Thursday, February 28, 2008

The Trip To England

I believe I may have brought this up before, but my husband is in the obsessive planning stage of a trip to England. And Paris. And Scotland. Without me. I've told him several times not to discuss details with me because my feelings are a little hurt about being left behind. With 2 children. At the beginning of summer. Alone. He insists, however, on telling people on the phone what the latest plans are, or watching touristy movies about all the cool things you can do over there, or bringing up the financial aspect and how much this is costing him. Ha, I say. It's costing you more than you think. You imagine me sitting at home for two weeks waiting for your butt to return. Ha! I'm planning my own itinerary as I type. If anyone has any really expensive suggestions, or wants to join me for some fun at the end of May, let me know. I'm a-vail-able. Hee-hee. That felt kinda good, but really what I'll probably end up doing is spending a lot of time at the (free) parks in town.
Anyway, he also wants me to share with him the location that my ancestors came from in Scotland so he can go see my castle. Um, no. I know it is going to be a long time before I get to make this trip, but I will be the one to visit my ancestor's castle. I do not want him to bring me back pictures of it. That kinda ruins the point. And he really just does not understand my point. Sometimes my husband has a difficult time putting himself in other people's shoes.
So that's my house these days. All excitement and anticipation on one side. All frustration and ire on the other.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Joys of Blogging

You maybe didn't notice, but I have my weight loss ticker posted for everyone to see. And you may not have noticed that it was sitting quite still for several weeks. But I would like you to notice now that it has moved again. 10 pounds! Yippee. I have decided against throwing the scale as far as I can. I have decided against quitting, although I am taking a bit of a break from the strength training. I have decided against self-adjusting my meds. I have a Dr appointment tomorrow to let her figure that out for me.

Tonight I have a conference with Joey's teacher. Have I mentioned that she is great? I hope I'm not setting myself up to hate the rest of his teachers in the future. We have a lot more to meet. Anyway, Mrs Graber has children the same age as mine and the same sense of humor I have. I think she has just a teeny bit more patience than I do, and she has taught my son so many things in the short time she's had him. He is writing! Seriously, if there is something he wants to say he sits down and sounds it out and writes the words. Obviously invented spelling, but it is great. And he is reading Level 1 readers. He gets frustrated because it is slow going, but he reads a few pages each night.

Ben was good at school today. He even answered a question at circle time that no one else knew. Mommy was sooo proud. And he sat with the other kids instead of my lap for once.

I had the radio on this morning while I got dressed and the djs were talking about blogs. The male dj seemed totally against them, saying that people with blogs don't actually interact with real people and if they want to discuss their issues they should do it in person with people who know them. I obviously take exception to that as a blogger, but I wasn't able to listen to see if he got any positive or negative response to his comments. I think that blogging is for some people but not all, but that no one has the right to judgs me for doing something that I personally find important and fulfilling. I just discovered a new (to me) blog yesterday and spent several hours reading about this complete stranger. But I felt connected to her and that we were interacting even though we weren't "speaking" to each other. Check her out. Pioneer Woman link on the left. So anyway, that was my 2 cents about blogging. I'm sure everyone who reads this agrees, since they read and/or write blogs themselves. So Mr DJ, just leave us alone and we'll figure it out ourselves. (Oh, and the bonehead didn't know that "blog" comes from "web log", duhh)

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Ughh

I lost my temper for the first time in a looong time yesterday while fighting with my husband. I'm still having a hard time moving past it today, which makes me think that self adjusting my meds probably wasn't the best idea. (Not that my husband didn't give me ample reason to lose my temper, but I shouldn't still be crying about it.) And the dog snapped at me when I yelled. I really just cannot tolerate that.
Ben has also been joining me in bed again which leads to less than sound sleep. He is quite a kicker. And my one OUAF party I have booked for March sounds like she might cancel on me. It just feels right now like nothing is going right, even though I am perfectly aware that many things are going just fine.

I did make it to church this morning and the boys were very good in Sunday School (after Ben ran into church to find me).
That's all I have the energy for right now. More positive post later.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Diet Rage

The d*&% scale is really pi$$ing me off right now. I have lost NO weight in weeks. Despite working out 4 to 5 times a week and significantly changing my eating habits. I have what is called "Diet Rage." It is like road rage, except I am mad at the scale, my body, and other people who are more successful in their weight loss. I mean, seriously, I did an hour of Tae bo yesterday, 45 minutes Tuesday Monday and Sunday. The amount I sweated could at least add up to a pound. My effing body needs to realize that I am going to quit soon if I don't start seeing results.

Let's change the subject... Ben has been really ornry lately, telling us "I'm not going to do that" when we ask him to do something. Yesterday he was outside with Daddy waiting for Joey's bus to get home. The driveway was a solid sheet of ice (I'll save that for another story) so Daddy told Ben to go inside before he gets hurt. Ben said "I don't want to do that." He promptly fell on his bottom. Daddy said "See, that is why we want you to go in." Ben replied "Well, I didn't want to do that either." He did draw his first person yesterday at the Dr's office. It was two long legs with feet and a small head on top. So cute. And he can find his B anywhere but has no interest in learning any other letters. A bunch of the three year olds in his class know all their letters which I know is unusual, but it stresses me out a little about where Ben is.

Did anyone catch the lunar eclipse the other night? We talked about ahead of time and then I let the boys peek at it before they went to bed. It was really hard trying to explain to Joey what exactly was going to happen. He has moved past the age where we can just say "It just happens." I told him that the sun reflects on the moon and that the earth would block it for the eclipse. He asked why. He also wanted to know why it seems like the moon follows us when we are driving. Right now Daddy is watching a special about Teddy Roosevelt. Joey walked by when it showed a picture of an older woman. "Is that Grandma Moses?" What? How does my kindergartner know about Grandma Moses? Who is Grandma Moses anyway? Appparently she was an artist who is now dead according to Joey's art teacher.

I'm hoping for a fairly relaxing weekend. The last few have been busy, busy. The kids earned a trip to Nickelworld so we'll head there tomorrow, and I hope to get to a movie at some point, but other than that I want to stay home and veg a bit (between workouts, of course).

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Can You Hear Me Now?

Sorry, life has been boring lately. This winter is really starting to get me down. I need sun. I need warmth. I'd like to go swimming. Outside. I had to readjust my happy pills because I was having the most horrible night sweats. After 2 months of waking up soaking wet each night but freezing all day, I decided to look up symptoms online. Turns out that one of the side effects of my med is night sweats. And, duh, they started about the time my dose was increased. So I have to get in to the Dr to get it figured out, but in the meantime I went back to my lower dose. Hmm, after 2 nights, no more night sweats. Works for me.

I know... I have some thing to be grateful for. I am grateful for my boys making me laugh every day. I can't even remember what they did today but I assure you it was funny. I am grateful for Once Upon A Family. I've been preaching to everyone about how it can change lives, but now that I've really started using it with the kids I have to say it is making a difference in our house. I am grateful for all the new friends I've been making. It has always been hard for me, so this is a big celebration. I am grateful for the old friends I have managed to stay in touch with. Also something I'm not good at. I am grateful for the flexibility of my new job. I asked if I could possibly have a Friday off to go to a conference and my boss let me know that I just have to let her know that I need a sub and it's done. Wow, that was new. I am grateful for heat in the car, in the house, at work.... I almost never feel warm, so I can't imagine how I would feel with no heat. I am grateful for the sun. Maybe it could visit us just a little more. I am grateful for whole wheat pasta and chicken. If we didn't have that, who knows what we'd be eating. I am grateful for body wash plus lotion. If I didn't have that this winter I would have crumbled away into ashes a long time ago. I am grateful for our allergist. Ben has been soo healthy this winter. I am grateful for all of our good health this winter. There have been so many illnesses going around and we have been fortunate to avoid them.
K. I'll try to be less boring in the future. Hope everyone is well and safe and happy. Good night.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

60 questions

Dawn gave me permission to use these questions if i didn't have anything to write about.



1.What is in the back seat of your car right now? Two car seats and maybe a little snack garbage. (Only because I had to clean out the car after my accident.)

2. When was the last time you threw up? I think it's been at least a year. I try not to remember.

3. What's your favorite curse word? Hmm. Depends on the situation.

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today? My sister, my husband (not because of Valentine's Day), my kids.

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Heading to work with Ben.

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?Watching Survivor

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?Sleeping

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?Nope

9. What is the last thing you said aloud? It's bedtime

10. What is the best ice cream flavor? something with brownies or cookie dough

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?stupid water

12. What are you wearing right now? nightgown

13. What was the last thing you ate? piece of chocolate

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? no

15. When was the last time you ran? this morning

16. What's the last sporting event you watched? Super Bowl

18. Who is the last person you emailed? A girl from my mom's group

19. Ever go camping? yes

20. Do you have a tan? HA! Maybe in six more weeks

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw? When I drink POP, usually it is with a straw

25. What did your last IM say? ?????

26. Are you someone's best friend? That is something I wish for

27. What are you doing tomorrow? Working all day, dinner at Stockholm Inn

28. Where is your mom right now? Probably at home in Janesville with her hubby and doggy

29. Look to your left, what do you see? bookshelf

30. What color is your watch? pink and silver

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ? boomarang

32. Would you consider plastic surgery? no

33. What is your birthstone?pearl

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit thedrive thru? Try not to do either

35.How many kids do you want? 3

36. Do you have a dog? yes, a boxer

37. Last person you talked to on the phone? Husband. His boat was beeping and I had to fix it

38. Have you met anyone famous? No

39. Any plans today? Put something relevent on my blog

40. How many states have you lived in? 4 plus Guam, I think

41. Ever go to college? community college

42. Where are you right now?sitting at the computer, duh

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now? pms and night sweats

44. Last song listened to? our song

46. Are you allergic to anything? not officially

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?Crocs

48. Are you jealous of anyone?I try not to be

50. Is anyone jealous of you?Doubt it

51. What time is it? 8:38

52. Do any of your friends have children? pretty much all

53. Do you eat healthy? again, I'm trying

54. What do you usually do during the day? teach preschool

55. Do you hate anyone right now? No

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Probably

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 31

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?yes

60. How did you get one of your scars? Thyroid surgery on my neck

Oh Hi!

Happy Valentine's Day! I have been busy and my mind just really hasn't been on blogging lately. I went scrapbooking all this past weekend, I've been really focused on working out as often as possible, and I'm getting ready to host my Live, Laugh, Love Club on Monday. I'm not a scrapbooking expert and our first project is a scrapbook. I also don't host things at my tiny house very often so I'm worried about that (not to mention it is never clean enough.) But I'm excited to get together with some girls to talk and create and teach our chirrens.
So that is my "interesting" life right now. Hopefully I'll get motivated to blog better soon.
I am putting it in writing that I need to do more gratitude journaling. Next on my list.

Monday, February 4, 2008

A Few Pics

I finally downloaded pictures from the last few weeks so here is the visual of what's been going on. Both boys bowling on their own by the end.

Ben really liked the blower.






This is the crowd I spoke to on Saturday. Makes me shiver.

The car looks lovely, eh?










Today was good. Stayed home all day and got a bunch done. I've been behind on cutting box tops and soup labels so I worked on those, I did two loads of dishes from the super bowl party last night (we had a whole 2 people over but we had to put on a spread), I worked out for an hour, I got some other paperwork taken care of, and I fiddled on the computer. Oh wait, I always fiddle on the computer.

Joey earned a key today. While I was washing dishes Ben needed his nose wiped. He couldn't find a kleenex even though we have them all over the house, so Joey went and got him a kleenex, held it up to his nose, told him to blow, wiped it, and threw the tissue away. I was so proud of his helpfulness, so I gave him the key of Compassion to wear for the day. Fortunately I had just bought some leather string at the new Michael's yesterday to make it into a necklace. I'll put a picture on when I download again. He was very proud of himself.

I just remembered the other thing I did today. I got the OUAF Love Journal yesterday, so I decided to write the story of how hubby and I met and fell in love. I've typed about two pages, and then I'll write it in the journal. I hope to have it done by Valentine's Day. That will be something to work on this weekend when I have 3 days to scrapbook! !!!!!!! yay!!!!!! I'm getting excited!!!!!

Buenas Noches

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Public Speaking

So we're all very aware that I am not a big fan of public speaking. Really it has always been the last thing on the list of things I'd like to do. But today, for the first time, magic happened. It was our Genealogical Society meeting today. I am in charge of the program and had scheduled a Librarian from the Wisconsin Historical Society to talk. Everything was fine, but after our board meeting and about 15 minutes before the regular meeting, I started getting worried because she wasn't there yet. Thankfully we thought to call home to see if we had any messages and sure enough, apparently there was a big snowstorm in Wisconsin and she couldn't make it. It took her an hour to get from Madison to Stoughton and when she started seeing trucks in the ditch she decided to stay safe and turned around. Ok, I'm glad she's safe, but the meeting starts in 10 minutes and we have no speaker. So here is the miracle. I actually offered to get up in front of 77 people and speak. I had a story about my own research that I thought would be interesting to tell. So in five minutes I reviewed what I remembered and I got up there and spoke for about ten minutes- no nervousness, no shaky voice. Actually it felt really good. I made people laugh. I think I'll try this again some time. Oh yeah, I have to fill in for the President next month so I'll get even more practice.

So this is the story that I shared: My Mom's maiden name is Smith. Not an easy surname to research. I had gotten as far as her grandparents and that was because she knew their names. After talking to some of her family, though, I learned that my Great-Aunt had done some research years ago and had more information. We got in contact with her and she gave me copies of everything she knew. This was very generous. Many researchers don't like to share for some reason I've found. So I took what she had and was able to use it to find much more information. One line I was able to trace back to the 1700's in the US. Several Civil War soldiers and even Revolutionary War vets. So I put together a packet of what I had found over several months and returned that to my Great-Aunt along with a big thank-you for her help. We went back and forth a couple times about what else we could find out, and then I forgot about it. I really haven't been doing too much research lately with everything else going on.
Well, 2 days ago I got a big packet in the mail from Washington. I had no idea what it could be, but when I opened it up the first line said "Hi Stacie I think I am your Great Uncle who you have never met." Well blow me down! Apparently my Great Aunt shared with the rest of the family what I had come up with. My Great Uncle was very interested and enjoyed reading my stuff. He then took it one step further and did a DNA study on the oldest people I had listed. It turns out they are from Antrim, Ireland and the line is traced way back to kings of Ireland/Scotland in like 300. The oldest person, Eochaid mac Muiredach was born in 314. Isn't that the coolest thing ever? So he sent me all the information he had obtained and a few pictures of his family along with a big thank-you for what I had done. It just made my day. Especially after this crazy week.

In other news, I haven't done a weight update for a reason. Apparently losing 6 pounds in the first 2 weeks was too good to be true, because I haven't lost anything since then. And I haven't been able to work out this week with my stiff neck, so that has kinda been getting me down. I'm not about to give up, though. I have a specific goal and I am determined to reach it. Wish me luck.

In other, other news, I have a link in my list to baby Camille. Her Mommy just found out that she has trisomy 18 and probably will be stillborn or not live long after being born. If you are the praying sort, please pray for the family.

Good Night