Weight Loss Wednesday

I have switched my Jenny day to Wednesday. Don't know why, just felt good about it. I have taken a major leave of absence from my weight loss goals. Again, don't know why. This one I did not feel good about. There is a lot in my life right now that is out of my control. In the past few weeks, I have felt nearly everything drifting away from me. But then I realized that I can control what I put in my mouth. So now I'm back on the wagon, hopefully for good.

Poser

Digging Out

We had over 7 inches of snow here in Frederick. That's nuts! A clipper, they called it. Maybe 1 or 2 inches, if we were lucky, they said. We were so lucky, I shoulda played the lotto yesterday.

While I love snow while it's falling, and I love it shortly thereafter when it's white and pretty, I hate it the next day. I hate when it piles up in front of our house, laden with pollution. It is so hard to get the kids in the car when there are snow drifts that come up halfway on the car door. We could park at the Y across the street, but then we would have to climb over two sets of snow drifts to get in the car. The car is so nasty dirty, and is desperate need of a wash, but it's supposed to rain again on Thursday, so I'll wait until the weekend.

While we had a whole lotta snow here, Hagerstown was not so fortunate. Flowers school did go 2 hours late, which was nice, since we stayed up to watch Jennifer Hudson win an Oscar. I love awards shows. I watch from the red carpet to the "goodnight everyone!" But this time, my head shut off after Al Gore had his witty reparte with Leo DeCaprio. Seriously? Al Gore discoverd global warming? Ugh. Good thing he invented the internet and could tell everyone about it.

Update

Since writing the previous post, I got the kids ready, got in the car and headed to church while Curly went to pick up his home teaching family. I was met in the parking lot by a member of the bishopric and sent home. Thank goodness for cell phones because I was able to get ahold of Curly before he got all the way to church. By the time I got home, the light sleet had changed to snow and was sticking. It is still coming down. Looks like another snow day for Flower tomorrow!

Sunday Stuff

Today I have to give a talk in church. The topic is "Living to your Potential." I was told to focus on the atonement. Oy, that's a huge, sweeping, topic. I tried to pair it down a bit. We'll see how it goes. I was hoping the big storm that's moving into the area would have moved in sooner, but alas, it was not to be. It's moving in now, though. Maybe we'll just take the sacrament and then go home. I'm a little nervous about my talk. Curly says it's good, but I think it needs a little work.

I took Mini-me to see Curly's show on Friday. During the last speech, Mini-me said "Oh no! Daddy's sad!" Then, when his line came about going out like Plaid's, she said "He's forever plaid." It came out more like "folovol plaid," but I understood. Everyone around us hear her (of course), and thought it was the cutest thing they'd ever heard. Someone told one of the cast members, who now says "folovol plaid" instead of "forever plaid." Funny.

Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

Here is a list of 3 things that happened today that were great!

1. I yoga-ed this morning. Namaste.

2. Patch sat in the cart seat at the grocery store. No more dragging the baby seat in and figuring out how to balance it on the cart so it doesn't fall off.

3. A nice woman in the parking lot asked if she could have my cart so I didn't have to return it. Thanks, lady!

Advice

Last night, I attended my sister Melly's wedding shower. There were a ton of people there to wish her luck on her new life as Melden. Instead of playing a game, we were to ask her a question or give her advice as she opened our gift. At the time, I could think of nothing. But, as I drove home in the rain and fog, I thought of my advice. So Melden, listen up. The most important thing you will do as a wife (and eventually mother), is set the tone for your home. Sister Lowe gave great advice to pray together everyday, and that helps a great deal when trying to get the spirit there everyday. You have always been the spiritual one in our bunch, so I have no doubt that your home will reflect that. Good luck to you, little sis.

Fat Tuesday

In honor of Fat Tuesday, I think I'll have a cupcake.

Yea! and Whoops!

The Yea! part is that Gracie gets her stitches out today. No more Elizabethan collar, no more putting her in her crate backwards, no more trying in vain to get the little pup to calm down. And, we can give her a bath. She stinks.

The Whoops! part is this. Remember when Mini-me was sick and throwing up last week? Remember when we took her to get tested for strep? Remember when the rapid test came back negative? Remember? Well, they told us they would call with the lab results on Thursday. When they didn't call us, I assumed (there's that word) that she was negative. They usually don't call with a negative. Imagine our surprise when they phone rang at 9:30 this morning. Yup, she's got it. After we've had Flower here the whole weekend. After Mini-me has shared my Diet Coke. After we spent all morning at church yesterday and all evening at GrandPatty and Papa Ken's house with cousins and friends who are like cousins*. Whoops indeed.

*We will gladly pay the copay on all strep visits in the next week. Offer expires Friday. Hurry! Act now!

Chopstick crazy

Ever since my mission, where I had Asian companions and Asian investigators, I have loved eating with chopsticks. I will never forget the time on my mission where we were invited out to dim sum with some of my investigators. My companion was Thai (they don't use the sticks in Thailand, fyi), and everyone else at the table was Asain, except me. I had an Asian last name, though; Lee...but, I digress. The waiter came by the table with a single fork and stuck it at my place. I was very embarrassed. I've made it a point to practice every chance I get, and I've gotten pretty good at it over the years. Tonight, while Curly was at his show, Flower and I had Chinese food. Mini-me wanted pizza. Since Flower and I were eating with our sticks, Mini-me had to use hers as well. It reminded me of these photos, taken on St. Patricks Day, 2005:

Notice how willingly she accepts peas eaten with chopsticks.




See this face? It says "Oh no, I will not eat from a spoon! How common!"



Same peas, no spoon.






She is a strange one, to be sure. She knows what she wants. I just have to keep telling myself that that is a great quality in an adult, even though it's killing me when she's a kid!

Flashback Friday

Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

In honor of the Great Ice Storm of 2007, here's my list of 3 things to do while stuck inside:

1. Watch movies. Mini-me is currently enjoying Bambie. I don't enjoy Bambie, so I'm blogging.

2. Read. I just finished Picture Perfect by Jodi Picoult. Great read. Great author. And, I got to mark down book #6 in my new book journal. 2007 is going to be a well documented year!

3. Stitch. I am almost finished with the attic items in Ezmeralda's House. My choice of stitching on black was daring, to be sure, but it is paying off because those items pop.

Stay warm and happy ice day!

Snowed In

The heavens opened last night and today we have ice. Lots of ice. So much ice, that Gracie doesn't even make prints in the snow. I listened the the sound of ice hitting the window until about 4 am. I also listened the sound of Patch crying in his crib for an hour. I also listened to Curly snoring in the girls room, because the sound of the ice in our room was keeping him up. Then I felt Mini-me kicking me, because the sound of Daddy was keeping her up, so she crawled into bed with me.

The ice won't keep us from our plans, though. We are going out with our friends the Perednis. It's a Valentine's tradition. We are headed to Acacia, which is my favorite restaurant in downtown Frederick. We went there last year and were disappointed that the menu had changed from New American to Asian Fusion. Where was the filet mignon? Kung Pao chicken was hardly a substitute. However, if you look at their menu, you will notice that the filet is back on the menu. This time, it's wrapped in bacon. I love things wrapped in bacon. The Kung Pao chicken is still there as well. I'm kind of hooked on that now. What to do, what to do!

Note to members of my family: I have cards for you. They are on the kitchen table. With Mini-me sick, then the snow, and now the ice, I have not made it to the post office to mail them. And before you say "Why don't you just stick them in the mail box with the flag up?" Good question. Our mail route is a walking route and is delivery only. No pick up. So you see my dilemma. Just know that your Valentine's Day will last a little longer.

Doctor Visit

We took Mini-me to the doctor this morning. No strep, thank goodness, just the nasty stomach virus that's been going around. She feels pretty yucky.

It's snowing outside. It's not the big, pretty storm I would have liked, but it will do. Flower's school was cancelled, and I imagine will be tomorrow with all the ice they're expecting.

And Patch is just as cute as he can be.

Irony

Last night I was talking with my Grandma for her birthday, which was on Wednesday. The fact that I was late in calling was not ironic. We talked about the kids and I remarked that Mini-me has been really healthy the past couple of weeks. She gets a fever very easily, and so far, so good. The irony comes in at 5:15 this morning, when Mini-me woke up and threw up. She has had a fever all day and is one sick little girl. I feel very bad for her. I also feel bad for Curly, who had to clean it up as I was comforting her.

Strange Babysitters

We have had some strange experiences with babysitters over the past few years. When Mini-me was a baby, about 7 months old or so, we had hired one of our favorite sitters to watch her. Our sitter forgot, took another job, so we were offered the sister of our favorite. She never struck me as the smartest girl on the block, but I thought we'd give her a chance, as we were desperate. We gave her instructions and left her to do the job. When we got home, she said: "Mini-me pooped on her outfit."
I said "Well, that happens. Did she have a blow out?"
"No."
"Did her diaper slip to the side?"
"No."
"Did it happen on the changing table?"
"No."
"Well, how did it happen?"
"I kind of forgot the diaper."

About a year after that, another babysitter called us in a panic that she couldn't get Mini-me to go to sleep. I don't know why she was up, she had been asleep when we left. But, no matter. The point was that she couldn't get her back to sleep, and the sitter said she was crying. Curly was on the phone and noticed that it was quiet. He pointed that out and asked where Mini-me was. The sitter got quiet and said "Um, I don't know."

On Friday, I had yet another strange experience. I had another new sitter, as our favorite was, of course, busy. I walked in and asked how everything went. She said "Spencer was great." I guess in my instructions she had missed that his name is Patch. Whoops.

Super Fare

There are some times of year where you just say "Jenny who?" and eat yourself silly. The Super Bowl is one of those times. We watched it on the HD tv in my parents basement and ate ourselves silly before the kickoff. My dad summed up my entertaining philosophy by saying "Why serve 3 things when you can have 6?" Amen. So here's the menu:

Artichoke dip from Wegmans, served cold with potato chips.
Artichoke dip from my mom, served hot with bruschette.
Sweet chicken bacon wraps, served with blue cheese dressing as a dip. This was a crowd pleaser.
A muffuletta. Really good, except it started to fall apart as we cut into it.
Contessa onion dip. It's like the dip you make with onion soup mix, except way better.
A cake that said "Go Bears." For the Bears fans, it was kind of hard to choke down as they were losing.

It would be nice to say that we were so full, we didn't care who won. But some of us did care. Years ago when the Bears lost, my brother hid in a closet. I hope he didn't do that when he got home. If so, I'm sure his wife will understand. Way to go Peyton.

Flashback Friday

That's my dad.

Three for Thursday

Things happen in 3s. Here are mine.

Here is a list of 3 things Patch has learned this week:

1. How to sit up on his own.
2. How to get up on his knees and crawl -- a little.
3. How to keep a bink in his mouth.