Week 6

Not the best week on program, but not horrid either. We were away from home for five days, and though I struggled to stay on program for the majority of the time, I finally threw in the towel on Saturday afternoon and admitted defeat. I pretty much ate whatever I wanted the remaining couple of days. But today is another day, we're home now (though there's not much food in the house), and I am back to counting points today. I did weigh today (nervously), and found I was up one pound. So the damage wasn't too terrible, as long as I didn't lose my mental edge.

Oh, I must share that Eddie didn't even try to stay on program and still managed to lose two pounds! I guess standing and/or walking during 20-hour work days will burn lots of calories. Way to go, Honey!

Downtown Getaway

Ed called me early last week to ask if the kids and I would like a free weekend at a four star hotel downtown. Of course I said, "Sure!" His company moved from the industrial side of Portland to downtown last weekend. When his boss asked him how he was planning on getting it all done (Eddie's the IT Manager), Ed told him that he planned to bring his pillow and basically sleep a few hours on the floor when he could. Later his boss came and told him that they were going to put him up in a hotel and that his family could come too! They also told him to take the whole family out to dinner at the Macaroni Grill (one of my favorite restaurants) sometime during the weekend.

We had two of these comfy beds!

Do you think there are enough pillows?

The kids and I packed up Thursday afternoon and headed downtown to the Marriott. We ended up staying there for four nights instead of just three since the move didn't go quite as quickly as Eddie had hoped. The kids and I had a great time but were ready to come home and left first thing Monday morning. I'm so thankful they allowed us to stay there because during the whole five days we were there, we still were only able to spend about five hours total with him (he did come and sleep a few hours, but not much)! We wouldn't have seen him at all if we hadn't been right up the street.

9:23 pm
They RARELY are up this late!

The hotel was one of the nicest we've ever stayed in (who can afford those prices? Tips alone cost us $25 during our stay!), and I was very impressed with the service, with one exception. On Saturday I stepped on a carpet tack that was sticking through some worn carpet on the threshold leading to the bathroom. No big deal, really. On our way out that morning, I informed the front desk of the hazard, and they assured me they would fix it right away. Well, Sunday morning Abby came bouncing out of the bathroom and landed smack on the same carpet tack. Her foot started bleeding (mine didn't...too much callous, I guess), and I was a little irritated that they hadn't fixed it. So again on our way out I informed the front desk. She too was very unhappy that it hadn't been fixed! It was promptly fixed and they sent up milk and cookies for the kids that evening. Also, they set us up with a Marriott Rewards card and put enough points on it for a free room! So if Ed and I ever have a chance to get away for a night, we now have a free room at a Marriott. Yippee!

9:45 pm

Week 5

Well, it was a crazy week, but I still managed to lose one pound. I didn't eat all my points, so between that and losing four last week, I didn't really expect a big loss. Hubby lost three pounds! He's doing a great job despite having a chaotic schedule to keep and needing to eat out quite a bit.

Month 1

It's a success for me just to have stayed on program for a whole month, so it was icing on the cake this morning when I weighed and saw I have lost four pounds this week! I seem unable to get my exercise above three times a week though. This winter wet weather really makes it hard for me to do any more. I want to get outside and walk or ride my bike, not do dull aerobics in the house every day. Whine, whine. I am going to try again to exercise more this week. Maybe if I exercise more I will be thirstier (is that a word?) and will drink more water. I am struggling drinking what I'm "supposed" to drink.

Oh, and hubby lost two pounds. It's so encouraging and helpful to have someone to lose with...much easier than going it alone. Thanks, Eddie, and good job last week!

Snow!

We got a little unexpected snow this morning. It really wasn't much, but it was enough to get the kids excited and to make the hills near our house look gorgeous. I took the kids for a ride to try to find some more snow. We didn't succeed really, but I stopped the car at Trojan Park and let them get out and play for a few minutes. It was really coming down, and they had a blast. I was amazed to see how a little snow could even make a nuclear power cooling tower look pretty cool! (It's not in use anymore, and they're going to implode it this year...can't wait to watch that!) We may get a little more snow tommorrow and/or the next day. I hope we do. It would be nice to see our yard look pretty instead of a big mud puddle.

Dreaming

Ah, the fun of digital editing! I am sending out "We've Moved" announcements next week (finally), and I wanted to send a picture of our new house with it. Unfortunately, our house looks kind pitiful against the piles of mud and left over constructions debris, so I decided to digitally enhance the picture and add grass. I can't wait till it looks like this! I am happy to report that they did begin grading our yard this week. They haven't finished yet (at least I hope they're not done!), but it is already a vast improvement.

Week 3

Despite a difficult night on Saturday in which dh and I ate almost all of our flexpoints for the week (good thing we hadn't eaten them during the week) in addition to our points for the day, we still lost weight! We both lost two pounds. I didn't exercise more like I had wanted to, but there's always this week to try again. As a matter of fact, I got off to a good start this morning. I put the kids in the bike trailer, and we rode to the library for storytime instead of driving. It's only about three miles round trip, but considering we had a pretty stiff headwind and I was pulling about 90 pounds behind me, I felt pretty good about my workout.

Golf and Manners

This is one of those internet things that keeps floating around, but in light of my last post, I thought it was kind of timely and funny:

The following is not intended to offend fans of tennis, basketball, football or baseball. It is, rather, an attempt to put everything in its proper perspective.


Ever wonder why golf is growing in popularity and why people who don't even play go to tournaments or watch it on TV? These truisms may shed some light:


Golf is an honorable game, with the overwhelming majority of players being honorable people who don't need referees.


Golfers don't have some of their players in jail every week.


Golfers don't kick dirt on, or throw bottles at, other people.


Professional golfers are paid in direct proportion to how well they play.


Golfers don't get per diem and two seats on a charter flight when they travel between tournaments.


Golfers don't hold out for more money, or demand new contracts, because of another player's deal.


Professional golfers don't demand that the taxpayers pay for the courses on which they play.


When golfers make a mistake, nobody is there to cover for them or back them up.


The PGA raises more money for charity in one year than the NFL does in two.


You can watch the best golfers in the world up close, at any tournament, including the majors, all day every day for $25 or $30. The cost for even a nosebleed
seat at the Super Bowl costs around $300 or more unless
you buy it from scalpers in which case it's $1,000+.


You can bring a picnic lunch to the tournament golf course, watch the best in the world and not spend a small fortune on food and drink. Try that at one of the taxpayer-funded baseball or football stadiums. If you bring a soft drink into a ballpark, they'll give you two options -- get rid of it or leave.


In golf you cannot fail 70% of the time and make $9 million a season, like the best baseball hitters (.300 batting average) do.


Golf doesn't change its rules to attract fans.


Golfers have to adapt to an entirely new playing area
each week.


Golfers keep their clothes on while they are being interviewed.


Golf doesn't have free agency.


In their prime, Palmer, Norman, and other stars, would shake your hand and say they were happy to meet you. In his prime Jose Canseco wore T-shirts that read "Leave Me Alone."


You can hear birds chirping on the golf course during a tournament.


Ladies are welcome players.


At a golf tournament, (unlike at taxpayer-funded sports stadiums and arenas) you won't hear a steady stream of four letter words and nasty name calling while you're hoping that no one spills beer on you.


Tiger hits a golf ball over twice as far as Barry Bonds hits a baseball.


Golf courses don't ruin the neighborhood.


And finally, here's a little slice of golf history that you might enjoy. Why do golf courses have 18 holes - not 20, or 10, or an even dozen? During a discussion among the club's membership board at St. Andrews in 1858, a senior member pointed out that it takes exactly 18 shots to polish off a fifth
of Scotch. By limiting himself to only one shot of Scotch per hole, the Scot figured a round of golf was finished when the Scotch ran out.


PS Golfers penalize themselves if they break a rule. Name another sport that does that!

Hockey and Manners

My hubby has a knack for getting something for nothing, and yesterday he did it again. He had a vendor dinner to attend last night, one of those things where they try to sell you their product while wining and dining you and giving away goodies at the same time. Last night's dinner also included tickets to a Winterhawks hockey game. Eddie found out that the sales rep was bringing his wife and two kids and asked if he could bring his too. The rep said yes, and so we all enjoyed a free dinner of caesar salad, pizza, chicken, and delicious cookies, along with free hockey pucks (what in the world are we going to do with those?) and a hockey game which our team even won!

Since we don't like crowds much and really don't do a lot of things you have to pay for (we're kind of cheap...and broke), we don't spend much time among the masses, though I almost always come away with something to think about when we do. Last night was no exception. We weren't a full minute into the game when the first of about five fights broke out on the ice. Helmets came off and fists were flying. What's up with that? The crowd LOVED it. I was annoyed. I wanted to see hockey, not WWF wrestling. I've seen hockey before (okay, just one other time), and the same thing happened then. I'm not sure what annoyed me worse, the players or the crowd howling for more. Fortunately, the players got it out of their system pretty fast. Most of the brawls took place in the first period and they got down to actual hockey after that.

The crowd was enthusiastic and loud! I know I have a low threshold when it comes to noise, but I am amazed that people seem to love making as much racket as they can. The cheer sticks and horns were banged and blown nonstop the whole evening, and of course there was the plain old screaming and yelling going on. I was happy it wasn't a packed arena. In fact, the row behind us was empty until two young men took the immediate seats behind us. The first sentences out of their mouths contained a stream of profanity. Again, I was annoyed. I took a deep breath, turned around and gave to the offender as sweet a smile as I possibly could while at the same time giving him a look that said, "Come on, guys, please DON'T make me and my family listen to this all night." He looked at me and then at the kids and genuinely said, "Oh, sorry." They were pretty decent after that, only saying the occasional minor expletive and no more F words. Of course I'm sure he took great pleasure in blowing his horn in my ear as often and as loud as he possibly could. I was so relieved when after the first period they moved down five or six seats.

It was a fun experience, and since we've been wanting to go see a hockey game, I'm so pleased we got to go for free. But all in all, I could do without seeing live sporting events. I'd much rather see a play or go to a museum. I guess I'm boring, but boring is quiet. I'll take quiet any day. Oh, did I mention, I won the doorprize from the sales meeting...a Winterhawks jersey. Don't you love irony?

My Family, My Blessings

This afternoon was a rare opportunity to do absolutely nothing. We did some chores that we had been needing to do since we moved, and afterwards while the kids napped, hubby and I played a game. After the kids woke from a nap we watched a video and had some popcorn. Daddy and kids were snuggling on our new couch, and I they looked so cozy, I just had to take a picture of my family. I am so blessed to have a wonderful husband and two adorable children, living in a brand new home, sitting on a comfy new couch with a fire burning in the fireplace, and living in one of the most beautiful places on earth! Thank you, Lord, for all you many blessings, large and small.