Friend Makin' Monday - 2013

OMG, I forgot it was Monday! We left Saturday 12/22 to drive to Arkansas to spend Christmas with the Mom-In-Law (details posted here: part 1 and part 2 ) and just got home yesterday. Home Sweet Home!

I made a serious attempt to be careful about what I ate and halfway succeeded in tracking everything. But I had 2 saboteurs (cough, cough, Randy & his mom, cough) who insisted on making it impossible. We did go grocery shopping so there was plenty of fruit and reasonable choices available, much to their dismay. I bought whole wheat bread & they asked if I was trying to kill them. WTF?!?! Seriously. They kept talking about going to this pizza place and getting a huge pizza called the Razorbaccio, which has basically 5 or 6 kinds of meat on it. Um, no. Pizza is one of my least favorite foods anyway. We went to a catfish place for dinner one night & I was good and ordered mine grilled with a side salad. I should have gotten the fried catfish, since mine came out swimming in a pond of butter. At least the fried variety wasn't dripping on the plate. And don't get me started on the Chinese buffet. My fingers were so swollen from the sodium, I couldn't get my rings off! Anyway, I feel gross.

Ugh.



If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

2013

1. Share one thing that you plan to do for yourself in 2013. I really need to get back on the WW bandwagon.  I felt so good after losing the first 60 lbs, but then I gained 15 back and now I'm back to feeling blah and gross.  I hate that feeling!

2. Share a good habit that you will continue doing into the new year.  Drinking my water.  I can really tell when I don't drink enough - like on this road trip we just finished.  I sort of did it on purpose, so we didn't have to stop every 100 miles so I could use the bathroom.  And I regretted it.

3. Do you make new year’s make resolutions? If so, do you typically stick to them?  Nope.  No particular reason why, we just don't. 

4. Do you have any health goals for the new year?  I'll shoot low.  I want to be in Onederland.  So a 24 lbs loss.  Totally do-able.

5. Share one thing that you plan to do in January.  Go watch the Monster trucks at Ford Field. We go every year.  It's fun.  Randy takes his radio and listens in on the production frequencies and Angel & I have a friendly rivalry over who we want to win the racing and freestyle.  She's got her favorites and I have mine.

6. Do you have any travel plans for the coming year?  Nothing as of yet.  We always take a week off work right before Miss Angela goes back to school in the fall and do something.  This past year it was Hell to Paradise.

7. What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?  Sitting at home in front of the TV, watching New Year's Rockin' Eve.  We are such party animals!

8. What are your resolutions for 2013?  Get moving more!

9. What are you looking forward to most over the next 12 months?  Hmm, I don't really know.  Just living each day to the fullest with the people that I love!

10. Share something unique that you hope to do in 2013.  I can't think of anything health related, but I do plan to add some cool stuff to my Halloween display.

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments, and say hi to someone new! Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!

Have a wonderful day!

We survived!

Anyhoooo, I'm sitting here posting from a hotel room in Mt. Vernon, IL.  We are over halfway to Arkansas!  

So I went to my first weekday morning WW meeting yesterday. BTW, I was down 1.4 lbs!  Woohoo!  It was nice - not too many people.  I got the impression people are playing hooky already. Anyway. That leader is one of the more inspiring ones.  She gave some good ideas for surviving the holidays. She suggested if we couldn't track right away to take a picture of our plate so we'd remember what we had. Brilliant!  that worked, too.  So I have challenged myself to track every single thing I eat during this trip.  

Today was scary.  I used 57 WW P+.  Breakfast at Tim Horton's (a 12 grain bagel BELT, Boston Cream Donut and iced coffee) Lunch at Cracker barrel (grilled chicken tenders, corn, tomato/cucumber/onion salad and 2 small biscuits that were too good to put down) and finally dinner at Denny's (veggies & a veggie burger) and also a couple 2 PP bars.  I could have made better choices at Timmy's but the 12 grain bagels are amazing.  

I totally didn't drink enough water, since I was trying to avoid making potty breaks every 12 miles. So I've been making up for it since we stopped.

But anyway, tomorrow is another day.  We'll be having breakfast here at the hotel and should be to Mom-In-Law's house by dark.  But anyway, the fam is already in their respective beds, watching SNL, so I better sign off now.  

Don't forget - next week the first 13 in 13 emails will be coming out - click over and check it out!

Later!

Friend Makin' Monday - 12 in 2012

I don't know if I'll get a chance to do FMM next week. I'll be at my MIL's house and I'm not sure of her wi-fi abilities to use my laptop - GASP! I hope I don't have to suffer the unthinkable - no computer for over a week?

 ***searches Google maps for the Hot Springs public library, just in case!****

Anyway, Friday night we picked up Miss Angela's bff and went to downtown Rochester to see the lights - I don't have the pics off the camera yet, but HERE is the link to last year's walk. It was hilarious with Taylor along, since they would scurry ahead and be posing for a picture when Randy & I caught up to them. At one point some people in front of us stopped and asked them if they were getting their pictures taken, and I, coming up from behind, was like" in a minute they will be!" They had a good laugh.

Saturday was a lot of last minute shopping. Sunday afternoon we went over to my sister's house for the family Christmas. It was nice. My lovely sisters thought it would be funny to get me this giant inflatable for my yard....

Neat. 

7.5 feet tall

Anyhooooo, oh, I did go to my WW meeting Saturday, but I chose the option of not getting on the scale. Between looming TOM which caused me to and eat every flippin' thing I laid eyes on....it wasn't gonna be pretty. I really hate when customers send boxes of cookies or popcorn or ~my downfall~ pieces of dark chocolate molded into little trucks (I work for a trucking company).

How do you feel about 2012? Let’s discuss it, shall we?

Now…If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Twelve in 2012

(reading over these, I see this is going to be a tough one!! I am glad that I have my other blogs to help me remember!)

1. What was your greatest personal accomplishment in 2012?   I don't really know. Probably at Halloween hearing a teenage boy slap his friend's chest and say that this was the house he told him about. Along with a lot of other favorable comments made me feel that I am getting a reputation as The Halloween House.  Health related?  I maintained.  Which is good because it is NOT a gain!

2. What’s the best thing your did for your health?  Even though I stayed pretty much the same in pounds, I still fairly regularly attended my WW meetings.

3. Share one thing that caused a significant change in your life this year.  We went to the Humane Society and got adopted by Miss Maddie - literally, she chose us.  Even with some thankfully minor medical issues, she has been a true joy to have in our house.  She's such a character and she gets along with our other cat who also came from the same place, 9.5 years ago!

4. List a few things that you experienced for the first time at some point over the last twelve months. 

*attended my first Def Leppard concert - a truly truly excellent experience!!

*the awkwardness of having my ex show up for Angel's dance recital after not seeing him for 12+ years. 

*the Blogging A-Z Challenge back in April - with 3 blogs!

*my daughter getting suspended from school for fighting (actually - defending herself)

5. What was the coolest place you visited?  Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Hell, Michigan then to da UP to visit Paradise, among some other cool places up there.

6. If you could change one thing about the last year what would it be?  That is would have tried a lot harder with my weight loss / getting fit goals.

7. What is the best meal you ate this year?   Probably just my regular order from Texas Roadhouse - the 6 oz sirloin with grilled shrimp and steamed veggies.  On nom nom nom nom.

8. Tell us about a new friend you made. Sadly, I don't think I made any!

9. What did you hope to accomplish this year that you did not?  Just losing a lot more weight and possibly requiring a new wardrobe.

10. Share something you learned in 2012.  Michigan is truly a beautiful state.  I knew it before, but I got to experience more of it.

11. Share an odd and unexpected thing that you experienced this year.   I think I finally began to feel my 39 years.  I was OK around my own birthday but when my daughter turned 15, I got to thinking that I didn't feel old enough to be the mom of a 15 year old kid in high school.  That and the first time a boy came around because of her.

12. How do you think 2013 will differ from 2012?  Gosh.  I'm not really sure. But I'm looking forward to finding out!

Friend Makin' Monday - Christmas Questions

Happy Monday!

I am so excited that I finally guilted the hubby into fixing not one, but TWO, leaks in our house this weekend. Leak #1 I have no idea when it started, probably before we moved in, but all it took was the threat of epoxy sealing every single thing under the bathroom sink to get him to move. We now have new feed lines and a shiny new faucet!!! The wood under the sink is still rotted & warped and don't get me started on the state of the drywall ....but (thanks to 2 straight days of the ceiling vent and an oscillating fan running) it is mostly dry now and stench is almost gone. Leak #2 only required a couple gaskets to be replaced to stop the continuous stream of water in the shower. Words cannot describe my delight right now!

I chose the wrong day to attend my WW meeting to find out about the new WW 360 program. I went Saturday morning, but I wasn't able to stick around afterward. I had to go pick Miss Angela up from her dance studio after the annual "Lock In". They basically have a sleepover at the studio, if you can get 20+ girls ranging from age 7-16 to actually sleep! They watched a dance movie (of course) and had some guest dancers in from a local high school. Then they performed a couple of dances for each other that they're learning in their respective classes.

I haven't had a chance to read up on the new 360 program, other than what they talked about at the meeting. I have a few thoughts running thru my mind about it, but I need to sit down and read. My first thoughts about routines compared it to FlyLady. That's a good thing!  And I noticed they haven't updated the iPhone app yet.  Get on it, peeps!

Anyway....onto this week's FMM topic!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Christmas Questions

1. How will you celebrate the holidays this year? We alternate years between staying home and being subjected to my crazy family and going to Arkansas to spend it with Randy's mom.  This is an Arkansas year!  All in all, it's a good thing.  My MIL is a sweet lady.  I love Arkansas (at least in the winter, since both Angel and I have northern girl constitutions and Arkansas summer heat kills us) and I can't wait to visit the Buckstaff Bathhouse!  I blogged about that wonderful place HERE.  So Christmas will be very low-key and relaxing.  I want to visit the Hot Springs Wax Museum while we're there, too.

2. What’s the weather currently like where you live?  It's been weird so far this year. I live in SE Michigan and we've had snow exactly once and only got about 1/2 inch.  It's been slightly warmer than average, according to the Nat'l Weather Service.  Which is fine with me, since that means no shovelling!  We did have some freezing rain last night but it warmed up before I had to leave for work.  That blanket of ice on my car was UGLY!

3. Do you decorate your home for the holidays? If so, share a picture please!  I haven't taken many inside pics yet, but the tree is up & decorated; the battalion of nutcrackers have invaded; the nativity is prominently displayed...

Nutcrackers

Maddie, being part of the Kitty Nativity.  This is not my "real" nativity scene.

My blowmold collection outside. 

edited to add links, since images aren't showing!

4. What is your favorite Christmas movie?  Hmm.  We always watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Year Without a Santa Claus (with the Miser brothers) and The Christmas Story with Ralphie & his BB gun.

5. What is your favorite Christmas songs?   I like....
Bruce Springsteen's version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Go Tell it on the Mountain (not a traditional one, I know)
Do You Hear What I Hear?
***and most the spoofs...***
Walking 'Round in Women's Underwear
The 12 Redneck Days of Christmas - Jeff Foxworthy
Leroy the Redneck Reindeer - Joe Diffie
Merry Christmas from the Family - Montgomery Gentry - my absolute FAVE!!

6. Do you have an advent calendar? No.  Just a stuffed snowman with 24 numbered loops on his scarf that you put a candy cane in the correct loop.

7. Do you prefer color lights or white lights? Colors!  White is very elegant, but the colors are so happy!

8. What is your favorite food to eat over the holidays?   Oh man.  MIL will be roasting up a turkey breast and all the usual fixin's for Christmas dinner, but I'm looking forward to going to a place that is well known in the Hot Springs area for their fried catfish & hushpuppies.  It's the only time I ever have it.

9. Do you display a live tree, or do you prefer fake trees?  Ours is fake.  On the plus side...since our living room is small, we are able to leave off a couple branches on the lower back and it fits closer to the wall.  I love the smell of real ones, tho. Pine scented sprays & candles don't cut it.  I think I'm allergic to those.  Watery eyes, sneezing, etc.

10. What would you need to make your holiday perfect this year?  I think it already will be.  We have a multitude of blessings.  I'll be with my hubby & kid.  We all are getting nice gifts.  My MIL will be thrilled since we're staying at her condo and we don't get to see her enough. 

Friend Makin' Monday - Dear Santa

Whew - what a week!

I did not make it to weigh in, since I was never home! Miss Angela had to be at Ford Field every night for rehearsals of the halftime show for the Lion's game on Thanksgiving.

On the plus side....I saw her 3 times on TV due to being so close to the stage and practically at Kid Rock's feet and then the camera zoomed in on her & some of the other girls from the studio. Angel's best friend texted me this picture she took of her TV.....

That's Angel in the black shirt, silver shorts and gray bandana !!

And to make her even more excited, Kid Rock's keepers let him get close to the kids waiting in the tunnel, so she got to high-five him! And the Lions' players are all pretty cool when they pass by the kids. She also got to high-five Suh, Johnson and "one of the white guys". She's so classy, LOL! I wish I had words to describe the dance / gallop / run she did across the parking lot to my car, she was so excited.

Anyway, Thanksgiving is over, so bring on Christmas! We got our tree up but it only has lights & garland on it, since we didn't know what our newest cat would do to it. So far she's only sat on the coffee table and looked. Good! But we've also always been in the room with her.  Once we know she won't try to climb it, we'll finish with the ornaments.



Today's topic is going to be tough one!!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links there too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Dear Santa:
List at least ten things that you may or may not need that you’d love to find under your tree this year!

1.  a sewing machine (there is a very strong likely-ness that this will appear under my tree!)

2.  an e-reader of some sort. I dropped a very large hint months ago to the hubby about this!

3.  new slippers

4.  new bras (we always get new socks & underwear!)

5.  small LED spotlights for my Halloween display.  In blue & green, please!

6.  tickets to one or more Red Wings games (once the lockout is finally over, that is)

7......

8......

9......

10......

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head !!  I'm sure if I wasn't at work and didn't have annoying people and ringing phones around me, I could finish off the list.....

What do YOU want Santa to bring??

Friend Makin' Monday - Thanksgiving Edition

Is this week over yet?

There's going to be a LOT of driving this week! After work, I have to shuttle Angela and another girl to Ford Field in downtown Detroit Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday evenings. They, along with several hundred other kids, will be dancing at the halftime show with Kid Rock during the Lion's game on Thursday. I'm not looking forward to all this extra driving and for some reason several coworkers have lost their indoor voices over the weekend and I'm ready to go postal upon them!

Anyhoooooo, here's it this week's topic!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

***Thanksgiving Edition***

1. Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions? For the last couple years, it's been as above. Thursday morning I'll take Angel to the mall to meet the rest of the studio and they'll ride a bus downtown and they will leave Ford Field right after halftime. So I pick her back up and we'll go out to my sister's house. I'm supposed to work Friday, but I really don't see that happening!

2. List at least three dishes that are on your family’s table every year. Hmm, pretty much what you'd expect. We'll have turkey, stuffing, rolls & salad, brussell sprouts, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, etc. etc.

3. Do you prefer pumpkin pie or pecan pie? I'd go for pumpkin, since that & apple is what we always have. with the requisite Cool Whip, of course.

4. Will you watch football on Thanksgiving Day?  The Lions game, of course!!! Well, the first half of it anyway. Granted we are envious because the Cowboys get Kenny Chesney for their halftime show. I know Angel would rather dance for him!

 btw - HERE is last year's adventure.

5. Do you plan to exercise Thursday? Probably not, since while Angel is gone I'll be getting the car packed up and such. By the time we get to my sister's it'll be almost dark and time to eat. However if I play hooky Friday......horses will be ridden and dogs will be walked!

6. Do you prefer ham or turkey? Ham, actually.

7. Will you shop on Black Friday? Hell . To . The . NO !

8. Do you take a nap on Thanksgiving? Probably not, although I'd like to!

9. Share one dish that probably won’t be on anyone else’s table. Hmm. I can't think of anything unusual. Maybe some of the gluten free items for my nephew's girlfriend.

10. What are you thankful for today? I'm thankful for many things every day, which is why I don't do one of those daily posts on FaceBook. My family, our health. The sunshine. My furry critters. A warm home, reliable car, steady job, etc, etc, etc.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Ugh.

This was an eye-opener for me.  

See that person with the rolled up jeans & black t-shirt?  That's me.  This picture was taken last Saturday at the craft show I was attending with my Mom (in the pink top) and my sister.  It was in the local newspaper.

~*~*~*~ oh, the horror ~*~*~*~

It really broke thru my wall of denial.   When I put on that outfit, (I'd been at my daughter's dance convention and returned later) I thought I looked good.  I like how the jeans fit & well, the t-shirt has the studio name across the front and "Competition Team Mom" on the back.   Apparently the jeans look much better from the front.  From the side....OMG.  I don't even want to imagine from behind.

I've been so complacent.  I'm back to feeling like I did before I started WW back in 2008.  I just feel fat & gross. My knees are OK most of the time.  I don't have heel spurs.  But my belly is currently resting on my legs as I sit & type.  And when I've been sitting for a while at work and then stand up. my hip hurts.  But it hurts in a weird place.  At the top of my hip bone, not the actual joint.  It takes a minute to work out, then I'm OK.

But I feel Blahhhh.   I just had lunch.  Tuna & light mayo on 2 SlimWich's and a cup of Chobani Greek yogurt. Good choices and I'm not over-full, but I still feel disgusting.

And to top it off, I'm having female issues again. Let's just say I could keep Always in business myself.   It's a good thing I have a doctor's appointment in 2 weeks, because I have lots of questions & concerns!

And I stood in front of the mirror in my bra & undies & took a long, objective look last night.  It was not a pretty sight.   And I took measurements last night.  Can't remember when I took them last.     My eTools charts are all wonky. but I was able to get beginning numbers.  Since August 2008, (this skims over the 18 lbs I put back on during winter 2011 when I took a break from WW) I've lost a total of 1.5 inches off my waist, 5 inches off my hips (DAMN!!), 1.5 off my arm and 2.5 off my thigh.  I don't know what happened with my bust #s, since it says I went up an inch, but I know darn well the girls have gotten smaller.  And I've lost a total of 47.4 lbs.

The lowest weight I've been has been 205.4 (Aug 2010) and it made me insane that I couldn't hit Onederland.  And now I'm stuck back around 220.  Granted I haven't been to a meeting since right before Halloween.  I find that it's rather discouraging when you're sitting there with 45+ lbs down and another 50+ to go and they make a big deal about some skinny bitch who lost a whopping 13 lbs and reached her goal.  But there are also people in the same boat as me.  But dammit, they need earlier meetings!  I hate getting home from work and be in the middle of doing housewifery stuff and them have to stop and leave again.  When I get home, I want to stay home!

This calls for some drastic measures.  Sigh.  We're going out to dinner tonight, since Randy is leaving for 10 days in Arkansas tomorrow.  But tomorrow I plan to drag out all my literature and books that I got when I re-started WW with the PointsPlus system and re-read it all and also check over the website to hopefully get me back in the saddle.  And I really need to figure out how to get my butt moving (note to self - rearrange the living room!) and also figure out how to get to a meeting regularly.

OK, the Pity Party has ended.  Please continue on with your irregularly scheduled blog reading!!  And here is a gratuitous, happy picture of Miss Maddie sleeping in the pike position on my unmade bed.

Beginning in January, I'm doing the 13 in 13 challenge with Rebecca at Weight Wars.  I haven't done this with her before, but it sounds pretty fun.  I'll have to come up with 13 goals and she'll send out mini-challenges and such.  Bring it, babycakes!

Friend Makin' Monday - What's in Your Fridge

Happy Monday!

We had a crazy weekend - Miss Angela had a dance convention all weekend with her studio competition team. Of course, if you ask any of them, it's a huge party. But from 8-5 Saturday and 9-3 Sunday, they're at the mercy of different choreographers, dancing their little butts off. They love it!

Saturday we were on the road by 6am to drive the hour to the hotel (which happens to schedule a hockey convention the same weekend every year - brilliant!!) Once we got checked in with our group and wristbands donned and requisite team pictures taken, I left her happily warming up with everyone else (there must have been around 10 other studios there) and went to meet Mom & one sister to go to a craft show. We go every year and I get a special ornament from one booth every year. So I had to go!

The Dancers Only Teens

I got back to the hotel in time to watch 1 1/2 of her classes. Then we went out to dinner and back to the hotel to watch the competitions and visit and have some adult beverages with the studio owner and other parents. (I love our studio - I don't think any other of the owners would take Mimosas to a competition for the parents). Sunday after classes, they had a faculty show that's always a lot of fun, since the choreographers and the travelling company are all amazing.

So I came home with a tired kid who managed to wait until dinner time to have a meltdown. Shower, eat, bed - NOW!

But now back to normal. Apparently it was a beautiful warm, sunshiny weekend, but I was stuck inside. Oh yes. Sunday morning, we went out with the intention of breakfast at Tim Horton's which should have been only about 3 miles straight down the road. But I managed to end up on the wrong road and then the WRONG part of Detroit, which I seem to do quite often. By wrong, I mean the burned out / boarded up houses / overgrown scary places / the works. ZOOOOOOOM back to the hotel - thank God for Google maps!! And sunlight.

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

What’s in Your Fridge?

1. List a few common items that can always be found in your fridge. milk, eggs, Coke & Coke Zero, fruit, canned cat food, common stuff.

2. What kind of milk do you drink? I drink skim, but hubby & the girl drink 2%.

3. Do you prefer fresh or frozen vegetables? I like them both. Canned is a distant third.

4. What do you currently have to drink in the fridge? milk, Coke, Coke Zero, a glass jug of water (a quirk of hubby's that I like), GatorAde, a couple bottles of Labatt Blue Light and a bottle of Witches Brew wine that I didn't drink at Halloween. btw, it was suggested to me that I try that warmed. Hmmmm!

5. How often do you clean out your refrigerator? Usually when it gets gross. I will look for questionable leftovers every Thursday before trash day.

6. What’s the healthiest thing in it right now? apples, carrots, squash

7. What’s the most unhealthy thing in it right now? this ventures into the freezer - the girl's Pizza Rolls. I think I'd starve to death before I ate that nastiness. But she loves them!

8. What do you wish you had in it that you don’t have now? food that is already prepared so I don't have to!

9. How often do you shop for groceries? About once a week.

10. What’s the weirdest thing in your fridge right now? I really can't think of anything that would really be considered weird. It all seems like normal food to me. Maybe in the freezer, where the girls wanted to try freezing Nutella, and put it in my silicone ice tray in the shape of skulls?

Bonus: If you could choose one thing to put in the fridge and make it calorie-free what would it be? German Chocolate Cake.

Now it’s your turn! Don’t forget to answer the questions and come back to post a link in the comments section! Happy Monday!

Happy Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day!

on my living room wall...

I wasn't home at all this weekend, so I didn't get to write a really heartfelt post, 

thanking all those who served in all branches of the military before me, with me and and after me. 

THANK YOU!

Friend Makin' Monday & Weekend Recap

Whew! That was a busy weekend! 

Saturday I had to miss my meeting, due to taking our cat, Chester to the vet for his checkup. He lost weight! He's 15 lb, 6.5 oz. Yup, a big boy! I have to take him back later this week, since he needs some dental work done - booo! Then I spent several hours taking the cemetery down & putting it away. Hours. 

My sister works for a banquet hall and a lot of times brings home wedding centerpieces. She brought me 2 dozen red roses from one about 6 weeks ago and I kept them just for this! 

Dead roses in the cemetery!

Ded Fred & Jane (Mansfield)

Peeping Tom (he usually spends a couple days staring in the kitchen window before he goes out in the yard.)  Freaks everyone out!

And Jose the un-Love-d.

Walter & Matilda

Here's after we took everything down.
Yawn!

How many skeletons fit in a coffin? 8 !!

I put casters on the bottom so it's easy to roll back to storage.

I need to decide on a new place for the coffin next year - the dead spot never filled in from 2011!

As I was putting stuff away, the mail lady pulled up with the gargoyle blowmold. I won him & a purple witch on an eBay auction. I would have laughed if the witch showed up, too! Probably today. 

This is my favorite piece that I take to work. 

That giggling jack o' lantern always cracks me up! 

I spent another couple hours on Sunday putting away indoor stuff. I'm not done. 

And I'll still find things when I'm putting up my Christmas decor! 

If you've taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Ten Reasons To Be Thankful

1. My family. Especially my hubby & daughter, Randy & Angela. 

2. My critters. Chester & Maddie the cats, Jack the Beagle and can't forget the fish.

3. A solid roof and 4 walls to call our own. And room to store all my holiday decor!

4. A reliable car.

5. A steady job with flexibility and a blind eye to goofing off! It's a family owned company, and my boss wants to adopt me so I'll always work for her. And she's ready to hire Angela when she's old enough!

6. My health and that of my family.

7. The ability to pay for Angela being on the competition team at her studio and the requisite conventions / costumes / comp fees / etc. 

8. I am a licensed amateur radio operator and have the ability to help others in times of need. (Ham radios are more reliable than cell phones!!!)

9. My open mind. 

10. My ability to see beauty in simple things. 

What are you thankful for?

I don't ever get all political in my blogs, but don't forget to vote tomorrow!  I don't care who you favor, just do it!

Get Fit, Feel Epic - Round Up

Whew! Hope no one gets blown away by Sandy this week! Living in Michigan, we're not supposed to be affected muchly by her *yet* but our lovely neighbors to the north are sending cold and high winds our way. Our weather radio went off this morning at 5:30 and I was outside shortly after, taking skeletons & ghosts into the garage and laying tombstones down flat. The shorter stones and my beloved blowmolds I left out there, since the molds are all sitting on long wood dowels that I pounded into the ground, so I'm guessing (hoping) they'll be OK. If I see any problems when I get home from work, I'll take them into the garage, too.

We had a chilly & windy weekend, too. Saturday while the girl was at dance, I took the dog to Tillson Street, which is a whole street of old Victorian houses that go all out for Halloween. We also went with the family last night, but I like to see it during the day and check out the details. Jack was so funny. He didn't know what to think of this skeleton who suddenly sat up when we walked by. Nothing in my display moves, so this was new to him. At least he didn't do the Beagle howl at it!



Sunday, I'd somehow managed to get volunteered to play radio for a 5k walk/run. But I was actually useful this time! I was out on my post, the last one on the course, when Randy (who we all called in to) needed me to find a nearby policeman and have him call the paramedics for someone who'd just finished the run and was having an asthma attack. Luckily there was one doing traffic control right on my corner. It was funny, there were 2 ladies and a little girl from the group putting on the walk also on my corner and they cheered for everyone who passed. I clapped for almost everyone; the first couple runners, the younger kids, the ones who I was proud to see out there (ie, the larger people) and we all cheered for the very last group.


Special thanks to Rebecca for hosting this challenge - it's been a lot of fun!

Arighty - it's the final GFFE post! I'll post how I did this week on each of my goals, then how I did overall.  I missed a week of the challenge, so I won't count that week.

1. attend a WW meeting every week.  Check!  I was all depressed during the meeting (that only covered Halloween as an afterthought!) because I looked at my book and I swear it said I was up 1.8 lbs.  But later on when I went to enter it in eTools, I saw I was down 1.4!!  What happened!?!?!

Overall - 4 / 7  I have 2 - half credits in there, where I weighed in, but didn't stay for the meeting. 

2. do some sort of exercise 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.  4/3  3 of these were with my buddy, Jack.

Overall - 17 / 21  not too bad!

3. Track every day.  5 / 7 woohooooo!

I've only been doing this the last 3 weeks of the challenge.  So 11 / 21.  Better than not at all!

4. look up and try at least 3 new recipes a week.  Hmm.  I think none, so 0/3

Overall - 8 / 21  Meh. Sort of glad my family is boring.

5. do at least 15 minutes daily straightening up the house.  6/7

Overall, I've been doing pretty good with this.   42 / 49  And in just a couple days I'll be concentrating on switching the Halloween stuff out with Fall! ~sniff~ boohoo. :*(

So....I could have done much better with my goals.  I also could have done worse.  Now that I think back and have read other people's posts, I should have chosen different goals.  I'll keep that in mind for next time!

Friend Makin' Monday - Winning the Lottery....

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section over at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Winning the Lottery

What’s the first thing you would do for yourself if you won 100 million dollars? Note: this question is specifically for you…what would you do for fun after the family and the bills and the obvious stuff was taken care of?

Oh my. I would totally buy a house on Tillson Street in Romeo, Michigan. It is 2 blocks of beautiful historical Victorian houses and they also happen to go nuts at Halloween! Here is a link to my blog post of pics from last year. I would LOOOOVE to live there.

~squeee~

If that is not possible, then I would happily tear down & rebuild our current house. I do like the neighborhood, so I'm OK with this. Right now we have 849 sq. feet. The back section was added on by a drunken baboon in 1973 - there's no way a licensed contractor of any worth built this. I'd like a basement with a Man Cave for Randy to put all his radio stuff in. I have ideas on how I'd want that decorated, too. I want an actual laundry ROOM with room to iron & fold clothes, instead of a closet where I have to straddle the furnace to reach into the washer and twist my knee awkwardly to also have the dryer open. I want a linen closet to put sheets & towels in, instead of in a falling apart dresser in the girl's closet. I want to have a working shower in my bathroom, one without a hole the shape of Randy's foot in the bottom. Either a shower or an armoire for storage. I'd be happy with either. I want a fenced yard so I can just open the back door and let the dog out, instead of having to venture out in my PJs to put him on the run. Yeah - that happens daily.

Begone!  or BeChanged!

New cars for me & Randy both. He'd probably want something like an old Ford Crown Vic, retired police cruiser. I'd be happy with a Ford Escape or Explorer or Edge. I love my 12 year old Escort, but sometimes my knee makes it difficult to get out of something that low. I have to stick with the Big 3, since I don't want to risk being haunted by my Dad.

Ford Escape

Crown Vic 

OK, next would be travel. I want to visit all 50 states. I want to go to London and along with the usual expected sightseeing, spend a whole day (or two or three) exploring Highgate Cemetery. There are lots of places I'd want to visit in Europe & Asia.

Highgate Cemetery entrance

Miss Angela, who is already quite spoiled, would be getting her own personal, private TUTOR / DRILL SERGEANT!!!! WoohooooO!

So what would you do if you won the lottery?

Get Fit, Feel Epic - week 8

Happy Monday!!

It wasn't much of a weekend at the Love Shaque, due to the hubby coming home from work Friday, all whiny & not feeling well (such a guy!!)  He did manage to make it to the bowling alley for the dance studio's fundraiser, but that was it.  I won't share the gory details, but will say he was actually sick and I felt sorry for him.  And also hope that he wasn't contagious!  

So Saturday I didn't do much, I wanted to stay close to Mr. Drama in case he needed something. I did go weigh in and did the studio shuttle for Miss Angela, but I always had my phone handy.  I worked on a couple small projects and made a quick trip to the Dollar Tree to get a few more things for my witches kitchen.  It's amazing how creepy some things can look when you put them in a different location.  I have bottles of rice, coriander, body scrub, string, glitter, beads, artificial flowers, all sorts of stuff.

Sunday, I cut down dead flowers & plants in my yard and got the back yard mowed.  That's a lot of bending, so the backs of my thighs are burning right now!

So here's how I did with my goals this week.

1. attend a WW meeting every week.   Check!  I was up slightly, but since this is PMS week, I wasn't too worried about that.  I went to the Saturday 10am meeting.  That seems to be a good time frame, since I'm up already and it wasn't crowded.  The topic this week was evening snacking & how to survive the urge. That's a tough one.  Lately I've been craving soft chocolate chip cookies, badly.  And we don't have any in the house, so that solves that issue!

2. do some sort of exercise 3 times a week for at least 30 minutes.  3/3  I took Jack for a walk, walked at work 6 laps of the building, and mowed the yard (when your yard is as big as mine, this totally counts!)

3. track every day.   3/7    meh.

4. look up and try at least 3 new recipes a week.   1/3    Crockpot Beef Stroganoff  was pretty darn tasty if I must say so myself!

5. do at least 15 minutes daily straightening up the house.   6/7   Saturday was pretty low-key

This weeks' challenge was a photo scavenger hunt.  Very fun to do!

1. me after a workout - it was a 2 mile walk.  Not overly sweaty, but definitely wind-blown.

2. a piece of fitness equipment.  OK, here are 2 pieces.  My feet & Jack. 

3. where I sleep.  Complete with cats, Chester & Maddie on the pillow.

4. my favorite movie.  Top Gun  This came out when I was in middle school.  I wonder if, deep down, it had something to do with me joining the Navy?  

5. my source of inspiration.  Angel and her recital photos (9 dances!!) from last year.

6. something that makes me happy (only one thing???)  horseback riding

 
7. nature.  I love this clump of very different colored trees.

8. something I've grown or created.  The Maple Grove Cemetery, shown here mostly set up.

9. something I really should stop.  Pop.

10. something new(ish) that I love.  I've had my iPhone for about 6 months.