And Also.....

I got off the weight loss train.....big time! I did gain a few pounds back. And work out.....what's that???? I am not fooling myself about losing weight during the holidays, but I am going to work out a little bit more. I will start weighing in on Wednesdays again. Hopefully that will keep me from going completely crazy. How about you? How do you stay on track with your weight during this time of year?

Hi Again!

Hello! (if anyone is still out there!) It has been an unreasonably long time. And, I left you hanging with that last post about my vacation. I kept checking in on all of your blogs, but I kept putting off posting on mine. And now look....three months have gone by!

It seems like forever since that last post. We spent a week on the Isle of Palms, just outside of Charleston, which for the past few years seems like home. Boogie Boy's godparents have had a place there for several years and when I drive over that connector bridge, every thing in me relaxes. It's amazing how just the smell of a certain place can put your mind at rest. But, then I had to come back to the real world.

To be honest, the combination of being busier at work and Boogie Boy starting school have combined to kick my butt. I was able to rearrange my work schedule to be able to be home with Boogie Boy when he gets out of school. (Believe me, I know how lucky I am to be able to do this!) But I soon realized that the shorter day was a trade-off for working like crazy to get everything done. And, one of my coworkers recently quit and I am doing her job and mine too. You never know how much you need someone until they are gone. :)

I'm sure I'll have some funny (or bitter) stories coming up for the holiday times. The funfest with the in-laws is about to begin! And I need an outlet for all of this elementary school angst. Kindergarten is stressing me out. :) I swore I wouldn't get involved in all the stay-at-home vs. working mom drama, but it rears its head at me more that I want. Can't we all just be moms and be teammates? Why does this have to be such an issue??

Thank you for sticking with me and I'll try not to drop off the face of the earth again!

Bad Blogger!

I've been a bad, bad blogger. But I have a good excuse!! I've been to my favorite place, and I'm tan, relaxed and sad. (because I had to come home!) :)
Unfortunately, I'm digging out my desk at work today....but I'll tell you where I've been real soon. Here's a hint in the meantime.......


P.S. I skipped Weigh-In the past two Wednesdays. Who wants to weigh in when they are at the beach eating brownies for breakfast??? I'll get back on that horse this week. :)

Weird Foods

I was eating my apple this morning at the office and put salt on it, as usual. My coworkers were completely grossed out. Do you do this? I always salt my apples, cantaloupe, and watermelon.

Then we started talking about gross food combinations we love. I think I won with one of my favorite sandwiches. Are you ready?? I love a peanut butter, dill pickle, and mayo sandwich. Are you grossed out?? :) One of my aunts used to make those for me growing up - it was her favorite too.

So, what food do you eat that makes people say "Ewwww"?

Headed the Right Way

It's weigh-in time......I LOST 4.5 LBS!!!!!! Yay - that felt good looking down at the scale this morning. I've just really tried to control my portions and I also took the advice of a friend and added an apple before every meal, 3 apples a day. I'm not so hungry during the day, and I'm not trying to follow some super strict diet plan. Keep your fingers crossed!! Now if I could just get motivated more for the exercise part. :)

Rationalizing

I wonder how many calories I can subtract if I take the middle piece of bread out of a Big Mac? I feel like that lady in the commercial where all the fast food people are following her home. :)

Oh Yeah, That Wednesday Thing

I was having such a good time making fun of my "look" today, I forgot to weigh in. (Not really, I was just scared!!) Not bad, not good - stayed the same for this week. Tomorrow is another day. (Scarlet is my hero!)

What Not To Wear

Unfortunately, I feel like I am straight out of a "What Not To Wear" episode today. Let's just say I opted for comfort over style and regretted it as soon as I pulled up to the office. Have you ever had that feeling where you wished you could just go back home and start over?

Imagine this: navy and white tropical print polo shirt (untucked and a little too big), faded navy capri pants, and white leather flat slide sandals that have seen better days. Not to mention hair pulled up in an pulled-through ponytail. I do have a super-relaxed workplace and no one will even bat an eye. But I'm embarrassed all the same. I just hope Stacy and Clinton don't jump up out of nowhere and have some hidden camera footage. :)

Summer Reading

I know I've mentioned my library addiction before. Right now, Boogie Boy and I have 67 books checked out of the library, split about even between us! (Thank goodness he loves it as much as I do) Here's a peek at some of my favorites, not-so-favorites, and goodies to come this summer.

One of my all-time favorites. I loooove anything Dorothea Benton Frank writes. I own this one, and wanted to reread it to get ready for.......

the sequel!! I started this on Sunday and I'm almost halfway through. Love, love, love it!!!

Not one of my favorites. Kind of slow - I finally just skipped to the end to see what happened, then picked around and read different parts of it. I really thought I would like this one a little more.

OMG - once again, I had to refrain from reading this one in public because her books make me laugh out loud! This one was just as good as all the others!

Loved it - not quite as much as Starter Wife, but still finished it in one weekend!

Awesome, easy recipes in here. I checked this one out to get ready for our week at the beach next month!

On my nightstand waiting patiently for me! I can only hope it's as good as the Ya-Ya's. :)

This one is waiting for me at the library - I love that I can request books at our library instead of searching all the branches myself! I've heard good things about this one.....I'll let you know!

This comes out August 11 and I already have my copy reserved. I can't wait to read it!

So, what's on your list??

Yes, It's Hot Here - Are You Surprised?

I heard a comment in Trader Joe's today that made me giggle. One lady was telling her friend that they had just moved here from Connecticut and she said "I had no idea it would be this hot when we moved here". Hello??? You moved here! Did you not do any research? You did know you were moving to a state in the south, right? That just cracks me up. This used to happen all the time when we were still living in Florida. I had a coworker once that moved from Toronto to Orlando. All she did from March to November was complain about the heat. OK - you moved from Canada to basically the tropics and you didn't think it would be hot? I wanted to ask her if she thought the cold air would follow her to her new home!

Of course, to me, the Florida girl, the weather in North Carolina lately hasn't even been that hot. Heck, the humidity is only 70% today. That's nothing! I even went to the bank with my windows down and no A/C!

Help!

I need mommy help! Today, Boogie Boy threw the biggest fit at the pool. I mean, 15 minutes of screaming at our table, including the dreaded "I hate you". I knew I needed to get him out of there, but part of my problem was figuring out how to carry him all the way across the pool deck AND carry all of our stuff, since there was no way that boy was following me anywhere. I finally ended up carrying him under my arm like a sack of potatoes, screaming the whole time that I was hurting him. At 1:00, and on the busiest day of the week at the pool. (And thanks to the three lifeguards standing by the door, I really appreciate you just standing there. Any other time, you are jumping up to open the door. Not this time, not for the mom with the screaming child.) Then it was 15 minutes of crying in the locker room. We finally got to the car, after screaming all the way through the lobby and all the way through the parking lot. Then the joy of forcing him into his car seat. (A big finger to the dad in the parking lot. I saw you shaking your head at me. Yes, your three perfect children got in your van when you told them too. I would never wish that on anyone, but after a look at your smug face, I wish that on you ten times.) This all started because I had warned him about talking back to me several times. I swear, today, he was channeling a teenager. On his last chance, when I asked him to stop squirting people with his new toy, he said "No - I don't have to!". That's it - out of the pool and we're going home. I really think he thought that I would let him back in the pool if he made a big enough scene. I don't think he realized until we got home that we weren't going back.

I was in tears when we got home. I was so embarrassed and felt so helpless. I know I should have gotten him out of there quicker, but I just froze. I was trying to be calm, but it was so hard. It was easier when he was little to just pick him up and carry him out. Now, not so much. Now, he's almost too big. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a doozy. What do you do? I know this has happened to other people. I saw one in Target just last week. But at the time, when everyone is staring at you, you feel like the only one. I wish that someone, anyone would have given me just a little reassurance today. Just a smile or something. You know, I saw a huge meltdown at the beach last year. That mom was so frazzled. I offered to carry her beach bag so she could carry the screaming, kicking toddler and I have never seen such relief.

So, what is your action when this happens? Mr. Surf Girl was amazed that Boogie Boy went straight to his room when we got in the house. I was not - I think he's afraid I'll never take him again. He calmed down, we talked, he said sorry, I hugged and kissed him to death. Tomorrow is another day.

Hi - I'm Still Here - Really!

I have to admit - this new schedule and school starting for Boogie Boy is kicking my butt. I've been trying to go to bed early since we have to get up so early - maybe I'm going to bed too early - who knows? All I know is I'm t.i.r.e.d.!! I think I am just adjusting to resetting my internal "clock". I haven't been up at 5:30 a.m. every day, well, since never! :) I'll get there...eventually.

We have year-round schools here and I wasn't sure if I'd like it. But really, for working parents with just one child, this is actually a good situation. He's been in day care/preschool since he was 1, so it's kind of just a continuation of our normal routine. (just a lot earlier!!) And I also think it may be good for him, with his go-go-go personality. He goes for 9 weeks, then out for 3 weeks. I think only being out of school for 3 weeks at a time will be really beneficial to him in the long run. I have him signed up for all sorts of cool camps in his out periods that I think he'll love. And have I mentioned that he has the most wonderful teacher??? I knew we would love her the minute we met her! I do miss that daily interaction that I got with his teachers at preschool, but I guess I just have to settle for the occasional e-mail. I've learned it's hard to get information out of a tired kindergartener!!

OK - if you stayed with me this long, I'm impressed!! Now for the good stuff......I lost 2 pounds this week!! Yay, me! I'm trying to fit more exercise into my week. Since Boogie Boy and I are home early in the day now, I'm trying to get to the gym in the afternoons. Wish me luck!!

I have about a million posts in my Reader. If you haven't heard from me, I promise you will soon. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

This Dog Has To Learn A New Trick

Boogie Boy started school full-time this week - Yay! I'm getting used to it - including our new schedule. I rearranged my work hours (thank you to my excellent company for my super-flexible schedule!!) and have started going in earlier so I can be home with Boogie Boy in the afternoon.

The problem is, I am NOT a morning person. I am a night owl. (Boogie Boy is too - gee, I wonder where he gets it from???) I've had to force myself into bed early every night since I have to get up at o-dark-thirty now to get to work on time. I'm used to doing all MY stuff at night (you know, the stuff moms don't get done during the day since they are too busy taking care of everyone else!) You know, reading the thousand books I have checked out from the library, blogging, facebook, etc. I know it will take some getting used to. Who knows, maybe I'll reset my clock and become a sunny morning personality. (Who am I kidding - I need lots of caffeine before I'm sunny!)

Wish me lots of morning glory luck!!

I'm here - and back on the right track!!

Boogie Boy started school on Monday and I started a new schedule at work. More about that in another post.
On to the very late Weigh-In Wednesday (Thursday!): I did weigh in yesterday and I lost 3 pounds! I hated typing that weight gain in so much last week - I did not want to have to do it again this week. So I am back on my way down!

Summer = A Dirty House

I can't do it all. It's summer and we want to go to the pool. I'll have time to clean later, when Boogie Boy doesn't want to hang out with me anymore. I'm off to pack the pool bag!! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. :)