Breaking out of the rut

I have been dealing with a bout of vertigo.  I think what I hate most about it is that I never know when it's going to hit.  Paul keeps telling me I should go see the doctor, and I probably should... but when???  Seems I always have something else that is just a little more pressing.

Last night I laid out my clothes so that I could be sure to do my exercising this morning... or at least be dressed for it.  I woke up almost an hour ahead of my alarm clock and since I don't like that feeling of just falling asleep when it finally goes off, I got up.

I walked two miles this morning using the WATP (Walk Away The Pounds) 2 mile fat burning walk. 

Up to now, our winter has been pretty mild, but according to Tom Kierein at the Channel 4 News Weather Center... it's over (the mildness, that is).  We are expecting cold winds to start cooling things down here in our neck of the state by afternoon. 

I know that a lot of states have been getting some awful storms and I think this is that weather front moving into DC/Maryland.

Today, Paul gets back into "work" mode here.  He has survival training this week.  And then we are back to our "who's Paul" status as he takes off on Sunday for two more TDY's (one in Penn. and one in AZ).   I think he's due back here on Feb 3.

 

Hunting for furniture and Future Plans

Paul and I went out furniture hunting with Kendra today.  All of the kids needed new bedroom furniture when we arrived here.  We've taken care of Mac and Kim, but Kendra's taste has been rather elusive. 

She is living out of plastic drawers and a lot of boxes.  It makes it hard for her to keep her room neat and makes it really hard for me to get in there to help. 

I had very high hopes of being able to find something that she would like today.  The first store had nothing, but at the second store she found a dresser, mirror and night stand that she really liked.  The problem is that it is a little higher in price than we would like to pay.  So, we grabbed the brochures for this set and moved on to the third store.

The third store was HUGE.  It does claim to be the largest showroom in this area, and I think it may actually be a true claim. Unfortunately, they had nothing that looked like the set that she saw at the second store, and nothing else that she found interesting.  But we did have a good time going up and down rows and rows of bedroom suites. I think I found the set that I would like for mine and Paul's room, but I think that can wait for now.  We do have a functional set, even if it's not the one I want forever.

So, now I'm stuck trying to find this set that Kendra likes at a price I can afford.  I'll let you know how that hunt goes.

 

Meanwhile, my sister and I have decided to fly back to Phoenix to spend Mother's Day with our mom.  We set up our flights today.  I do know that part of the weekend is going to include some casino hopping and (knowing my sister) dinner at Garcia's.  Beyond that, Im not sure.  I was thinking that a cool gift for my mother would be a portrait of Susan, Art(my brother) and I, but I'm not sure we can manage that in the short weekend we have there (my brother lives in Phoenix, so he would be available). 

I think I've procrastinated long enough and it's time to get back to walking. All the excuses are gone. So tomorrow I'll be back in my walking shoes, making some tracks.

Where's the Motivation? and my late christmas gift

TOM arrived Sunday  morning at my house.  While he was walking in the front door, my motivation to stay on track snuck out the back door.  It was subtle... I didn't notice at first that motivation had gone...but when I realized that I had already managed to eat out three times since Friday, it became clear that I was in the hands of something hormonal. <sigh>  I'm doing the best I can and hoping that by the end of the week, motivation and TOM will trade places.  We'll see.

For Christmas this year, Mackenzie gave me the next installment of my favorite PC game Might and Magic:Dark Messiah.  Of course, Mac seldom thinks about checking to see if the program is compatible with our computers. And.. since my computer is so old and this game is so new... there were compatibility issues. 

 My knight in shining armor, Paul.. came through with a brand new computer!  And while I think it's really cool that I can play my new game.. what really has me excited is that with this purchase, I can officially kick everyone off my computer.... even Paul! 

 For the first time ever.. we all have a functioning computer and we are all able to sign onto the internet from our respective computers.   Wow!  For me .. this is as exciting as when we first became a two car family. :)  The freedom!!

Of course, it's gonna take me awhile to reconfigure everything the way I like it...and transfer a few files from my old computer to this new computer.  I'm hoping that later, Paul will be able to upgrade some of the stuff on the old computer.... otherwise you know eventually Mac is going to get a new game that needs my computer's capabilities to be able to play it.  And I am gonna just have to learn to say "no".

For Fun- Food Survey

Food survey -  I picked this up at Heather's journal.  Something new in the way of "getting to know me" and so here's my answers.  Thanks Heather! (and Lynn, whom Heather snagged it from)

1.  What is the one kitchen gadget you couldn't live without?  My bread machine

2.  What is your favourite snack food of choice?  Chocolate

3.  What is the last meal you cooked?  Speghetti with bread sticks

4.  Who is your favorite television chef?  It's a toss up between Rachel Ray and the guy from Good Eats

5.  Who is the best cook in your family?  Everyone has a speciality. Kendra makes the best brownies EVER! Paul is our chili chef (I wouldn't eat the stuff before I tasted his). Kim is our pasta whiz... and Mac.. well, we love Mac. :) 

6.  Have you ever had any cooking disasters?  Growing up, my mother did not buy oil, so every time I made brownies from scratch I would have to melt the shortening to use it. One time I put the eggs in before the shortening cooled too much and I had cooked eggs in my brownies.

7.   If you were on death row and had to pick a last meal ever, what would it be?  Tough choice, but I would want a grilled chicken breast with a honey mustard sauce, a small side of spinach tortellini, tomato and basil bruschetta and for dessert, a chocolate lava cake.

8.  Chinese or Indian and why?  Of these two, I would pick Chinese because the few Indian dishes I know are a bit too spicy for my liking.

9.  Would you consider yourself to be a glutton?  If I'm not careful, yes.

10.  What would you never ever eat in a million years?  Any sort of bug.

12.  Have you ever made a recipe you saw on the telly?  no, but I've made plenty from magazines like Cooking Light

13.  What was the last thing you ate?  Grilled chicken with a honey mustard sauce,  grilled shrimp and a baked potato

14.  What food would you like to share most with someone you love?  Sweet Vermouth Chicken, honey glazed Carrots, chili lime shrimp skewers, yeast rolls and a twice baked potato.And maybe a bottle of a German Auslese.

15.  Have you ever cooked over an open fire?  Having been a girl scout and the mother of two girl scouts, I have learned to cook over an open fire.

16.  What would you consider to be a romantic dinner?  One in which there are few distractions. "Romantic" these days usually means having the house to ourselves, or being able to get out alone. As Heather said.. it's the company that makes it romantic.

17.   Best all timemeal you have ever eaten and why?  I think it would actually be easier to name a meal that was the worst ever. :) 

18.  Sweet or Salty?  Sweet

19.  What is your signature dish?  I think my most successful dishes are the ones that people ask me to make for them again.  So... Lasagne would be the absolute signature dish, with chocolate chip cookies being a close second.   But I think I make the Sweet Vermouth Chicken the best.  

20.  Four course dinner or finger food buffet?  In either case, it would depend on what's being served.  But generally speaking.. I like buffets.. so many choices.

REGRETS

When you ponder the regrets in your life, do they paralyze you or galvanize you? In 2007, I hope to be galvanized.

I have my 25th wedding anniversary coming up in May.  I would love to be back into my wedding dress by that date, or at least be much closer to it than I am now.

Kendra graduates from high school this June.  I'd like to be smaller for that too.

Usually if I regret anything, I regret the way I have responded to something.  Like my over the top performance on Sunday with respect to Kendra's change in flight plans.  I often regret that I didn't do something in a more timely basis, like calling family to see how things are going.

If I were going to make one resolution this year, I think it would be that I take the Serenity prayer to heart.  That I count to 10 before I respond to an unpleasant situation.  That I learn to set my phaser to "stun" instead of "kill".  Or better yet, that I learn to just relax enough to recognize that not everyone is as perfect as I am, and cut them a break.

The Numbers don't lie

It's a New Year... even if it is a few days old.  And it's time for the yearly assessment of where I am and where I want to be.

I have had several weeks of pure "I don't care" and I'm going to be paying the price for that.  This morning my weight was 227.8  I haven't seen my scale that high in years!  I think that was the final smack across the head I needed to get motivated.   So here are the numbers as they apply to me.

Weight: 227.8

Percentage of body fat: 45.9

Fat lbs: 104.5

BMI: 41.7

JCPENNEY SIZE: 22w or 2x

Total inches (from 14 measurements): 322

Exercise is clearly in the future for me, as well as modifications to my eating plan (or actually HAVING an eating plan might be the ticket).

I'm spending this morning working out the plans and I'll post them with my next entry.

My accountability is going to be through bi-weekly weigh ins and measurings.   So my next "official" weigh in will be January 19.

My initial goals for this first two weeks are as follows:

1. No More than 2 meals away from home every 7 days.

2. 30 minutes of exercise at least 5 days a week.

3. Drink at least 64 ounces of water each day.

 

Do we give him a brain?? or.... "How I spent my New Year's weekend"

Background information for this entry: My BFF Lisa and I schemed up a plan for me to visit her in Ohio for the New Year Weekend.  Her kids were going to be with their father in another state and Paul was finally going to be home to watch my three.  I have to admit, I did ponder whether I should be gone from home during the time that Kendra was in Colorado, but I thought Paul could handle anything that came up.

Friday morning, I threw my suitcase in the mom-mobile, slapped in the first disc of my book on tape, and started cruising down the highway. Once I left Maryland, I had the pleasure of getting lost briefly in Breezeway, PA (and for anyone that has been there, you can laugh that I should get screwed up in such a small town with large directional signs to the turnpike.) Once I was on the PA turnpike, it was smooth sailing. Ohio turnpike, also a breeze.  Then I had to get off the freeway in Toledo.  Since it was dark by then and I had to try and read the directions from Mapquest while watching traffic, I spent some time wandering up and down streets until I finally found the right street.

Lisa bought her first home earlier in 2006.  This was my first chance to see it.  The house is really cute, the perfect size for her and the boys (she has two sons).  One of our projects for this weekend was to paint Jacob's room.

Sunday evening, I called Paul to check on the status of Kendra's flight home.  With all the snow, I wasn't sure how much, if at all, her travel plans would be affected.  Here is my memory of that conversation

::::ring, ring::::

P- Hello?

E- Ola! Como esta?

long pause

P- I was hoping you wouldnt call today.

E- (instantly, the mom radar goes into full alert).. What's wrong? Is Kendra not flying out today?

P- (meandering, in my opinion) well.... it's .. never.. what.. you .. expect.

P- the plane she was supposed to board in Co. was coming from Phoenix. En route, the plane had mechanical problems and required the mechanics to go over it before they could take off from Co. .... ITS NOTHING MAJOR...  but she is most likely going to miss her connecting flight in Cinncinatti... BUT THE CONNECTION WE HAD WASN'T THE GREATEST.... they are going to either 1) stall the other flight, 2) depending on the time she arrives, ground transport her to another airport so she can catch a flight to BWI tonight, or 3) put her up in a hotel and get her on a flight tomorrow.  BUT SINCE I COULDN'T REALLY HEAR HER, I  TOLD HER TO JUST CALL ME WHEN SHE KNEW MORE.

E- What were you thinking? How could you not call me and let me know this sooner?  What are they going to do with her?

P- (trying to be soothing) Calm down, I have this under control

The conversation went amazingly downhill from this point.  I will spare you the minute details of my complete and total breakdown.  I spent at least two hours contemplating all the various scenarios in which things could go horribly wrong.   On the up side, the airline held up the connecting flight and Kendra arrived back in Maryland on Sunday, Paul was there to pick her up... and he text'd me to let me know this (the coward).

**** a brief note from the author.. In hindsight, Paul did know what was going on and he did have a reasonable handle on the situation.  Where he went horribly wrong was in thinking it would be "best" to not tell me anything until he knew for sure WHICH of the three possibilities was going to happen.  And then to start our conversation with "I was hoping you wouldn't call"... smacks of cover-up.  I truly had no choice but to over-react and become the uber bitch mom.  ***********

So.. Monday passed by pleasantly enough, although I was still seething a bit at Paul's text message in lieu of a phone call (the coward).   But along about 9 am on Tuesday, drama once again reared it's ugly head.  This time it was drama in the form of Lisa's Ex not having returned the boys on time.  These two have a long and ugly history with respect to the boys.  He won't pay his child support because he's convinced Lisa doesn't use the money on the kids (she does, when she gets it).  He is always bringing the kids back late or refusing to bring them at all and telling Lisa, if you want the boys, you'll have to pick them up yourself.  So... this particular event was the final straw... Lisa filed a complaint with the local law enforcement.  The EX finally had the boys back to Lisa at midnight on Tuesday.

Wednesday, I headed home... upon arriving back here, Paul and I went out to dinner.  We sat in the parking lot for at least an hour before going in to discuss what happened on Sunday.  Accusations flew, tears flowed, appologies were made and finally.. he admitted he was wrong in how he handled the communication.  And I admitted I probably over-reacted. 

I'm chalking this one up to a "growth experience" for all of us. Kendra did a great job keeping her dad informed and seemed not at all flustered by the changes that occurred. Paul and I have learned another area in which we each need to have a bit more faith in the other.  And I think Paul really learned that "I hoped you wouldn't call today" is not the best conversation starter.

Oh.. and Jacob's room did get painted.. a lovely color called "Russian Blue."  But I didn't get the chance to hem the shower curtains for Lisa.. sorry about that, hon.