moms groups, library, parks etc. I just have a hard time walking up to people I don't know. I have never been good at it. That's why this blogging thing is perfect for me. I can tell you what I would tell my closest friends without going through the getting to know you stage. I was so excited to get so many comments from people at my first ever blog party and hope to keep you coming back for more.

So, this weekend I rejoined Weight Watchers for the millionth time. I won't post my starting weight here but will tell you it starts with a 2. I wasn't surprised. I have been in a funk for the last couple months and think that reading other moms blogs has really helped me realize that I am not alone. It has also made me realize that things could be so much worse!! So, my official day that I weigh in is on Saturdays now so I will be updating you then instead of on Wednesday like in the past. I fell pretty good about things and determined once again. A neighbor friend may start going to meetings with me too which will help with being accountable! I am really excited about it.

Other than that my weekend was pretty bland. We ordered a treadmill from Costco on Sunday. I am still a bit in denial that we actually ordered it. I have been wanting a treadmill for at least three years now. We have an exercise bike but I just don't feel like I get a real "workout" from it. The one we ordered comes highly recommended and was on sale which is always nice. It should be here in about 2-3 weeks. I can't wait!!

Party Time

2007-03-02T09:49:00.000-08:00

5 Minutes for mom is hosting The Ultimate Blog party! Thanks for coming by.

Since most of you have never been by here before...let me tell you a bit about myself. I am 35, a mom of three and married almost 10 years. I was born and raised in California and currently live in San Diego. I love it and feel so blessed that I can raise my family here. My husband works as a marketing analyst and I work part time (20 hours) at a Whole Foods Market as a cashier. My kids are 9, 5 and 3. I am able to stay home all day with them and work at night.

Some things that make me smile are music (all kinds except rap), special coffee drinks (mochas, lattes etc.), the beach, the computer, family and snacks. The last one just a bit too much!!

I am very new to the blogging world and think I have had three visitors so far. I love reading other moms blogs and hearing that I am not so crazy! We all are....ha !

I am glad you stopped by. Please leave me a comment so that I know that you came and tell me three things about you so that I can get to know you. I also want to come visit you at your party too.

What is the world coming to.....

2007-02-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

So, last night a poor lady was mugged outside the store I work at. She was this petite little lady maybe in her 50's and was putting her groceries in her car when a big truck pulled up next to her, a passenger jumped out, she grabbed her purse like a football, he grabbed the purse and off they went. It was so sad, we were just closing and she was screaming and running towards the store saying Help Me and rattling off the license plate number. The next hour was spent with the cops trying to fill out paper work, getting as much info as possible. So, now this lady is completely tramatized, will probably never be able to go out at night alone again without thinking about it and for what. A lousy $70.00, a cell phone and other odds and ends. People are just assholes I swear!!

Anyway, it's raining today which is much needed here in San Diego. I actually love the rain (as long as I don't have to go anywhere in it). They say Californians dont know how to drive in the rain but I think it's just because we don't get any time to practice. Who knows.

So, I started marking down my points again for Weight Watchers. I am basically a lifer. I went to my first meeting when I was about 16 and revisit it every couple years. I will have my Wednesday Weigh in tomorrow but warn you now that it won't be pretty. I actually rode the exercise bike yesterday for about 35 minutes and plan to do it again today.
Ok, so now this post is rambling so I will go for now...see you again tomorrow.

Oh for the love of hermit crabs...

2007-02-18T21:18:00.000-08:00

Pookie is going to be 9 next week so we went shopping yesterday for birthday gifts. We had to make a quick stop at the pet store to get a filter for our fish tank. This pet store doesn't really have "pets" there to purchase. Just hamsters, fish, lizards and you guessed it....hermit crabs. Pookie has wanted one since the bizzare kiosks selling them started showing up at malls everywhere. I must have been half asleep still because I started considering one. I figured, how bad could they be, it would teach her about responsibility, they seem fairly easy to manage and care for...so why not. Well, $70.00 later she is the proud parent of two crabs. $70.00. The basic break down goes as the following....tank $10.00, tank lid (because I will be damned if those things will be crawling around the house while I sleep softly at night) 7.00, hiding spot (they like to hide apparently) half coconut shell $7.00, gravel $5.99, sand $5.00, food $4.99, cookies (don't even ask) $3.99, fake plant $4.00, water bowl $3.00, food bowl $3.oo, sponge that sits in water bowl (apparently they like to suck on it) $2.00, mister spray bottle $3.00 and the rest goes to the cost of the crabs themselves. All I know is that they better live a long time so I can get my money's worth!

The good news is that my daughter is so happy and completely in love with them. She has named them Will and Elizabeth from Pirates of The Carribean.

Hermit crabs...what was I thinking????

Love is in the air....

2007-02-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

Not! It's almost Valentines Day and you might as well call me the grinch of V. Day. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and my kids very very much but it's just such a....hard thing for me to get into. I have always been like this. First of all, homer asked what I wanted to V day. Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of things being spontaneous and from the heart. First I told him not to get me anything and realized that wasn't really fair to him if he wanted to get me something. So then I told him to just go to Target and look around and whatever screamed out to him as something I would love get it. Be it naughty lingerie, heart shaped anythings or a new pan. Really, I dont care. I have not bought him anything and I told him so to kind of prepare him for the let down. I do feel bad and will probably be at the store tomorrow with all the other losers who succomb to this dumb day.

Ok, I am done being a Valentine grinch, go kiss your sweetie and pray that cupids arrow hits me soon.

The Cutest Thing

2007-02-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

Buddy is only three years old but already is fully aware of all that is Star Wars. Homer, who is also a SW fan got the new Lego Star Wars PS2 game for Christmas and just about every day Buddy begs Homer to play it so he can watch. That in itself is cute but what is cuter is that he calls those little robot characters R2 and the Gold Man (R2D2 and C3PO). So about every oh lets say 15 seconds Buddy is saying "Hey there's R2 and the Gold Man" at quite an excited pitch. I don' t even know how Homer can concentrate on playing because it is sooooo distracting! How can something be so darn cute but so darn annoying at the same time!

Sore throats and stuff

2007-02-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, sorry I haven't been around. For the last two weeks there has been at least one person at this house sick. First the kids, then Homer and now me. Always the last to get it. It has been increasingly harder to wake up the last few mornings but today was by far the hardest. I woke up in the the wee hours and discovered a 102 fever and throat so sore that I could not swallow my water! Thankfully I do not have to work tonight and homer was able to get the kids ready for school. He even brought me some breakfast in bed!

I didn't report here on Wednesday. Just forgot actually. I am actually up .2. I am hardly concerned. I just want to get through this cold or whatever it is and get back on track.

We are supposed to have a movie night with our neighbors across the street but I think I may cancel. No need to pass my germs on to someone elses family. The superbowl is this weekend too and my parents are planing on coming over for that.

Another One Bites The Dust

2007-01-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I made it another week. I lost another 1.4 for a total loss of 3 lbs. I managed to do all of the baby steps except the exercise. In fact I think I only did it once. Not sure why. Just busy and tired. I worked a lot last week and have just wanted to veg out most mornings.

As you know I have set a date goal of October 4th. This is my 10 year wedding anniversary! I can't even believe it has been 10 years. So, we are hoping to do something to celebrate and right now we are hoping to go to Vegas. I have started looking around at all of the different hotels and getting ideas. We stayed at the Rio which is nice. We usually stay at the Excalibur which is ok but not NICE if you know what I mean. I got prices for the Bellagio, New York, Paris, Caesars Palace, MGM, Mirage, Treasure Island and The Palms. It looks like for four nights the average cost will be about $1000.00. The hard part will be picking a hotel. So, if you have been to Vegas lately please let me know where you have stayed and why you loved/hated it. We need your help!

Weigh In Wednesday!! #1

2007-01-17T08:39:00.000-08:00

Hello, today is my official first WI. Basically the last week has been full of stress and boredom eating. The only healthy thing I had was a few salads. Homer did fix the exercise bike for me and I was able to do 20 minutes on it without it breaking again. That being said..I am down 1.6 lbs!! Yeah me. I watched the Oprah from Monday with Bob Greene and his new diet book. After watching it I realized that maybe I should start some baby steps (he calls it revving up to lose weight). I have come up with the next 4 baby steps that I plan to do for the next month before adding a new one. Here they are

1. Water Water Water!! For every soda (diet) I have to have one water too! I have a big water bottle that I will need to finish by the end of each day.
2. Healthy Breakfast...no more pancakes or peanut butter toast. Some ideas for this are smoothies (which I had today), eggs or oatmeal.
3. Multi Vitamin..nothing to explain here.
4. exercise...my plan is that on mon-fri to ride the exercise bike while watching the first 1/2 hour of The View. I will take the weekends off. I can also add in some free weights here and there.

That's it. Nothing scientific...pretty straight forward. Wish me luck!!

Week 1 -1.6
Left until goal 38.4

Yeah for fridays and not having to work

2007-01-12T11:24:00.000-08:00

As I have mentioned before, my first job is SAHM to three rugrats. Back in September I started working part time at a local health food store (kinda like Whole Foods) that just opened about 2 miles from home. It's actually just perfect. Her are all the pro's:
* Close to home
* Brand new store so everything is pretty and shiny
* Customers are cool in a sorta hippy/granola way
* The store closes at 9 so I am home early enough to still see husband before bedtime
* Extra money is helping us get by a bit easier

ok, with every pro's there are cons:
* Standing up for hours at a time
* Touching packages of raw meat....not just chicken either...tongue, buffalo, liver, fish heads etc.
* Annoying high school baggers gossip about boyfriends and sneaking out at night
* Weirdo customers

So, we have a few customers that are just so....shall we say...unique. There is one lady who we have nick named the Ice Cream Lady. She will come in almost on a daily basis (which in itself is a bit odd since we are a specialty store...it would be like going to Bed Bath and Beyond everyday...weird) and she buys....you guessed it...ice cream. But not just a container of ice cream but several containers of ice cream...everyday. So, you may say that she needs a weight watchers intervention...not so...she is skin and bone. That is the part that just baffles us all. What does she do with it? Wash her hair, use it to paint, give it out as party favors..or....(your guess here). She is just one out of many of our favorites. What did you think cashiers did between customers...we gossip about you. I am sure I will tell you about many more in the future. Something for you to look forward to....oh boy...bet you can't wait. Yeah, I'm a loser.

38 Weeks....week one

2007-01-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

ok, so in 38 weeks it will be my 10 year wedding anniversary. I have decided to combine that along with the desire to get rid of some of this fat to set a goal for myself. It will be an easy goal since I can never seem to meet any of the other ones I have set....My goal is to lose 40 lbs. by Oct. 4th. From this day forward Wednesday here will be Weigh In Wednesday for me. I am really excited by this and hope that having to report it here it will keep me honest! Not sure if I am going to list my starting weight or not. Lets just say that it's more than Kirstey Alleys starting weight!! If she can do it so can I!
I will be following the Weight Watchers plan and will be riding my exercise bike, walking or doing The Firm. If you have any tips or words of encouragement please leave me a comment! I am off to go take my official weigh in. Wish me luck!!

Learning

2007-01-08T23:29:00.000-08:00

Introducing the children....here is buddy. He is three going on four in March.

Here are boo boo and pookie...we were at my parents house for a holiday tea party. It was so much fun. My mom did a great job and we plan to do it every year.

Well, tonight my husband taught me a few new blog tricks like posting pictures and linking other sites etc. In my world this is big. It's nice when you learn how to do something that you always thought was so difficult only to say....wow, that was easy! Like that lame commercial "That was easy".

It's late, I'm tired, goodnight!

Barf-o-rama

2007-01-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

Here is what buddy looks like today.

In the last two weeks all three of my kids have had random barfings. The kind where they wake up in the middle of the night....proceed to barf all over, then go to the bathroom and barf some more....then I come in and have to change all their barfy bedding (at 3 am mind you) and get them back to bed. By then I can't get back to sleep because I am on pins and needles listening for "THAT" sound when you know more barf is coming. They never get sick again, you've been up all night and it's time to get up and get the rest of the family breakfast! UGH!! I hate barf!
Have a nice day!

My First Meme!!

2007-01-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

Here is a meme that I saw at another blog and thought it was great an will help introduce me to the new world of blogging. So, here goes:

1. What is your occupation? I am a SAHM and a cashier at a health food store.
2. What color are your socks right now? Black socks inside of Ugg boots.
3. What are you listening to right now? The View..on tv
4. What was the last thing that you ate? I just ate an english muffin with peanut butter.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes, I used to have a Nissan Sentra...current car is automatic.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be today? A green color. My son is home sick today and I am just tired and want to be sleeping
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My husband to tell him we have a barfing son.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?Honestly I stole it...didn't know it had to be sent to me. I have a lot to learn.
9. How old are you today? 35
10. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Football
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes
13. Pets? No, but I would really like to get a new dog soon.
14. Favorite Food? popcorn from Target or the movie theater. I can be totally full but when I smell it I have to have some!
15. What was the last movie you watched? Over the Hedge with the kiddies.
16. What was the last book you read?Found by Karen Kingsbury
17. What do you do to vent anger? Not much, I seem to close up and pout
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? I loved all my Fisher Price toys.
19. What is your favorite fall or spring? I love Fall. I love getting all my cozy clothes out. In So-Cal this is really the only time of year that the weather changes much.
20. Hugs or kisses .... Hugs.
21. Cherries or blueberries or Strawberries? Strawberries
22. Living arrangements?Live in the suburbs with DH, DD (8), DD (5) and DS (3)
23. When was the last time you cried? At my cousins funeral a year ago.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest and how long has it been? It is a tie between two friends I have had since elementary school...about 25+ years
26. What did you do last night? Drove home from Aunt and Uncles house (2.5 hours) and caught up on email...in bed by 9:30
27. Favorite smells? New Car smell....my cousin got a new car on New Years and it was heaven. Also the smell of clean kids!
28. What inspires you? Definitely my kids....they are learning from me so I need to set a good example.
29. What are you afraid of? Currently? Dying young
30. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Plain with ketchup
31. Favorite dog breed? golden retriever
32. Number of keys on your key ring ? Three
33. How many years at your current job? Only three months at my Henry's job
34. Favorite day of the week? Sunays
35. How many states have you lived in? two...Virginia and California
36. Favorite holiday? Christmas.

Well, there you have it. Hope you enjoyed reading it.
Happy New Year

Karaoke Night

2006-12-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

So, today I took DD (8) to Target to spend some Christmas money. She was really hoping for a Karaoke machine. Would you believe....they had none. I was so surprised. I tried to talk her into perhaps a new gameboy game or maybe a Barbie but nooooo. So then we were off to the dreaded place. A place where only totally insane people go to the first Saturday after Christmas....Toys r'Us. Would you believe in a huge TOY STORE that they did not have any left either and that out of all of the thousands of toys....she did not want any of them...just a karaoke machine. Now by this time I was saying too bad, you will have to just wait and get it another day. But she just gave me that sad look and reminded me how fun it would be to have by New Years Eve ( which I had actually said on the way to Target)...so off to Walmart we go. I told her this was it...I was done...no more for me....if they didn't have one than TOO BAD! Mean mom!! Well, believe it or not, they had one..actually not just one but two. So, we got it. It was $50.00 exactly $20 more than she had in her purse. At that point I didn't care if it was $100, we were getting it. My parents came over tonight for dinner and to watch football and afterwards we tested it out. It was a lot of fun. We also bought a few cd's to sing to. And yes, it will a lot of fun to have tomorrow night.

Anyway, we also got a call tonight from my Aunt who lives a couple hours from here inviting us up for New Years. My parents are going as well. It should be fun. Growing up we always spent the night with family but lately (since kids) we haven't done much. The kids are really excited to just be going somewhere!
Happy New Year to you!

What is Normal?

2006-12-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

Ever since Christmas Eve I have been in a fog. A Christmas fog I guess. I am looking forward to things going back to normal. Whatever that is. Today, after 7 days off I will be going in to work. As much as I have enjoyed being home, lounging in my pj's and eating Hershey kisees and fudge I am ready. I need to talk to other adults.
The kids are still loving all their presents. The biggest hits are the Zoo Tycoon, game boys and Star Wars II PS2 game.
The New Year is coming soon. 2007. Wonder what it will bring, birthdays, anniversaries ( 10 years), money issues solved (lets hope). Can't wait to find out.
Boring blog....sorry....I hpe it gets better after the fog has lifted!

Twas the night before madness

2006-12-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow is Christmas. The presents are wrapped, DH is at Walmart buying my presents (seriously), and my DD (8) has a 101.3 fever. Yes, things are perfect. AAAGGGG! Not sure what to do now. My DH said he would stay home with DD while the rest of us (DD (5) DS and I) go to church and dinner with my parents. It would just feel so weird to go without them. We will figure it out. I really want to go to church this year though because last year we didn't go. My mom had just had open heart surgery and my non church going brother was in town with his family so we chose to forgo it.
Anyway, Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Christmas Eve Eve Eve

2006-12-23T00:45:00.000-08:00

Well, today my dad came over with all of his gifts for my mom and I wrapped them for him. It was lots of fun. I enjoy wrapping gifts. Ribbons, bows, scissors, tape, name tags...oh boy. I haven't finished my own wrapping yet. Just a few left.
I took the girls (DD 8 & DD5) to the mall tonight to use my Jc Penneys coupon. I bought my dad a shirt/jacket thing and the new Beatles cd for DH and All America Rejects for me. Love buying my own gifts (rolling eyes). My mom always did that and it has sorta passed on to me. I guess in some way I want to be sure that I get what I want, selfish I know. There are usually a few surprises under the tree for me.

Tomorrow should be a kick back day. Wrap rest of gifts, make cookies for Santa, laundry and getting holiday outfits ready, grocery store run and at home pedi's for my daughters and I. I love Christmas.

Thursday Thirteen

2006-12-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

Like I have mentioned before I have been reading a lot of other blogs and trying to get fun ideas for my own blog. One of the things I see today is the Thursday Thirteen. I guess on thursdays people come up with little lists that they find interesting at the time. I am trying my first today. Enjoy

Thursday Thirteen: Christmas movies I have watched this holiday season so far....

1. A Year Without A Santa Claus: The one where Santa gets sick and Mrs. Claus decides to handle things and everything goes to shit.

2. Casper's Haunted Christmas (currently watching): Never seen this one before. Apparently this girl thinks Casper is a snowman and is shocked to learn he is a ghost. I guess being a talking snowman wasn't weird enough???

3. The Grinch (cartoon): Don't need to explain this classic.

4. The Grinch (the movie with Jim Carey): Don't like this one much but the kids love it.

5. Miracle on 34th Street (original): Love this one!

6. Miracle on 34th Street ( remake): This one is cute too and the kids think this is the original...ha ha.

7. Polar Express: This is a must for my 3 year old Thomas addicted son.

8. Mickeys Once Upon A Christmas: Cute little Disney movie

9. Mickeys Twice Upon A Christmas : Ditto from above

10. Frosty The Snowman: The one where he obnoxiously keeps announcing "Happy Birthday" I never did get this and then he gets a wife who says the same thing.

11. Jack Frost: Not much to say about this one. We own it so we watch it every year.

12. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation: We kicked off the season with watching this one over Thanksgiving break a couple times. Who doesn't love this one.

13. Santa Clause 1 and 2: We have these too. I think they are so cute. I was disappointed to hear that # 3 was not that good.

There you have it. There are a few I still have not seen believe it or not. A Christmas Story, Rudolph and Santa Claus is coming to town. There are still a few days left.

Happy Birthday!!

5 Days til the fat man comes

2006-12-19T23:53:00.000-08:00

Does anyone even read this? I have been working on coming up with a new name for my blog today....just really wanted something fun and catchy. I have chosen So Cal Domestic Goddess and hope it sticks for a while. This blog started as a weight loss blog and now I want to move away from that. I have been reading lots of blogs lately of other great moms and have been so impressed. People are so creative! I hope to have a great site out there someday too.

Well, we are five days away from Christmas. I have a few more gifts to wrap but other than that I am all done! Yeah! This year was a bit cut back from years past. We just don't have the money this year. Everyone is getting something great though. I will list more after the 25th in case anyone is peeking here.
I just love this time of year. I really enjoy all the Christmas movies out there. We rented White Christmas but I have yet to see it. Some of my other faves are National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life. I was so looking forward to the Santa Clause 3 this year but have yet to fork out the $7.50 to see it. It hasn't been getting good ratings so I will wait to rent it someday.
Off to bed....Happy Holidays!

Yeah for the holidays!!

2006-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and then New Years. New Years day is a sad day for me because that means the holidays are over.
Thanksgiving was great this year. I think between my mom and I we spent over $200.00 and 8 hours cooking for a meal that took approx. 25 minutes to eat. WHY? Tradition I guess. It was nice though. We had it at my house this year instead of my parents. We thought it would work better since we have a more kid friendly home. There were 11 of us in all, five in which were kids. We cook all the regulars, turkey, mashed taters, stuffing, sweet potatoes pumpkin and pecan pie too.
I took my mom and sil shopping the day after thanksgiving....black friday. We hit Kohls and Walmart. I was a bit disappointed by the sales this year. I was hoping to get most of my shopping done but oh well.
Our tree has been put up but we still have tons of boxes in the living room. I need to finish decorating soon. Hopefully tomorrow night.
There are only 25 days until Christmas...can't wait!

Weekend Report

2006-11-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Well, our weekend started on Friday afternoon when we took our three kids to my parents house, then we went on a three hour car ride to the San Fernando Valley to our good friend Michael's house. His mom Connie passed away and they were having a party for her. We saw some old friends and met some new ones. We got home very late.
Saturday morning Ben and I went to Henry's to do some shopping. We also went to Walmart to do some window shopping and get ideas for Christmas. After that I went to the Palomar School of Cosmetology to get my hair cut. It cost......$5.00. I was so shocked! It turned out pretty good too considering I hadn't had it cut in about a year. Then I was off to pick up the kids and head home. That night I took the girls and met my mom at a play. Charlottes Web at the San Marcos Kids Theater. It was ok. What do you expect when it is just kids.
Sunday was a kick back day until I had to go to work.
I guess thats about all. Turkey day is in 10 days!!

The Holidays Are Here

2006-11-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

Well, somehow it is Nov 6th. When did that happen?!?!? Halloween has come and gone. The kids really loved it this year. We had a flapper, Sleeping Beauty and Maters Mechanic. My brother and his family are coming to San Diego for Turkey day. I am actually hosting dinner at my house. Should be fun. He has two little boys.
I started working at Henry's Market. I only work a few days a week but the extra money is helping. Christmas will be a bit tight this year. We are going to set a limit and try to stick to it! My parents are going to give us our money a bit early and gave us approval to use it for the kids gifts. That's really going to help.
Ben and Alex went to Legoland over the weekend. I got two free tickets from moms friend Monica. They had a great time. Ryan really wants to go their for his birthday.
I guess that's about it for now.