Friend Makin Monday's - hobbies

Happy Monday!  I'm glad that I'm finally feeling somewhat better - I got a lovely sore throat Wednesday & it's been crap since then. I even skipped going up north with my mom & sisters since I didn't think they'd want to be stuck in a car for 2+ hours each way with me coughing / sneezing / sniffling / etc.  And I didn't want to risk getting Mom sick, since she finally made an appointment to get her hip replaced! She's been needing it for a long time. 

On the plus side, I got to take Miss Angela to meet her stylist for the hair / fashion show she's modeling for.  And we got to attend the surprise baby shower for a teacher at her dance studio.  Don't worry - I was heavily medicated for each!



Happy Monday everyone.

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 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!

Hobbies and Games

1. Do you have a favorite board game?  I don't think I have a favorite, but I do like to play Scattergories and Cranium and silly games like those.

2. Do you have a favorite card game?  Again - not really.  We play Uno at family gatherings, but my mom is cut-throat!  No one wants to sit by her!

3. Do you play games on your phone?  I occasionally play solitaire, but I never got into the addicting games.

4. Do you prefer the x-box, playstation or wii?  I only have the Wii.  I'm pretty sure my Mii is dead by now, tho.  It's been a while.

5. Do you have a favorite outdoor hobby?  Gardening or taking the dog for a walk.  He watches close when I put certain shoes on, since he knows what they mean.

6. Have you ever been geocaching?  Yes - we haven't gone in a year or so, but we have done quite a few.  My favorite was a multi-cache in a cemetery where we had to find a bunch of stones with names of famous people and use the years to find the next step.  It was actually pretty obvious to see where the cache was going to be, but we played along for fun.

7. What’s your favorite hobby? I cross-stitch and just started a haunted house piece that I hope to finish by Halloween. I have a hard time working on that when it's warm out, so we'll see if it gets done.  I also like hidden object games on the computer.

8. Is there a hobby you would love to try but are too scared too?   Hmmm.  I can't think of anything I'm too scared to try.  I've tried bull-riding once - just to say I did.  I ended up face down in the arena with the wind knocked out of me and a hoof-print on the back of my calf.  

9. Do you enjoy doing puzzles?  I could take them or leave them.

10. Have you taken any classes in anything?  I used to go to weekly ceramics classes with my sisters (I was in high school) and I've taken an occasional belly-dance class, but nothing recent.

Woohooo!!  The A-Z Challenge starts tomorrow!  I'll still be posting my WW updates & FMM in addition to my a-z posts.  It's gonna be fun!!!!

Friend Makin' Monday - Would you rather...?

It was a crazy weekend!  Miss Angela had her first dance competition and they did great - this pic should sum it up for her small group tap...

2nd place for her small group tap, 3rd for her small group hiphop, and 7th for her small group jazz and sadly, they didn't place in her tap duet.  I'm rather miffed about that, since I only saw 1 tiny mistake.  Luckily the judges wear headpieces and record commentary as the dances go on.  I REALLY want to hear what they said.  Their steps were together beautifully, they looked great, so I don't know what the problem was.  

 Love this pic from jazz!

I'm still proud of her, even if the judges were putzes.  

But man, it sure is exhausting sitting there watching those kids dance.  I was beat when we got home last night. 

Onto FMM !!!!  I always hated this game as a kid, so let's see how this one goes!

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 on Sarah's page 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!

Would you rather…

1. Chocolate or vanilla ice cream?  Chocolate.  MmMmMm.

2. Coke or Pepsi? Coke Zero to be exact.  If my choices are diet Coke or diet Pepsi, I will choose the Pepsi then.

3. Cats or dogs? I am proud to call myself bi-petual!  I have a Beagle who is my faithful walking buddy and we also have 2 cats.  I can't imagine life without any of them.  

4. Summer or Winter?   You're asking this now???  After this hideous winter we just had??  I bet everyone says summer!  Honestly, I prefer spring & fall.  I love to see the world coming to life - greening up and new flowers & leaves & such.  But then I also love to see the fall colors and the smell of the air!

5. Early bird or night owl?  Early bird!  It makes for fun family gatherings when those of us who are morning people break into song & dance to annoy the crap out of the non-morning people Muahahaha!

6. Baseball or football?  Ugh.  Neither.  Me like hockey!

7. Glasses or contact lenses?  both.  I wear contacts most of the time.  Glasses at night and weekends at home.   I've had no desire to have Lasik done.

8. Coffee or tea?  Probably tea.  When I have coffee, it more looks like colored & flavored milk.

9. Mac or PC?  I don't think I've ever used a Mac, so it'll be PC.

10. Roller coasters or not?  Oh yeah!  We went to both Cedar Point and Michigan's Adventure last year and went on all of them!  In fact at MA, we went on them multiple times, since there were no lines.   I have to confess that the coasters that were "the thing" the last time I'd been to Cedar Point (25 years ago) were crap now.  They really rattle your teeth loose & generally aren't fun to ride.  The newer ones (Top Thrill Dragster & the Gatekeeper) are so smooth and just a riot to ride.

Happy Monday!!

Theme Reveal !!!!

Whooops, I sort of already put this out there, when I posted that I had signed up for the challenge.  Oh well - here it is again, in an "official" post!

This is my health / weight loss blog so I'm concentrating on a different fruit or vegetable each day.  There may even be recipes included!  But I'm keeping the posts short & sweet.  And yes...I DO have posts for the tough letters (X, I'm looking at you!)

I am not a foodie blogger by any stretch of the imagination, definitely not a food photographer & I will apologize now for my hideous 70s brown laminate countertops.  Consider that a heads-up!

I have 3 blogs, you can also find me doing the A-Z Challenge over at Tales from the Love Shaque where you'll find pretty much an identical post today!   The third I'm not entering in this challenge, since it's Halloween-related and I do other bloghops throughout the year over there.

I have most of my posts written & pre-posted so I can enjoy reading other blogs during the challenge!

On an off note - Super Extra Special Good Luck being sent out to the 
Dancers Only Studio's Competition Team who will be at Primetime 
Dance this weekend - kicking off their comp season. 

Werk It,  Ladies!!

Friend Makin' Monday - Holiday Traditions

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

It's a good thing I got my celebrating (everyone is Irish on March 17!!) done this past weekend, since I get to spend this evening at Miss Angela's dance studio for dress rehearsal - her first comp of the season is this weekend!   She's actually perfectly able to do this herself, but she likes the moral support.  She has no problems with me not being around for the recital (I'm in the audience) but for comps, she's 100% Momma's girl. 

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 Sarah's page 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!

Holiday Traditions.

1. Do you celebrate St Patrick’s Day?  Yes!  We always have a "Girls Night Out" with Mom, my sisters & the nieces.  Usually we dress up and go out to dinner, then back to Laurie's house (she's the oldest sibling) to hang out & spend the night.  This year, we had tickets to go see a local acting group put on "Escanaba in Da Moonlight" and it came with U.P. (Upper Peninsula) type food - pasties (meat pies of a sort), corn & salad.  And since it was in the American Legion - cheap beer! 

Then we had to pick up a few things at the store and then we sat around and played games until 1:30 am.  Linda brought her puppy and that little bugger doesn't have a snooze button!  So he was up at 7 and all we heard was "dingledingledingledingledingle" from the bell on his collar as he tried to get the older dogs and the cat to play.   

 

Jack is not impressed with Baxter & his bell.

I was proud of Jack - when Baxter was tiny, Jack was afraid of him.  So I'm not sure if Jack was protecting me here, or I was protecting him.  But at least they interacted this time.  

2. Which is your favorite holiday to celebrate?  Without a second's hesitation - Halloween!   I even have a blog dedicated to my yard display - Maple Grove Cemetery.  Love it!  I don't do the blood & gore, tho.  My display is more traditional and somewhat goofy - ghosts, skeletons, obviously a graveyard, black cats, spiders, etc.

3. Do you have a favorite ‘holiday’ food?  Hmm.  We usually have BBQ on the 4th of July - that would have to be my favorite. MEAT!

4. What do you think of holiday parades?  Fun!!

5. Have you ever been part of a parade?  A couple times.  My sister Laurie has always had horses, so one year when I was probably 16, I helped carry the banner in the Christmas parade for the group of people from the barn.  They were all dressed up as Scrooge & the ghosts from A Christmas Carol.  Another year when I was probably 14,  for Memorial Day she was the pooper scooper and I got to ride!  Her horse was one of those great ones who was never bothered by anything going on around him, but he also loved a parade!  We started out in the back of the group, but Nibbs pranced his way to the front & center of the group, with his ribbons fluttering and glittered hooves dancing. That was the greatest day ever!  We walked in the UAW parade on Labor Day in Detroit for a lot of years, until my dad retired.  More recently, I've helped out with radio communications, so I'm usually standing along the parade route on the 4th of July with my radio.

6. Do you decorate your house for the holidays?  Yes. And my desk at work, too!  I have stuff for just about every holiday.  Of course, Christmas and Halloween are the most involved.

7. Do you send holiday cards?  I send Christmas cards to a lot of people and family gets cards for the other holidays & random times.  They always gets the funny / gross ones.

8. Are there any holidays that you celebrate that are traditional in another country, but maybe less well known in the US?  I work for a trucking company that goes into Canada & Mexico, so we have to work around their holidays, too.  Like today in Mexico, plants are closed for Benito Juarez's birthday.

Top O The Day To Ye !!

Friend Makin Monday - Vacations

Happy Monday!  I can honestly say that Daylight Savings Time did not bother me or anyone in my house in the slightest.  So I had to drive to work in the dark again.  The sun was barely making an appearance last week when I got here, so it's really not a big deal.  I know Randy likes it, tho!

Got a good workout Saturday at Zumba, we had a sub teacher and she did a lot of hiphop dance moves (jumping), where the usual teacher does a lot of Salsa & bellydancing (hips).  I could really feel it in my knees all weekend!

I also had an eye appointment - I'm so happy about it.  Last year I went to a new place (because they take Randy's insurance) and had the crappiest service ever.  The first thing the eye doc said was "oh, you're gonna be 40 this year - time to think about reading glasses!"  He hadn't even looked at my eyes, I was miffed!  All sorts of hassle with those peeps, so I went back to my old place and can't wait to get my new contacts.  

Time for FMM !

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 Sarah's page 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!

Vacations

1. Where was the last place you went on vacation to?  Last summer we went up north to the Traverse City area for a couple days and drove down the west coast of Michigan.  Here are my posts about it.  It was a nice trip. 

2. Do you have any plans for a vacation this year?  Things are pretty up in the air right now. Normally we take the week before school starts to do something, but it's also going to depend on Miss Angela & her dance team.  They're going to Regionals in May, to see if they qualify for Nationals in July.   We will be spending Christmas in Arkansas with the Mother-in-law.

3. If money was no option, where would you dream vacation be?  I want to visit all 50 states.  I'd also like to see Australia, Europe, Asia, etc. 

4. What is your favorite vacation spot that you have visited?  Alaska.  I'd only known Randy for a couple weeks when he asked me to go.  He already planned to go alone, then he met me and I jumped at the opportunity.  It's funny that I have a picture of us - his first time on a horse - taken exactly 4 years to the day from our wedding day!

5. Have you ever had a staycation?  Sort of.

6. Are you a lie on the beach person or a go out and explore person?  I can only handle so long sitting on the beach before I die of boredom.  So I'd have to go explore.

7. When you fly do you have a favorite airline?   I honestly don't fly enough to have a preference.  Whatever Randy books us on!

8. Have you ever had a ‘vacation from hell’ ?  Nope, but I've been on 2 vacations TO Hell!  We went on a cruise and visited Hell in Grand Cayman, and Hell, MI is only about an hour away !

9. Have you ever had an airline lose your luggage?  Nope

10. Do you send postcards to friends and family when you go on vacation?  Yes.  Sometimes we get home before the card is delivered, but that's OK.  FYI - if you send a card from the Hell, MI post office, they singe the edges with a candle.  It's great!

2 months at the gym pics

Alrighty - time to get real.  Let's see if there is any real difference yet. 

Pics taken January 6 are on the left and ones take March 7 on the right. 

There seems to be a more pronounced nip-in at my waist.  

Yay!

 Hmm, the upper roll appears to be a smidge smaller.

And the bust.  

Here's where I see a difference!  My arms still cause me to wrinkle up my nose in dismay, but not cringe in horror like the January side does.  Definite difference in waist sizes. 

I just had to get up and take my measurements. Since the day I started going to the gym - December 26, I've lost.....5 inch off my thighs.  .25 inch off my arms, 1.5 inches off my bust, and an inch off both my hips & waist.  At least it's showing there, since I've only lost about 3 lbs in that same time frame. But 2 people at work have noticed and commented!

I'm feeling pretty sore right now.  There was a sub at Zumba at the gym this morning.  Joy did a lot more dance moves while Kelli does more salsa and bellydancing.  It didn't seem tougher at the time, but my body is telling me otherwise now!

My workouts lately have been Zumba on Saturday and 2 days doing the elliptical (I'm up to 17 minutes!!), 3 sets of about 12 on all the circuit machines and then 25 minutes or so on the treadmill.  If I'm pressed for time. I'll go do 35 minutes on the bike.

I guess there's hope for me yet.  I started writing my A-Z challenge posts, so instead of getting into the damn Chips Ahoy (with Reeses Pieces!!) the asshole, also known as my husband, brought home....I had grapes & yogurt - which will be a challenge post.