What is it with kids these days?

So, a few months ago, we got new neighbors across the street. A single mom with two young daughters. We hardly ever see them.

The street we live on is perpendicular to the playground of an elementary school. It's not a long block, we have probably 14 houses facing each other and then at the west end, there is a house on each side of the street that faces the school. Whatever.  I am usually sitting here on the couch, playing on the computer or watching TV when school gets out. No big.

As with most Mid-western states and towns this time of year, we have snow on the ground. In some places, we have big mounds of the stuff. It has accumulated and been plowed, and blown, and scooped into piles. If you have lived places where it snows, you know that the snow is NOT clean, right?

Here's where my mind is being blown... the littlest girl walks home from the school at the end of the block. As she's walking down the street, I see her reach into the piles of snow at the curb and grab a handfull and start eating it!!!!  I watched her walk into her front yard near some bushes, stomp through the crust that has formed from a couple of days of rain, and grab a handful and put it in her mouth. This happened mere minutes before I started this post. WTH?!?!?!

After our first big snow, I saw her and a friend kicking back on the pile at the end of our drive way, munching away on the snow. I opened the door and said, "You know we have a dog, right? He might've peed on that snow. It's probably not a good idea to be sitting in it or eating it." They just looked at each other, kind of got horrified looks on their faces, dropped the snow in their hands and got off of our snow bank. I shut the door and was laughing. I would have thought that would make them think twice about eating snow from the side of the road. NOT.

I sorta feel I should tell her mom what's going on, but then.... What do you think? Let me know!

I don't know how they do it

As a "blogger," I am so in awe of those who blog on a daily basis. Or even more than twice a week. There are blogs I visit every day to see if they have a new post. I am kinda disappointed if there isn't one. I know they have lives that keep them from writing everyday, but still.... I'm there and I want to know what's going on with them.

Several of the blogs I read are so well written, they have been made into books. And I'm not talking about someone publishing it themselves. I mean actual, a publisher paid them for their work, books. And they go on book tours and have signings and hundreds of people show up.

One of my friends, who's blog I read, has specific things she posts about on specific days. I think I like the idea of that, but I don't know how to go about finding the topics for each day of the week. I know they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I don't think I could mimic what she puts on her blog.

I know that a couple of my friends stop by and read these musings of mine. And, I hope that they look forward to reading what I've prattled on about. I think that I will try the themed days thing, and maybe that will help me post more regularly. Maybe someone could leave a comment with a topic suggestion for a post. Now, if you do, please make it something reasonable! LOL

On the diet front, the past couple of days have been kind of up and down. Saturday was down, and today was up, but not by that much. I have said it before, and I will say it again... I think it has to do with my water intake. I am supposed to be drinking half of my weight in ounces every day. Most days, I can do it. There are, however, days that I lose track of how many of my refillable water bottles I have emptied... I only have two, but sometimes I get confused. Whatever. So, I got out one of my BIG stainless steaming pitchers that I rescued from the garbage when the Starbucks closed here in town. I am using that, plus my water bottles. I fill all three up in the morning and as long as they are empty at night, I have had all my water. Like I said, most days I don't have a problem. Except when Duane is home and we are doing stuff together. I completely lose track that I'm supposed to be drinking, and I think that happened on Saturday.

So, even though I was up a little, I have lost 26 pounds! It's not as dramatic on me as it is on Duane. I have a lot more to lose before it's really noticeable. Now, Duane.... his pants are literally falling off of him. He has tightened his belt 2 notches and when he gets dressed for work Monday, will have to go to the next hole! I am so proud of him. He only has a few more pounds to go before his BMI is in the "normal" range. He is thinking he needs to be down around the 18% range, which would be about 125 pounds or so. I think that that would be too thin for him. But, that's the thing about the diet we're doing. His body will tell him when it is where it wants to be.

So, my clothes are still fitting, lycra or spandex or whatever it is they are putting in with the cotton in jeans nowadays... But, I thought I would try on a "sweat-suit" that I got for Christmas 2 years ago that I haven't worn because it fit funky. I wore it all day on Saturday and really didn't have problems with the back of the pants pulling down or the top riding up to expose the small of my back. Those of my friends who have been "blessed" with some junk in the trunk know what I'm talking about.  Oh, here's a mystery that totally needs solving: Why don't pants have enough beltloops? There are usually only 5 and there should be at least 7!!! Two on either side of the front, one on each side, one in the middle back and one on each side of that in the back. It's crazy. Didn't pants used to have enough beltloops? What gives? Are they saving that much money by doing away with 2 loops?

Okay, I need to go put the bunnies to bed and quit making myself angry about pants manufacturers!!! The bunny love I will get when I go to the barn is sure to calm me.

So, until next time, when I might have an actual theme.... C-ya!

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

We went to see Mary Poppins Thursday at the Orpheum theater in Omaha. Great performance. The 2:00 matinee...not so great. So, we left the house at 12:45 thinking this is the time frame we usually give ourselves (45 minutes) to get to downtown Omaha. We usually have enough time to park for free and walk a couple of blocks to the theater and there's no problem...

Our usual free parking, during the day is metered. And none were available. GAH!! So we circle the area a couple of times. By now, it's 1:50 and we still have to walk about 5 blocks. So, we pay $10 for parking (the going rate around here) and hoof it to the theater. We pick our tickets up at Will Call and get in. Everyone is rushing us, saying, "Less than a minute until the curtain goes up. You'd better hurry!" Of course, we both have to make a pit stop! LOL  So, we get to our seats in time and thankfully with empty bladders, we sit down. The curtains don't go up for another 3 or 4 minutes! Whew.

If you're a fan of the movie, let me just tell you, the stage play diverts in places... there are scenes that aren't in the movie and some scenes in the movie aren't in the play. Sort of disconcerting. Okay, I knew the carousel and fox hunt couldn't happen in real life, although they could've done the tea on the ceiling with wires... But still!

Overall, it was a good show. The seats we had were really good. We were on the right side of the loge in the "wings" I guess you'd call them. We will be on the other side for the next performance.

Sorry I didn't get this posted on Friday when I started it. LOL  Sometimes, life happens.

Oh, and lest I forget... I've lost a total of 23 pounds!!! We go until the 10th of February. So, in essence 11 more days. We'll see what comes off between now and then! I'll keep you posted.

Until then!

Ups and Downs

This is going to be the ups and downs of the last week...

Last week I didn't post like I meant to... Down

Monday's weight- Down (0.2)
Tuesday's weight- Down (0.2)
Wednesday.....Down (0.6)
Thursday.....Down (1.0!!)
Friday...Up (0.4)
Saturday...Down (0.8) so I lost what I'd gained and then some! Whoo hoo!
Sunday... Down (0.2)
Yesterday...Down (0.8)
Today... Down (0.8)
Which brings the total I'm DOWN to 21.2!!!!!!  I would rate this as an UP!

You'd think that I'd be having to buy new pants and stuff, but I found Gloria Vanderbuilt jeans at Sears... they are stretchy, so they all still fit and aren't saggy and baggy, but they don't look tight, either. I could probably fit into the next size smaller, but I don't have any to test that theory... It will have to wait. Oh, there is one thing I could try... hang on and I'll check the fit...Okay, not quite where it's supposed to be, but it fits better than it did a month and a half ago when I wanted to wear it to the Squadron Christmas Party... I'm glad I didn't... I was MUCH more comfortable in my dressy jeans and a turtleneck. If I had not gone for "vanity" by wearing some little lace-up boots and just worn my Crocs, my feet wouldn't have hurt either. Oh, well, it was just for a couple of hours. I guess this could be both Up and Down.

We're over the half-way point. UP!

I have finished knitting one angora fingerless mitt and have started the other... UP!

I fell on the ice/snow at the library yesterday and on the way Down (ha ha) I heard something pop in my left knee. The one that has reconstructed ligaments in it... I don't think I hurt the ACL again (I don't think I felt something go zinging back into place in my hamstring...) It does twinge some, but I'll keep an eye on it. So obviously, that was a Down.

We are going to see Mary Poppins at the Orpheum on Thursday. Up   And I'll review it Thursday night or Friday, as we're going to the 2:00 Matinee.

Oh, and Duane is Down 21.6 pounds!! Definite UP!

So, those are the ups and downs of my life in the past week. What's up with you?

going back to basics.

Let's start with something that is a recurring thing right now. I talked with my sister today and found out I have been using the wrong starting weight! I am supposed to use the weight I was at when I actually started the 500 calorie diet, so we get to add 4 pounds to the loss, so to that end... I am down another 0.6 to make a total of 17 pounds lost!!!!

Yesterday was the monthly meeting for the fiber guild I belong to. Spinners Web is the name of it and we meet the third Saturday of every month except December (some of our members live on farms and get snowed in.)

January's meeting is all about getting back to basics. Starting fresh. Learning the basics of spinning and knitting and crochet, and even weaving. This year, we had kind of an "open house" thing in the Auditorium of the library. I thought it would be a bigger thing. The library didn't advertise it very well. We did have like 5 new people and one woman brought her young kids. My friend DiAnn taught a beginning spinning class, with people learning how to spindle spin.

I had thought about taking my loom and weaving on the kitchen towels some more, but I took Harmony and we spun up some angora. I have worked a trade of a skein of angora for some sock blockers. I need to spin up some more white so that I can ply it with some gray that is already spun. I want to have it spun up before I go to Whole Foods Wednesday night for knit night.

Duane and I are taking the Christmas tree down today and tomorrow. I know some people only leave it up until Epiphany, but we leave it up until the 3 day weekend for MLK day. I kinda had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I don't know why. I love all things about Christmas. The meaning, the pageantry, the decorations, the lights and smells. Gathering with family and friends. Maybe that's part of it. It has been quite a few years since we've spent Christmas with either Duane's family or mine. I think, too, part of it is that we've cut our card list way down. If we didn't get a card from you last year, you're not getting one this year. If we keep up with that trend, some of the brothers and sisters on both sides won't be getting a card this next Christmas. Hmm. Sad.

Let me see if I can get a picture of the tree out of my new phone... Nope, not happening. Aaarrrggghhhh!!!!!
Maybe I will have to take one with the old phone or actually break out the camera. Look for it tomorrow.

On that note... Ciao!

snow days

It started snowing Sunday afternoon/early evening. It really hasn't stopped since then. Duane woke up at 6 this morning to find out that he had a 2 hour late reporting, meaning he didn't have to be in until 9. I got up with him to see if he wanted me to help him shovel the drive and clear cars and whatnot. He told me he didn't, so I took my drops and went back to bed.

When I got up at 9:30 (my usual time), I went through most of my morning routine and weighed. I was down only 0.2 pounds. Which brings me to 10 pounds lost!!!! I took my drops, went and woke up the girls. The bunnies are so frisky in this cold weather and are the cutest in the mornings. I came back in and played on the computer. Duane was out using the snowblower. He had decided that he was just going to take a day of leave. I let him have his fun alone for about 45 minutes and then I decided that if I wanted to spend any time with him today, I should go help him. So, I put on some thermal pants under my jeans, a medium weight jacket and wrapped a handknit lace shawl made from handspun llama over my head, the ends of which I crossed over my lower face and tied in back. Think 50's moviestar in a convertible... Kind of like that, but with lace. It kept me so warm!

We got it all done and came in at about 12:30. I took a shower and just for shits and grins, decided to weigh myself again. I lost 0.6 pounds. bringing the total to 10.6 pounds lost!!

Duane and I had lunch. We had a chicken salad. I baked up a bunch of chicken yesterday so that we would have easy lunches through the week. I made up some cajun seasoning and have been using that and italian seasonings. This time, I tried some garlic salt. Oh, man! That was the best! So, now I'm going to have to figure out how to make a garlic salt without quite so much salt.

So, all-in-all, it was a great snow day. Spent time with my honey. Played with the dog in the snow... and I lost some extra weight. maybe.

goals, not resolutions.

Every year, people are caught up in making New Year's Resolutions. Every year, most people break their resolutions by the end of the first week. I am taking a page out of my friend Kris's book. I will make goals not resolutions. Goals are fluid, moveable and able to be changed. If you resolve to do something, it's pretty concrete. That's why they are so hard to keep.

So, here are some of my goals for this year. They are not in any particular order.

1. Be the best partner and friend (and other things, wink, wink) to Duane that I can be. My goal is to be there to help him in whatever way he needs me. If it's proofreading a paper or helping him with yardwork, then I will get out my red pencil and my rake.

2. Finish the socks I started for him 2 years ago. I have one done, and the second is close to turning the heel. then it's down the foot to the toe. So, really, if I knuckle down, it could be done in a couple of days... Maybe I will send it to the newly formed Surrogate Sock Knitters group and someone will take pity on me and finish it. Theoretically, it's for the whole 2nd sock, but....

3. Knit up some of the projects I have had planned for a while. I have a really cute hat to make out of Cashmerino. I have some yarn that is supposed to be a bag. And, I have the mystery wool that I want to be a sweater.

4. Post on the blog at least once a week. More if I can. I really want to get into the habit of blogging. I like the idea of it. There are some blogs I follow and check daily to see if there are new posts. Some of them really rock.

5. Lose the weight I've said I want to lose. And keep it off. That's the goal. Keep it off. So far, I am down almost 8 pounds since I started a week ago! I think I didn't lose as much the last two days because I didn't get all my water in. And, I know it seems contradictory, I think I forgot to take my furosemide.

6. Weave more. Learn how to do more than just tabby (plain) weave. I want to learn how to do "Log Cabin" and Waffle Weave.

7. Spin yarn for socks. I have some superwash, and it's enough for a pair of socks.

Okay, I think for now I have put down enough goals...

And, as it's taken me two days to write this post, I think the whole "blog more than once a week" is happening. LOL