Up My Mind - Again

Sitrep: Zero.

It's been a lackluster week and a half when it comes to the exercise front. And last week I had spaghetti for dinner every night. It's no wonder I feel like something the cat dragged in. Tomato is just not good for me. I'm getting better, though. Used to be I'd binge on the stuff for months...after just a week the thought of anything with tomato turns my stomach...

Shanni is in Washington D.C. now. She just called - they went swimming. [g] Tomorrow they're going to see all the memorials. She's promised to get her picture taken at the Lincoln Memorial, at my request. She's going to be there on my birthday. How cool is that?

Her flight out was an adventure. An hour delay getting out of here due to high winds. Then their connecting flight had mechanical probs and they sat on it for an hour. So by the time they got to D.C. and their hotel, they'd missed tonight's social event. They get to set up their display and present it tomorrow. Shanni is having a blast, she really is. Loved her first airplane trip, loves the fancy hotel...Her mother is having a nervous breakdown, however. [g] She was up all night crying. I was on the phone by 5:30am with Shanni, who was not too thrilled with her mom..."She's squeezing me to death!" I could hear her eyes rolling. lol. When I talked to M. this afternoon after they'd arrived in D.C., she sounded a bit put out that Shanni is having such a good time.

Anyway. It's been an exhausting day. Lots of meetings at work...they're cracking down on the, uh, lack of production in the office. So I'm blocked from the bulletin board and this blog during the day. Bummer. But not really...I'm in charge of IT and can change that setting as I wish...But I need to be more disciplined anyway, so...I'm bad enough, but not as bad as a few others that do nothing but surf the net all day. I don't know how they think no one notices...It's a small office. Oh well. I'll just have to blog on my own time. I will miss the BB though. I'll have to look at setting it up to allow access during lunch hour or something.

I'm dog-sitting for a friend, and somehow his dog is on the sofa next to me and my dog is curled up on his bed across the room sending us a very pathetic look. [lol]. She's met her match in this dog, my Scully has. ;)

I guess we did good at the fundraiser meet with U.nited W.ay yesterday for Big Brothers Big Sisters, because they (BBBS) called me today to see if I could speak again tomorrow. Ughh. Hate that, but willing to do it for this program. Only I've got tomorrow scheduled to get my driver's license renewed. I've put it off to the last minute naturally. It's $40.00. And fifty cents. Can't forget that fifty cents for the mailed postcard reminder. [rolling eyes] Oh well.

Going to be a crazy rest of the week so I don't now if I'll be blogging much. Big seminar next week for work, so I'm neck deep in preparations for that. I also need to get the car detailed (got a coupon for that, whoo-hoo!), get my license renewed, get my hair cut (got to look presentable at the seminar next week), get the car scheduled for maintenance next week, attend a gardening class on Saturday and maybe some Earth Day celebrations, meet Shanni at the airport at midnight (ughh) and then on Sunday is my birthday celebration at her house. German chocolate cake with this most delicious coconut pecan icing and vanilla ice cream.

And somehow I'm having a contractor in sometime in the next few weeks for an estimate on remodeling the bathroom. Ackkk. It's Morning Owl's dad, so he'll give me a good deal. Nothing fancy, just wanting to move some plumbing around (oh, that's easy!). I'll reuse the sink and toilet, but I want a new tub. Oh, not one of those jet tubs or anything. But one where the back at least slants. I have no idea who designed these bathtubs with straight backs. Whoever it was they oughta be shot!!! There's just no way to get a nice relaxing hot soak when your back is ramrod straight. [g] Anyway. This might just be a pipe dream...it might be a bit beyond my reach. But getting a quote is as good a place to start as any.

It's all about your Reputation

Goal: 3x Abs & Arms, Gym Night
Sitrep: 1x Abs & Arms, 20 min Basketball (Gym Night)

"Don't get my kid kicked out of the White House."

That's what I woke up to at 7am this morning. Well, okay, I was awake at 6:15, I just kept hitting the snooze button. Man, did I dream a lot last night. All I can remember of that is something was being torn down or deconstructed or taken apart. It was not a good night. So when the phone rang as I was putting in the first contact lens, I'm pretty sure I swore. Popped the second lens in and ran for the phone.

It was Shanni's mom. Yesterday was the big family meeting for the upcoming Washington D.C. trip. Apparently the kids get to meet with the delegates from their states (delegates as in our states' congressmen). Each kid has to come up with a question for our representative/senators, along with a solution, on important issues facing MT. Well. Guess who's gotten tasked with that? Not that I really mind. [g] Of course, I was sitting there going "What? Why didn't she ask me last night when we were hanging out together?" (Shanni has a really bad habit of leaving homework/reports to the morning of the day they're due.) I was a wee bit irritated because I'd specifically gone over her homework list with her last night! Turns out it's due on Monday. So then I asked why not have Shanni come up with it? Because really. I don't think like a 12 year old. At least, not all the time! They'll be able to tell we're feeding her lines. ;)

I bet Shanni can come up with a good one, and a suggestion for a solution. She's smart enough, definitely creative enough, and let's face it; the poor kid has been around me long enough she's not exactly in the dark as far as current events and politics go. And from what I gather there have been more than a few heated arguments at her Dad's house between him and her older sisters...Dad is a staunch conservative, his girls are more on the liberal side (as is their mother).

Jeez. A girl lets her hair down once around this family and they never let you forget it!!!! ;)

Last night's foray to BBBS' 2nd Gym Night was fun. No volleyball available, so it was more of a free-for-all. Shanni & I shot hoops for a while, and then I challenged her to play some one-on-one with me. She scored more baskets than I did, even though she grumbled at first that she didn't know how to play. We did that for about 20 minutes, until it got too crowded on the court. I think our case manager got some shots of us. I didn't give Shanni any quarter....I wanted that ball and was determined she wasn't going to score. That girl is fast, and can turn on a dime!

But I got to beat her at air hockey. Three games in a row. Hah. And then we played checkers. Can you believe she's never played checkers before? Shocking what kids nowadays aren't exposed to. ;) I explained the rules and we started to play. Apparently she didn't quite get that you can jump more than one checker in a row as long as there's an empty square on the other side and you're headed in the correct direction (unless you're a King, then you can go either direction). The first time I jumped two of her pieces I thought she was going to swallow her tongue, she was so startled!!! It was absolutely hilarious. I don't think I have ever seen her look so surprised and shocked...

Now I can add to my reputation - at least with BBBS - that I'm a ruthless air hockey and checkers player. I will give my chosen victim no quarter! ;)

Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed...

Goal: 3x Abs & Arms, Gym Night
Sitrep: 1x Abs & Arms

...I am not. I think I need a keeper. [g] Went to the bookstore yesterday during lunch to get Dagger Star, the new Elizabeth Vaughan book (author of Warprize, Warsworn, Warlord trilogy). This book returns to that world. Of course, I couldn't get just one book. After work I made a particularly dismal stop at Wal.Mart to pick up prescriptions on the new insurance ($18 cheaper a month, whoo hoo!). I really wonder about some people, you know? I handed them my new insurance card, said it was new insurance and the other insurance was cancelled. Please refill prescriptions X and X under my new insurance. 30 minutes later, I pick it up and they've run it under the old insurance. Sigh. How it went through I have no idea.

So they had to re-run it. One prescription changed, the other was still at $8.00 when it was supposed to go up to $10.00. I could not make them understand this, and eventually I was too frustrated so I left. Ended up finding the $1.00 candy bin and brought waaaaayyyy too much of that stuff home. Ugh. Then at the checkout my Flex Plan debit card kept getting denied. Now I know I have enough in that account. So I had to pay out of pocket. I had the funds, but that's not the point! I'm on a strict budget which I'd already gone over earlier with the books.

Got home and checked online, and they've closed out our Flex Plan account. Our new health insurance is through the same company, and apparently they want to tie the two accounts together (Flex and Health Ins) so last week they moved the funds. Only didn't tell us, didn't give us new debit cards, etc. Arghhh. Do you have any idea how embarassing it is to be sitting there at Wal.mart and having your card declined? That has never happened to me before. Ughh.

To "comfort" myself, I ate too much candy and stayed up late reading. Past midnight. So today I'm tired and cranky. And I decided to give up coffee again today. I must be deranged or something. [g]

Tonight is Gym Night with Big Brothers/Big Sisters and I so do not want to go. But I'm going to because a) I promised Shanni and b) I blogged here and posted on the bulletin board. So. My big mouth is doing me in again. ;)

Probably because I'm cranky, but the talk - again - of bailing out the homeowner crisis is ticking me off. Read one article about this woman that works specifically with homeowners that are in default. She is the middleman between the homeowner and the loan holder. They specifically showcased this dual income couple that had to take out TWO loans to get into their $300,000 plus house, BOTH with adjustable rates. Their mortgage went from $1600 to $2200 over several years, and they ended up behind on their payments. Eventually this lady was able to work it out where the two loans were consolidated into one loan, with no penalties or fees paid by the homeowners, and locked in at a 3.5% for five years, with them needing to refinance again then. WTF? Give ME that deal. I can guar-an-dam-tee you that in 5 years my credit score will still be high enough and my finances at least as good as now that I'll qualify for a loan no problem. What makes them think these people will be any better with their finances or decision making in five years when they haven't suffered any repercussions with their current decision? Why is it that people who are stupid and irresponsible seemingly get all the breaks???

Oooooh, I think I need to take these red-colored glasses off and go talk a quick walk outside or something. Shake loose the cobwebs and crankiness from my brain!

Here are two good things to blog -

- for the 2nd week in a row on Biggest Loser, a girl beat the guys. Heheheheh. I really, really, really hope Ali wins.

- my sister emailed me a picture on my phone of my 4 yr old niece at Disney...Daddy was not able to talk his little girl out of the Princess Jasmine costume...[g]

Snow and Girl Scout Cookies

Can this day get any better?

We've gotten several more inches of the white stuff overnight. Temps got up to the mid-40's F yesterday. So I was outside knocking the ice out of the one rain gutter on the house...not so much to "save" the rain gutter itself, but to keep the ice from backing up onto the roof and doing damage. I'm planning (hopefully) to put new rain gutters on the house this spring. It was 41*F when I went to bed at 10pm...woke up to -6*F. Yes, that's a negative sign in front of the six. [g] I'm so twisted I'm loving this. :) Although the white-out conditions on the way to work weren't so fun...at least it was only between EH and H, where it's wide-open fields, etc.

And then someone from the office next door finally came over with the Girl Scout Cookie order form. I went over there 2 weeks ago asking if anyone came in selling those cookies, to send them our way. That kid hit the jackpot in our office. I never had such a hard time finding a Girl Scout to buy cookies from until I moved here. Anyway. My order is in.

Had fun this weekend at the Big Brothers Big Sisters annual "Bowl for Kids' Sake" fundraiser. Michelle (my little's mom) bowled for her part-time job Macy's. I helped her fund raise and between the two of us we raised $383.00. Even better, Macy's is going to match it! So that comes to $766 just from the two of us!!! The shift Michelle bowled on (each shift is 1.5 hours) raised $6700.00. How cool is that? And that was just one shift on Saturday! There were 8 shifts over 2 days.

Saturday afternoon, before the bowling, I did the library thing with my little sister and her older sister. We go at least twice a month now. It's fun, although getting Shanni to browse for books is hard. Afterward we went to my house. On the way, we picked up my mail. I was all excited because I got the first disc of the 2006 "Jane Eyre" adaptation from Netflix. Which prompted the following conversation...

Me: (waving red envelope in the air) Yay! Jane Eyre disc one is here!
S: What's the movie?
Me: Jane Eyre (handing mail to KT in front seat next to me)
KT: Cool. What movie did you get?
Me: JANE EYRE!

After a few seconds of silence we all started laughing. It was funny, but probably one of those you-had-to-be-there moments. Neither of them had heard of Jane Eyre (oh, the horror!). Well, I fixed that! They actually wanted to watch it. So I put it in. There was about 20 minutes left on the first disc when we had to leave. Shanni did not want to leave. She really wanted to finish the movie. And boy, was she bummed when I told here there was another 2 hours to go! She kept pestering me to tell her how the story turns out. "What does the gypsy tell Jane", "Who's up in the tower?", "What happens next?" [g] Next Saturday we're finishing the movie.

It's great to have another convert. :)

Snow and Girl Scout Cookies

Can this day get any better? We've gotten several more inches of the white stuff overnight. Temps got up to the mid-40's F yesterday. So I was outside knocking the ice out of the one rain gutter on the house...not so much to "save" the rain gutter itself, but to keep the ice from backing up onto the roof and doing damage. I'm planning (hopefully) to put new rain gutters on the house this spring. It was 41*F when I went to bed at 10pm...woke up to -6*F. Yes, that's a negative sign in front of the six. [g] I'm so twisted I'm loving this. :) Although the white-out conditions on the way to work weren't so fun...at least it was only between EH and H, where it's wide-open fields, etc. And then someone from the office next door finally came over with the Girl Scout Cookie order form. I went over there 2 weeks ago asking if anyone came in selling those cookies, to send them our way. That kid hit the jackpot in our office. I never had such a hard time finding a Girl Scout to buy cookies from until I moved here. Anyway. My order is in. Had fun this weekend at the Big Brothers Big Sisters annual "Bowl for Kids' Sake" fundraiser. Michelle (my little's mom) bowled for her part-time job Macy's. I helped her fund raise and between the two of us we raised $383.00. Even better, Macy's is going to match it! So that comes to $766 just from the two of us!!! The shift Michelle bowled on (each shift is 1.5 hours) raised $6700.00. How cool is that? And that was just one shift on Saturday! There were 8 shifts over 2 days. Saturday afternoon, before the bowling, I did the library thing with my little sister and her older sister. We go at least twice a month now. It's fun, although getting Shanni to browse for books is hard. Afterward we went to my house. On the way, we picked up my mail. I was all excited because I got the first disc of the 2006 "Jane Eyre" adaptation from Netflix. Which prompted the following conversation... Me: (waving red envelope in the air) Yay! Jane Eyre disc one is here! S: What's the movie? Me: Jane Eyre (handing mail to KT in front seat next to me) KT: Cool. What movie did you get? Me: JANE EYRE! After a few seconds of silence we all started laughing. It was funny, but probably one of those you-had-to-be-there moments. Neither of them had heard of Jane Eyre (oh, the horror!). Well, I fixed that! They actually wanted to watch it. So I put it in. There was about 20 minutes left on the first disc when we had to leave. Shanni did not want to leave. She really wanted to finish the movie. And boy, was she bummed when I told here there was another 2 hours to go! She kept pestering me to tell her how the story turns out. "What does the gypsy tell Jane", "Who's up in the tower?", "What happens next?" [g] Next Saturday we're finishing the movie. It's great to have another convert. :)

Bowl for Kids' Sake

My Little Sister's mom is bowling this year in the annual Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl for Kids' Sake fundraiser and we're a bit shy of our goal. Use the link to our donation page or click on the widget below:

Flag Football w/9-10 yr olds = TACKLE

Sitrep: 2 wts - 1x Cardio, 1x Arms, 30 min Flag Football, 30 min Basketball

So I survived last night's Gym Night with Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was a lot of fun, really. And I totally stayed away from the 3-legged soccer. ;) Shanni & her older sister KT went with me. Apparently the Salvation Army has a church building in town, and they have a huge gym attached.

We got there just after 6pm, and did some warm-up throwing baskets, etc. Then they started the flag football. Can I just say I was the only adult on our team? A definite disadvantage for our team, as I am not athletically inclined. Shanni, 12, and KT, 17, were on my team. Thank goodness for KT. She's athletically inclined and fast...I guess I should count her in the adult category, huh? There was a 13 yr old boy and then a bunch of 8-10 year olds. The 8-10 yr old boys did not want to throw the ball to the girls. [g] The girls wanted to show the boys they were good too.

None of them cared about the "flag" part of the game. It was all rush and pile on, or rush and crowd into the wall. No one got hurt, though. One of the BBBS staff was the 'ref' and made sure everyone took turns as the quarterback. When it was Shanni's turn, we made our own "play" and she faked like she was going to throw it then handed it off (shoved it, actually) at her sister. Then we got in front of KT and barreled down the "field." Almost made it, too. If that darn wall would have stayed out of the way.

I have to admit, I didn't realize how into it I would get. Seriously. I haven't played like this in a long time. Thanks to the BodyRev workouts I've been doing, I had the stamina to keep going. Oh, I got winded, sweaty, etc. But I didn't feel like passing out or quitting. I had fun. And I was seriously going after whoever had the ball. I am not kidding. There was no holding back so the kids could feel good about themselves. Because holy cow, are they fast. It was all I could do to keep up! I did stop one of the 10 or 12 yr old boys from scoring because I was able to pull his flag 3/4 of the way to our goal. I held that thing up in the air and jumped up and down yelling "I got it! I got it!". Like I'd won the lottery or something. Cracked everyone up. Got my high fives from Shanni, her sister and my team mates, though.

We ended up losing, but had a fun time, which is the whole point of it. Everyone got to participate, and had fun. No crying or disappointment. After a short break, Shanni sat down to draw a "When I grow up I want to be..." picture for BBBS (for one of their fundraisers) and KT & I went back on the floor to play basketball. This one boy about Shanni's age came over and sat across from her, but didn't want to draw a picture. Just kinda sat there and watched her. A few minutes after she finished and joined us, he showed up with another basketball, and challenged her into playing with him. It was so cute. I don't think she even realized he was crushing on her. :o We played for about 30 minutes, before we had to leave so they could do homework.

It was great to be able to be out there and doing stuff with her. To be able to coach her and encourage her. To be able to show her how to throw the ball and give her tips to make a basket. I'm not the best player, but I can make a basic shot. And explain how I did it. Not only did she make it, she did 2 in a row!!! Yeah, Shanni!

She told me she wants to play volleyball at school. KT wants to try out for track or basketball, she's not sure which. I'm encouraging them both. ;) They also want us to get together once every week or few weeks to do what we did last night. I'll have to see what facilities I can find. That are free. Or at least cheap! I talked to our case worker at BBBS and she says they want to do this once a month.

Anyway. THANK YOU to all the BB posters, and Gator Patrol for the support and encouragement and sharing of their struggles in keeping healthy and exercising. It's been inspiring and motivating to me, and kept me exercising long past the point I'd have given up. And a SPECIAL HOO-YAH and THANK YOU to Alden, for taking all that time to encourage and motivate us. It has really made a difference for me!

Hair Cut Pics

Sitrep: 2wts - 1x Cardio, 1x Arms

No laughing at the new 'do, okay? All right, you can laugh since I can't hear you, but be gentle, please. ;)

I don't like this profile view but am posting it because it really shows the highlights/color.

Anyway. This is the "new" me. I'm still liking it although it is strange not to have all that hair. I dropped a pound on the scale. I think it was the hair. [g] Very long, very thick.

And yes, that is natural wave in my hair. After 34 years I've decided to stop fighting the cowlicks and waves and let the stuff do what it wants. Supposedly it looks good that way...

Tonight I'm off on another adventure: It's GYM NIGHT with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Flag football, 3-legged soccer, and basketball. So if no one hears from me for awhile, it's because I was talked into playing 3-legged soccer. ;)