Thursday, January 8, 2009

A whole new me or, man do I love technology!

I found this great contest over at 5 Minutes for Mom the other day for a Wii fit & I just had to try for it. Your main entry in the contest requires you to sign up for WeightView, a really cool site that does amazing things with your picture.
Here's my before & after photos from WeightView:























Um...wow???
Holy schmokes what a difference!! (I was going to say holy cow but well, y'know...) I'd say this gives me some motivation...it even took my double chin away! I'm going to make that call to the dr I was talking about several days ago. (No I haven't called yet, that's something I talk about & think about forever but don't actually do. Could be the reason I don't get anything done!)
So.
Go sign up to see the new you and then enter the contest at 5 Minutes for Mom. Just don't win ok?...I want that Wii fit for myself!!!

The same age as Sesame Street? Cool!




In 1969 (the year you were born)



Richard Nixon becomes president of the US



Mary Jo Kopechne is killed when Senator Edward Kennedy veers off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, crashing into a pond



US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to set foot on the moon while commanding the Apollo 11 mission



Breathtaking pictures of Mars are transmitted to earth from NASA's Mariner 7 as it passes within 2,200 miles of the Red Planet



Woodstock music festival begins in upstate NY, featuring performances by Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and many more artists



250,000 Vietnam War protestors gather in Washington for the largest anti-war rally in US history



The first draft lottery since WWII is held in New York City



The Beatles' performance in public for the last time, on the roof of Apple Records



The Stonewall riots mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the US



Marilyn Manson, Jennifer Aniston, Renee Zellweger, Edward Norton, Christian Slater, and Linus Torvalds are born



New York Mets win the World Series



New York Jets win Superbowl III



Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup



Sesame Street premieres



Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for best picture



David Bowie's debut single, "Space Oddity", becomes a huge hit - in part due to the US landing on the moon



Sharon Tate & the LaBiancas are found murdered by Charles Manson & "family"

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

A heavy heart

I'm taking a bit of a break today as I'm mourning the loss of 2 terrific kids. Coleman won his freedom Monday evening & Dante won his Tuesday morning.
They were both courageous to the very end & touched many lives.
Please pray for their parents, Scott & Peggy, Tony & Jo - they need all they can get right now.

God bless you all!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

I dream of...Michelle?

The other day I had this crazy dream about one of my favorite bloggers, Michelle from My Semblance of Sanity. It was one of those really vivid dreams that make you wonder if it really happened which is weird for me. The only dreams I ever remember are nightmares - with the exception of when I was pregnant & when I was on the nicotine patch. At those times I had extremely vivid dreams but not ones I can repeat in polite company, if you know what I mean. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

So I'm in my car with my son Eli just out & about running errands. We see a sign for a kids craft place & decide to stop in & check it out. It turns out to be this huge room off the back of a house. So we go in & ring the bell to let them know we are there. And who comes out of the door but Michelle! I was so excited. I mean, I've wanted to meet this woman for the longest time but she lived so far away. I didn't understand how we could come to be at her house but hey, who's gonna argue?
So she had shelves & cupboards full of papers & paints, glues & glitters, anything you could think of to use for kid crafting, she had it there.
We get Eli started on a project & she invites me into the house for coffee. So we hang out & chit chat for awhile, checking on Eli from time to time (because we all know what Eli can be like!)
Finally he's done creating stuff & she goes to walk us out to our car...but things have somehow changed since we've been inside. We've gone from a suburb area to a rural setting & we are now on a ranch with horses & cows all over the place. I ask her for a tour & she shows us all over their operation, they've also got chickens & a few goats (strangely, just like some friends of ours back in Cle Elum...) & it's just a beautiful setting. Then she says "I've got one more thing to show you...the guest cottages."
What? Have I died & gone to heaven? She's got cottages & you can actually stay here?
Oh. My. Gosh!!!
We go & have a peek in one & it's absolutely charming. All decorated with antiques & homemade quilts, just like I would do it. *sigh*
I've got to get home but she gives me her brochure & I promise to call her soon.
Next we seem to do one of those dream time-warp things & I'm arriving at her place with some girlfriends for a weekend getaway.
Michelle greets us & gets us all tucked into our cottage. It's just the right size for us all & we are looking forward to a weekend of much laughter & fun.
We have dinner (catered by Michelle's cook, how cool is that?) & go over to the big house for an evening of crafting fun. She's got it set up so we can scrapbook, make cards, or a centerpiece for our table. She joins us & we spend the next few hours being creative & laughing until our faces hurt.
The next day we go for a trail ride on the horses & boy you oughta see the cowboy guiding us...whew! He chooses the right horse for each of us & off we go. It was a great ride through some amazing country...our cowboy is charming & helpful, and tells us some great stories of ranching life.
Next is massage time, now that our buns are aching & we're all bowed-legged & sore from riding. (Of course, Michelle had a spa at her ranch...I mean, who wouldn't?) We enjoy our pampering & decide that tomorrow we might just need mani/pedi's too.
More fabulous food & crafting fun, and a lot more laughter shared by all.
The next morning we woke up & felt fabulous. We had breakfast & were just heading over to the stables to see the cowboy horses & maybe go for another ride when what should happen?

My dadgum kids woke me up.

Oh man...

~~~~

Y'all should check out this post on Michelle's blog. Even though she doesn't really have a ranch with hottie cowboys & cute cozy cottages, she's got a dandy of a contest goin' on to promote her latest venture. Don't forget to let her know who sent you!!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Now, where is that cell phone?













I recieved this, my second blog award (never did anything about the first one...need to visit that blog and dig it up in her archives!) from my pal Kate who writes about her life in Texas. She's a lovely person & is wonderfully supportive, especially when I'm waaaay off my rocker. (Not that it happens often...*a'hem*)
Thanks Kate!!

The way this works is I answer the following questions with single word responses, and pass the award on to 5 other bloggers:
1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Where is your significant other? Back-room
3. Your hair color? Brownish
4. Your mother? Mom
5. Your father? Dad
6. Your favorite thing? Books
7. Your dream last night? Dunno
8. Your dream/goal? Kids
9. The room you're in? Family
10. Your hobby? X-stitch
11. Your fear? Opinions
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Content
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Confident
15. One of your wish list items? Music
16. Where you grew up? Kirkland
17. The last thing you did? Read
18. What are you wearing? Jeans
19. Your T.V.? Sony
20. Your pet? Gihli/Smudge
21. Your computer? Dell
22. Your mood? Restless
23. Missing someone? Yup
24. Your car? Caravan
25. Something you're not wearing? Socks
26. Favorite store? Michaels
27. Your Summer? Hot
28. Love someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? Blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Morning
31. Last time you cried? 26th

I wish I could give this to all the blogs I read...here's my pics, go check em out!
1. Blessed...
2. Diagonally parked in a Parallel Universe
3. Livesay (Haiti) Weblog
4. Fried Okra
5. My Little Corner of the World

Thursday, January 1, 2009

This is going to be short and er, sweet today. I pulled a muscle in my back a few days ago & yesterday it was feeling much better...yesterday.
Today...ow, ow, OW!
I can hardly move right now, everything hurts. Moving my head, sitting down, getting up...even making a sudden facial expression hurts sometimes.
UGH!

Anyway, I didn't come here to whine my head off...I really wanted to share with you our latest kid'ism.

From Adah
"I'm a gooood pooper mom. I'm a poop girl!"

Now aren't you happy you visited today? Now your life is complete, having heard that Adah is a poop girl. I mean, what an accomplishment!

Actually it's a great thing. For the past 2 days she had successfully pooped without making a giant mess in her undies. This is huge for us, she has been very difficult in this area, making me lots & lots of nasty laundry to clean - blech! You can read more about that here & here if you so choose - but I can't imagine why you'd want to!!
So we've been lavishing her with praise & telling her that she should be very proud of herself. And proud she is, our sweet little poop girl.
*a'hem*
Totally a story to save for her embarrassment in later years :)

Hola 2009!

Ok this is pathetic.
I was trying to write a silly little poem about the new year & I can't get beyond the first line (which sounded like a 3rd grader wrote it anyway.) I think I've not only lost brain cells from having children but from endless loads of laundry & dishes.
We rung in the new year by snuggling on the couch (except we didn't so much snuggle as sat next to each other...we both pulled back muscles recently.) and watching movies. Chris picked The Dark Knight & I chose Tuck Everlasting. As much as I like The Dark Night I didn't think it set the proper tone for celebrating 2009 but Chris just had to see it, then he fell asleep during my movie (which was very cute btw.) We'll be watching it again tonight so he can see what happens after the opening credits.
We've spent our first day of the new year by doing pretty much the same thing we do everyday. Cleaning..internet..laundry..internet..fighting..internet..dishes..internet..fighting over who gets to be on the internet...
You get the general idea.
So I haven't made any resolutions for this year, I never keep the dang things anyway so why bother? I really like what Dawn at BecauseISaidSo came up with though.
I have been seriously thinking about talking to my Dr about my weight. I'm about 80-90 lbs overweight & it's only getting worse. I think about exercising or cutting back on the sweets & it just sends me into scarf-everything-I-see mode. Like I know I'm going to diet soon so I better cram in all the crap food I can now. I'm tired of getting winded (and my knees protesting) going up the stairs. I'm tired of not being able to romp around with the kids much. I'm tired of seeing pics of myself & thinking "that's me? Yuck!!"
I would have to get my mom into this...we don't have enough money for WW or a gym or whatever & I think I'm going to need that outside motivation. I just don't have the willpower to do this on my own. I need someone (other than my husband) to kick me in the butt. I've become very lazy & unmotivated (dunno if that's a word but I'ma use it anyway) & I don't see myself doing what I need to do on a regular basis without that help.
So.
I'm off to loose more brain cells do laundry.
You got any resolutions? Will you actually keep them? Do anything fabulous to welcome 2009?

~~~~

2009,
you'll do just fine.

(oh yeah, 3rd grade all the way. Maybe 2nd even.)
 
Header image by sabrinaeras @ Flickr