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Posted at 10:12 PM in Wordless Wednesday | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack (0)
I am going to talk to all of you about my weight. If you are not interested, I am sorry. If you are interested, listen up. If you are new to my blog from Tales from the Scales, welcome to my blog and good luck on the challenge.
I want to lose five pounds. Doesn't seem like much, but it's the most difficult five pounds I've ever had to lose.
My history in a nutshell:
March 2004 208 lbs
January 2006 188 lbs
May 2006 155 lbs
May 2007 166 lbs
Today 163.8 lbs
During the May Day Weight loss challenge my weight actually rose to the 170's, so the 163.8 is a wonderful thing. Lately I have been experimenting with eating less per meal, but eating more frequently and I think that has made a HUGE difference. It's a wonderful thing not starving myself between meals. I also started taking these vitamins from GNC that I think may be helping me, too.
It's not so much that I want to lose five pounds, I would be happy staying this weight, if I could just start exercising to firm up my jelly belly and my bouncing arms and thighs, if I could discipline myself to workout to firm up to reduce my general bounciness, I would be a pretty happy girl.
Here are my goals for the Look Great in 2008 Challenge:
-Lose five pounds
-Get serious about exercise.
When I weighed 188 pounds in 2006, I can remember sitting down for dinner after making cheeseburgers and eating two burgers, very easily. Too easily. I could never imagine someday feeling totally satisfied with one. But it did happen. My portions have totally changed - it can happen.
My Before picture in 2006 (I'm on the right)
Thanks for reading. If you are interested in joining the challenge, it's not too late, you can join now. Just go here, go ahead, it's a wonderful thing.
Love,
Beth
Posted at 01:52 PM in Tales from the Scales, Weight Loss | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)
I'm sure you all have been sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to hear how I am feeling.
That's so sweet of you.
Well, I am better, but I'm not great. In fact, I felt so much better today that I did fold three loads of laundry and I cleared out Ariel's summer clothes and almost everything that bears the size 4T on it because apparently she has become a giant since last year. Her long jeans last year are now capris this year. But I talked to two of my good friends tonight and they both told me I sounded like crap. Which was nice and everything, but if they had only heard me yesterday. THAT was sounding like crap. It's not because I have laryngitis or anything, it's because I sound like Rudolph when he covers his red nose with mud. It's funny because I, too, have a red nose.
I haven't been sleeping well, although I have been trying my darndest to medicate myself into a night of pure oblivion, it just doesn't work for me. On Saturday night I took a Tylenol with codeine to try to alleviate the pain in my head and my throat and my sinuses. It wasn't working so I added ONE NyQuil. I've heard so many glamorous stories about people who say things like "oh! I took 2 Nyquils last night and slept like a baby all night long! It was wonderful! I woke up feeling like a million dollars."
Liars.
I woke up feeling worse because that ONE NYQUIL made me crazy. I was awake for hours with the shakes, I felt like someone had injected bad coffee into my veins and it was NOT fun. (which is unfortunate because I have always dreamed of getting caffeine injections and if this is what it's like. I'll pass.) Nyquil made me wonder if I should take it in the morning to give me a good morning buzz, perhaps I would clean my carpets and actually fold laundry before 8 am.
Then Sunday night I couldn't sleep because my mind races and thinks about all things that do not matter at one in the morning.
So, tonight, I went to Wal-Mart Supercenter, by myself. I hadn't grocery shopped in quite awhile and since the new challenge is starting tomorrow, I figured it would be a good idea to have something in my pantry beside queso and taco seasoning.
And look at what I discovered:
It's Puffs.
With Lotion.
and it's scented with Vicks.
A place to blow your nose.
A place to hydrate your nose.
A place to clear your sinuses.
All in one box. No medicine. Just heaven.
It sat in the cart, right in the front while I shopped, you know, the place where you typically put your child. I could smell the Vick's and the vapors cleared my sinuses, I hadn't even opened the box and I could SMELL THE VAPORS. I was breathing again. I was so excited I would occasionally talk to the box, "whose the best box of tissue? whose Mama's best friend? Who saved Mama's life?" People thought I was NUTS, but I didn't care, I COULD BREATHE!
And as I type this, this Puffs Plus Lotion Scented with Vicks is stuffed securely into my nostrils and it feels so good.
I'm going to sleep like a baby.
Assuming babies sleep with tissues in their noses.
Posted at 10:40 PM in That's Life | Permalink | Comments (11) | TrackBack (0)
This has been a very interesting weekend. I have been so sick and so tired but I still managed to have a great weekend. Which just frustrates me because I tried really hard to ruin it with my shoes being stolen and with this snot lodged deep into my skull. Heck, I even sold my double stroller and my dressing table.
We attended European Markets and ate cookies and purchased homegrown plums. We took 2 hours naps and never cooked. Today, we laid on the couch with our blankets and pillows, hiding from the new, crisp, fall air. We made scrambled eggs and sprinkled them with cheese. (at least I think I made scrambled eggs, it was pre-coffee, I could have put kleenex in the frying pan and fed it to the kids, I really can't remember. Either way, they ate it up. That's all that matters.) We played a family game of bowling on Wii and cheered each other excitedly, even if not a single pin was knocked down. We attended a festival in the area and walked a long trail, deep into nature, the sun kissing our faces, we enjoyed that last bit of summer warmth. We listened to music in the shade and ate apples out of the bag. We ate dinner out and shared an appetizer, went to Target and finished the day with a trip to Coldstone Creamery.
With adventures like these, it's hard to fight the darkness of a bad cold and no sleep, but somehow with a little love and an outrageous amount of espresso, all things are possible.
But I'm no dummy. Paradise ends tomorrow at 6:45 when I have to deal with this:
This is what happens when you do laundry and you want to take a nap RIGHT NOW. You just toss your clean laundry off of your bed into an empty bin conveniently located in your room.
This rude pile of laundry, which is actually two clean loads, sits right next to me as I type. I'll move it soon, either to the floor or to a basket nearby. Which ever is easiest.
Leave me alone. I'm sick.
and totally lazy.
This is in my dryer right now. Safe and sound, ready to be fluffed.
Three times.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to catch up on the Emmy's and I need to put some Vaseline on my nose before it falls off. It's all crusty and red.
I'm so hot.
Posted at 08:59 PM in Being a Mama, Family, Laundry Musings, That's Life | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
Our garage sale began today and things went pretty well. Unfortunately, my cold has turned into the "cold that will never end" which just adds to the excitement of a garage sale. Nothing says "thanks for your purchase" like a nice sneeze during the exchange of money. I feel like absolute crap and I am so very tired. We started bringing the goods back into our garage after it was over at 2:01 and by 2:12 I was nuzzled in my bed, fast asleep.
I remained that way for two hours. The only thing that would have made that nap better is if I were sleeping in caramel.
The sale started out with someone stealing a pair of shoes off of my shoe table. No really! A thief! At my garage sale! It was very obvious as my shoe table was full, after they left a spot was empty and I hadn't sold a pair. I was pretty irritated, the ONLY thing that makes me feel better about the thief is that the thief spent ten smackers at my garage sale. If they had asked I probably would have thrown in a free pair. Too bad they are going to hell now.
jerks.
Unfortunately, it's not the first time someone has stolen something out of my garage. Keep in mind, I don't live in a bad area. It's very quiet and clean and lovely, it's the visitors that sometimes suck. About two summers ago I was across the street talking to my neighbor, we were very patiently waiting for our Schwan's girl to arrive because if we missed our bi-weekly delivery of chicken fries then our children would die of starvation.
While talking, I noticed a pick-up truck sitting close to the front of my house. I then saw a man walk right into my garage and grab my weed eater. My Brand New Weed Eater. Being the smart girl that I am, I had just assumed Brian had agreed to lend it to a neighbor or something. I mean, Brian was home, inside the house and that is something he would do.
But my gut told me no. I ran towards my house and was about five feet from him when he jumped into his truck and drove off.
With my Brand New Weed Eater.
But I got his license plate number and they caught the dirty rotten scoundrel. This guy had been stealing from people's garages all over the county for months and they could never find him.
They found him, they caught him, and arrested him.
And then they let him go.
Our garage door remains securely shut now at all times.
Unless we are having a garage sale, when people can just steal shoes right in front of me.
I think I need to polish up on my loss prevention skills.
Posted at 10:26 PM in Gibberish, That's Life | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)
As I mentioned before, we are having a garage sale this Friday and Saturday. It should be a good garage sale, at least I hope it is as we are donating half of the proceeds to my fundraiser.
Throughout the year, Brian and I have spent a great deal of time in the basement, trying to make sense of what is down there. We have boxes from childhood, boxes from college, boxes from our first apartment when we were married, boxes from the second apartment, boxes from when we moved to this house and boxes of crap that I have created since we moved here.
You know what I'm talking about, boxes upon boxes of crap that you think you need. When you don't. But you keep it anyway. Because someday you may need that TV antennae that you used in college (Brian) that was expensive ($11) and you may need the address list you used for your wedding in 1999, because it's so cute to have that address list from your wedding. (even though it's currently on your hard drive.)
This year has been different for us. We have gotten rid of a ton of stuff. A time of letting go. And when I say gotten rid of, I mean we threw it out. Gone - FOREVER. Including that antennae and the address list. In the meantime, we have created a very large garage sale corner, which has been great these last few days while preparing for the sale to have those items right there, in boxes, clearly marked with Garage Sale on them.
But last night, while surveying my large, unfinished basement, I realized there are things that I should get rid of, items that are pointless for me to keep.
Like a dressing table.
or an exersaucer.
Our double stroller.
And it's making me feel a little sad, the thought of selling them, even though they are no longer needed. It's not that we are done having children, in fact, we have no idea if we are going to have more children or not, it's that we have two of everything. Since Ariel and Racecar were born less than a year apart, we have two of everything, because we had two babies. But as I was wiping down Ariel's dressing table, getting it ready for the sale, the emotions I felt were so strong and deep.
I don't know if it's sadness that somehow I can see and feel what it means when people say "they grow up so fast." I don't know if it's pride that somehow Brian and I got married and had children and have done that thing that not so long ago we didn't think we would be capable of doing.
They are just things. They do not hold the memories, we do, and I know that in a few weeks time, I'll be glad for the space we have and I'll be glad that someone else is getting use out of these very special items that are now just collecting dust.
But these things mean so much to me, I'm going to have a difficult time when I see these items packed up in a car and I may be a little happy if it doesn't sell at all. (or I'll be irritated that I'll have to lug it back downstairs.) Maybe it will take me a long time to be ready to get rid of these things, like the antennae and the address list. Am I the only person who feels this way? Can you talk me out of this madness? Please???
Posted at 09:47 PM in Being a Mama | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBack (0)
The day has come. The launch of the new challenge at Tales from the Scales.
and oh, please take note of the new design, it's pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself.
(can I say that if I designed it?)
In need of a lifestyle change? Looking to shed some pounds. Go here.
NOW.
Posted at 07:19 AM in Weight Loss | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
For more Wordless Wednesdays, go here.
Posted at 09:05 PM in Wordless Wednesday | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
If you can draw...even just a little bit, can you e-mail me at foldinglaundry AT gmail DOT com?
I need something for my not-for-profit group and I can't draw worth a dang, so if ANYONE would be willing to help I would appreciate it. I just need something VERY basic, but something basic is way beyond what I can draw, you should see me draw a balloon.
It's sad. oh so sad.
Oh and if you can't draw, and you know someone who can, could you hook a sister up?
Thanks, Readers. You da bomb.
Posted at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
We are all still feeling pretty crappy, so crappy that Brian is staying home from work tomorrow, so crappy that I think I will be taking Ariel to see the doctor, so crappy that tonight I cleaned the CRAP out of my garage. not literally crap, I just mean I cleaned it really well.
Isn't that what you do when you're sick?
We are having a garage sale on Friday and Saturday and we are donating 50% of the proceeds to my Light The Night fundraising, so the garage really needed to be cleaned. While cleaning it I couldn't help but notice that everything I was going to move had a freakin' spider on it and y'all, I hate spiders and it runs in the family.
A few weeks ago Ariel and Racecar were sitting at the table having lunch, between bites they were talking about spiders (GROSS!) and laughing at the spider running on the floor (GAG ME!). I nonchalantly walked over to the kitchen area and peered down at the ground and said "I don't see a spider." and they said "look, behind you!" at which point I crapped my pants and turned around, looked down and did not see a dog gone thing. Thank. The. Lord.
A few minutes later I was giving them a bowl of fruit and walked into my living room, I instinctively lengthened my stride to walk over something that was lying on the floor.
I froze and turned around and saw a massive ugly brown spider. My older sister coined the phrase "big brown" when referring to ginormous ugly leggy thick spiders. We used the term so much that it turned into an actual breed of a spider. We would be like "oh crap, there's a spider in the corner of the room."
"What kind of Spider?"
"A big Brown."
The dreaded big brown.
And the spider on the floor right at the entrance of MY living room, was the MOTHER of ALL BIG BROWNS. The Pimp. The Queen. The Boss.
Both kids were staring at me, waiting for my for reaction. I coolly said "OH MY GOD." Ariel said "step on it."
I said "I can't." I was secretly afraid it would grab my shoe and throw it across the room and be like "whatch you got now, beotch?" And then I would pass out and die.
Then Ariel said "maybe you should shoot it."
A grand idea, except I have no firearms in my house.
And the light bulb went off. BLEACH. I could douse it with bleach. I could kill it with harsh chemicals and grab the huge remains with a wad of paper towels. Brilliance, no doubt. I ran to the other side of my living room and entered my kitchen and grabbed the bottle of spray bleach and I ran towards the spider screaming with my arms flailing and I started spraying the Big Brown like a crazed militant.
And it look at me like "what the hell?" and bolted into the other direction. Unscathed. All in one piece.
At which point I stomped on top of the thing, banshee style, for a good 30 seconds. I could not find the remains, so I vacuumed the area. For a very long time.
All this while my kids watched. To think my original goal was to teach them that Big Browns are not scary, they're lovely.
But they're not. They're assholes.
Later that day I came across another spider, probably the last spider's cousin and he was mad. I could tell. I was sitting on the toilet and he was in the corner near the tub flipping me off. Eight times. I couldn't think straight, I knew he was mad because I killed his cousin so I ran and you guessed it. I grabbed the bleach. I doused this bad boy, and all that I saw was a pure white spider runner wildly towards the door. Again, I stepped on it. At the end of the day I had some very clean spots on my floors.
So, tonight, I was cleaning the garage with our massive shop vac and I had to have vacuumed up about 3,213 stupid spiders, big ones, little ones and you guessed it, Big Browns. Some tried to run and some politely surrendered, but one will stick in my mind. He was the Lt. Dan's of the Spider People. He held on to the garage door and did not budge, like Lt. Dan raising his fists at the hurricane while standing on top of the shrimpin' boat, cursing the Gods. This spider was raising his fists, cursing the Shop Vac Gods, and well, the Big Brown won, I could not get him.
I hope he has mercy on me and doesn't crawl on my face in the middle of the night.
That would totally suck.
I'll keep bleach by my bedside. Just in case.
Posted at 09:54 PM in Being a Mama, Gibberish, That's Life | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBack (0)