Blah Blah Blah

A new begining

2011-06-16T21:55:00.001-04:00

Wow I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I have posted a blog. What a slacker!

So much has changed for me this year. We moved into a new house that we love. Roo started (and has now completed) kindergarten. I started a new job. And the biggest change…I’ve lost 37.4 lbs. I want to get back into blogger regularly and shift this blog into a motivational diary to keep my on track. See I actually lost 48 lbs this year but I have gain 10 lbs back. I’ve extremely disappointed with myself so I need some accountability.

I’ll give you a little background. I have always been pretty thin and athletic. I joined the Air Force when I was 17 so staying in shape was part of the job. After I got married and started getting older the weight slowly crept up on me as it does so many women. By the time I was 22 and just pregnant with Roo I was around 160 lbs and a size 10. See I’ve always weighted a lot. Even with I was a size 4 I weighted 145 lbs. I wasn’t skinny by any means but I wasn’t ‘fat’ either.

I was on bed rest for most of my pregnancy and gained close to 80 lbs. being a first time mom I thought that I would have my daughter and be back in my old jeans by the time I went back to work. Oh how wrong was I! I did drop some of the weight but went on to yoyo diet for the next 4.5 years.

Last April a few girls at work and I did the biggest loser weight loss competition. At the start of the challenge I weighed in at 213.4 lbs! I couldn’t believe how fat I let myself get. I was barely fitting into a size 16 pants. There were a lot of things that I can blame on why I was fat but I truly believe the biggest struggle for me is that I am an emotional eater. I eat when I’m happy, I eat when I’m sad, I eat when I’m depressed. Eating was how I coped but then after eating things I knew I shouldn’t I just felt worse.
This challenge was the jump start I really needed. I started working out regularly and joined Weight Watchers. At first the weight was coming off easy and I think I lost 7 lbs the first week. After the first few weigh-INS it started coming off slower but I stayed on track. I would have some weeks better than others but I never gained more than a few pounds if I splurged on the weekend.

After changing jobs in October I was doing very well with my weight loss and exercise program. I had a regular gym buddy whose son is my daughter BFF. It worked out great. We’d workout and the kids would play in the kid’s zone at the gym. Even my husband was on board and had dropped over 25 lbs too! At the one year mark I had lost just over 48 pounds and I felt great. My first goal was to lose 50 and I was so close…

So what the hell happen? I couldn’t tell you. Not only did I fall off the wagon; I ate everything on the damn thing. As I stated earlier I am very disappointed with myself because I have gained 10 lbs back but the bottom line is I got rid of all my ‘fat’ clothes and I refuse to by bigger pants. So I have to lose because I’m running out of things to wear. I’m done beating myself up and making excusing. It’s back on track.
My gym buddy has been transferred to Florida as they’re a military family too. Her husband and son are still here for a few more weeks so Roo will have her friend at the gym. I need to make the most out of it because I know she won’t be as excited to go once he leaves to join his mom at the end of June.

I hope to blog as much as possible and to stay honest about my weight and what I eat each day. I hope you enjoy the ride with me and please keep me motivated.
Cheers!
K

Moving is a pain

2010-04-07T14:52:00.001-04:00

I want to move. Roo starts school in September and if we stay where we are she's going to have to go to private school.

My problem is I can't find a house to rent, my current lease is up May 1st but I'll be in florida April 30th - May 7th. Every place I look at is either to small or a dump.

Most of the time I can't even get the property manager to call me back! Then when I finally get a hold of them they're rude. There is one house that has been on the market since 1 January. I've called to try to view it 4 times and no one has returned my calls. I wonder If the owners know how crappy their property managers are?

God I hope I find something soon

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What are we feeding our kids?

2010-03-18T11:06:00.000-04:00

I found a new blog today and you guys have to go check her out, especially if you have kids in school. Roo is getting ready to start school in September and I am so glad I found this blog before then.

Ok so here is the scoop. Mrs Q is an anonymous school teacher in the mid-west. She has concerns about what her students are eating for lunch. She has been eating lunch in the cafeteria at the school for 2010. Her posts even include photos of the lunches that are being served and I’ll tell you one thing – I don’t want my Roo eating ½ that junk. Granted Roo is slim and could stand to gain a few pounds but she needs to be consuming nutritious foods. I am strict on what she eats and drinks but not so much that she is not allowed to be a kid. She is only allowed to drink water, milk or 100% juice. Roo has never even tried soda. Not even Sprite. The kid won’t even drink chocolate milk!
She is somewhat of a picky eater and at Preschool they tell me if she doesn’t like what is being served she won’t eat.

If you have a few minutes go check out Mrs. Q’s blog and let me know what you think…Also, this is how I found the blog.
I see a lot of home packed lunch in my future!

And we are still doing the biggest loser challenge at work. I’m down 7.2lbs total!

Weekend wrap up

2010-03-01T16:50:00.002-05:00

Last week I introduced a chore chart to Roo. I came home from work with it and made a huge deal out of it. I got smiley face stickers and every time she completes a chore she gets a sticker. If she does well at the end of the week she gets a $5 allowance. Everyone has told me this is too much for a 4 year old but I think it’s fair for what she has to do…

Thursday Roo came home with a cold from school. That night it got progressively worse and I had to stay home with her on Friday. Roo and the Hubs are both sick and I swear if I get sick I’m going to be pissed! Friday night Hubby took me to the movies and we saw Shutter Island. Hated it. But I don’t like most movies. Saturday we went out for Sushi and then to the mall where I got a new Coach purse. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Sunday was church and Roo got her allowance. I was very proud because she gave $1 to the church. Then we went to see Green Girls new house. She is a first time home buyer and it’s very cute. After the visit we hit up Wal-Mart and Roo bought herself a pink toothbrush holder and her brothers (wiener and pug face) dog treats with her OWN money. The rest of the money went into her piggy bank. We had a late lunch at P.F. Changs and then headed home where I went on a cleaning spree because I got a new Sharp steam cleaner mop.

Today we started The Biggest Loser at work (hence why I ate like a pig this weekend)
There is only one other girl doing it that weight more than me and it’s only by 1lbs! I need to seriously loose some weight before our Disney trip in May.
I’ve eaten well all day and I’m heading to the gym tonight. My goal is -3lbs this week.
I think that’s a realistic goal…

kids say the darndest things

2010-02-22T13:59:00.000-05:00

I went and checked out some of my favorite blogs today and all I have to say is…At least I’m not the only slacker around. Hubby got home late last week so Roo wants nothing to do with me! Here are a few smart ass comments she made to me over the past few days.

I was on the computer chatting with my sis and I asked her to turn on the light. She dramatically stomps over to the light switch and says:

“AHHH why do I have to do EVERYTHING in this house?!”

Ummm ok – you’re 4! You’re responsibilities are to keep you playroom and bedroom somewhat clean (I’m happy if you can see the floor) and pick up the crap you leave around MY house. I responded by telling her that she has to do it because I asked her very nicely. That’s when I got this gem

“I’m not your maid you know” as she stomps off.

Yeah it was kind of funny. What can I say, she’s a small version of me.

The next day we’re all going to play outside, Roo and hubby are walking out the door and I yell “wait for me” to which she replies that she doesn’t want me to come out and play only her DAD. My feelings where a little hurt and Hubby told her she was being mean and then “Ok, Ok, fine you can come.”

This morning I woke her up to get her dressed for school and she’s all like NO I want my daddy. Well Daddy’s at work already. Her response…

(SIGH) “It’s like he didn’t ever come HOME!”

Yeah kid, tell me about it

It's 50 out today and it hasn't snowed all week. Maybe spring is coming?

Becoming a mom makes you crazy

2010-02-05T16:24:00.001-05:00

Does becoming a mom make you crazy? I remember when I was younger and thinking that my mom was nuts. Now I am her! Roo is having problems with two boys at school being meal to her. They’re boys – I tell her to pretend that they are invisible and if she stops reacting to them they will stop teasing her. BUT some of the shit these boys say is inappropriate; Tuesday one of the boys told Roo he was going to kill her. This is not language that we use at our house so I told her the same old story about walking away and being the bigger person. Roo can be sensitive so I spoke to the Assistant Director at her preschool about it. She talked to Roo and the boys about nice words to use with our friends.

I’ve been pretty busy with Hubby being out of town and all that. My mom called me twice on Wednesday and I was not able to answer the phone. There is a 4 hour time difference so it makes it hard to talk. Both of us work during the day and I usually answer her call when I’m at work. Wednesday I didn’t. She sent me a text saying “I’m not calling you anymore cause it’s a waste of my time” my mom never texts. Sometimes I get a photo or her or her husband for Roo but other than that she doesn’t text. I texted her back “Stop being so dramatic” I’ve called her three times since and she hasn’t answered!

Hubby has been gone for a month today but he’ll be home in two weeks! I can’t wait, I need a break. This weekend is the 2010 Polar Plunge. It’s supposed to be cold, rainy/snowy and windy…yay! Our team has raised over $3,700 for the Special Olympics.

I’ll post some photos next week.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nobody loves me; everybody hate me...

2010-01-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

My favorite part of tax season is the people dressed up in those Statue of Liberty outfits dancing on the corners. They are hilarious and I hope they pay them well! Other than that we pretty much get raped in taxes and I’m hoping to break even this year. It sucks when I hear other people that don’t work get a shit load of money back. I must be doing something wrong. Last year I asked the guy why we have to pay so much and he actually told me that we make to much money…yeah well MAYBE I would if the IRS would stop taking it!
Oh and an update on my car break in. I get a voicemail on my phone from a private investigator my bank has. He has a cop that is trying to get a hold of me. He leaves me the officers number and I call him back…let me explain one thing real quick…I live in Hampton – I work in Newport News. They are two different cities but are right next to each other. SO the cop tells me that he caught someone using my card but had to let him go because he didn’t have a statement from me and was unable to contact me! WTF DUDE? I told him the story and that I had filed a police report in Hampton. He tells me well I’m a Newport News officer (the station he works at is 1000ft from my office and my company owns the building they’re in) he then tells me they caught the guy across the street from my work. What are the chances of that? He says he’s going to come and see me to get a sworn statement that I didn’t allow him to use my card. The card came back stolen that should be enough indication I didn’t allow him to use the card! This was Tuesday…I’m still waiting for him to come see me.

SO yesterday I call the Hampton PD to let them know what is going on and they tell me there is nothing they can do. Newport News isn’t their jurisdiction… GRRRRR

I’m pretty much getting the run around. He got $140.37 out of my checking account and my $600+ in belongings but oh well. I’m pretty pissed and I’m going to end up called over to Newport News PD and just trying to file a separate fraud report for him using my card. I don’t know what else to do? Any ideas? I was hoping when they said they caught him I’d be able to get my stuff back but the more time passes the more that seems unlikely. I literally have $11 to my name with no access to my bank account. I’m over it

To top off the week from Hell; Roo was up all last night coughing. She’s sick and I had to send her to school today because I had to come to work and Hubby is out of town. I feel guilty but school hasn’t called me so she must be hanging in there. Tonight I have a fund raising event for the 2010 Polar Plunge so I will have to bring her with me to that. Help me out (it's tax deductable) www.firstgiving.com/kristinamelo
Pray for my sanity…I need it

P.S. - don't stalk me now that you know where I live

I hate people that steal

2010-01-26T14:21:00.000-05:00

Warning: This post is rated R. If you have small children please turn them away from the screen.
Now that the disclaimer is out of the way…I am fucking pissed. I got up today like any other day; got me and Roo ready and I can’t find my purse…

OK – no big deal I must have left it in my car. See I went to they gym last night and had my hands full and was on the phone when I got home. I get out to my car to find my purse dumped in my front seat! My wallet, work Blackberry and BRAND NEW GPS my mom just bought me for my birthday are GONE! WTF????
I know that I am partially to blame for this because I was the dumb ass who left her purse in an unlocked car but fucking seriously? I live in a pretty nice neighborhood and never lock my car if I’m at home. It’s in MY driveway for Gosh sake!
After the cursing stopped (which Roo promptly reminded me where bad words that ladies don’t say) I brought her to school so I could figure out that the hell I was going to do.

I called work and told them what happen and explained that I wouldn’t be in. I also had them lock down my Blackberry so the douche bags that had it couldn’t use it.

Then I called the local police department and they told me to go home and wait for an officer to come to my house.
I went home. I waited. I made a list of all the items took. I checked my bank account….FUCK – they used my debit card. I called the bank. Blah blah blah

The cops show up I had him a list of what time I got home, what time I noticed everything missing and exactly what was took with estimated values. I pulled up my account and showed him the charges. He calls another office who takes my statement and he dusted my car for prints. Long story short – wait to hear from a detective. But if they do catch who took my stuff they can be prosecuted for fraud and grand larceny. Would I be willing to press charges? DAMN RIGHT I WOULD!
Then I start freaking out because I have no drivers license. And my license is issued from Alaska. I can’t exactly get back there to get a new one issued! Then it hits me…my social security card is in the wallet. At this point I want to punch someone in the face.
Hubby is out of town. I’m here by my self and I feel violated. Hubby called the base and they sent his supervisor over to check on me which helped. He calmed me down and told me the same thing had happen to him a while back; they got was his CD player and an amp.
I gather everything up to take to the social security office so they can issue me a new card and put an alert on mine. As I head out to my car my neighbor comes running up my drive way…she found my wallet in her recycle bin! Oh I hugged her I was soooo happy. Everything was there except for my debit and credit cards (which have all been reported stolen) I am so grateful that she returned my stuff and I told her everything that happened and to watch out. I plan to go around and talk to the rest of my neighbors when people start getting home from work today.

So they got my $200+ GPS and car adaptor, my $400 Blackberry and whatever they spent out of my checking account (the pending charges haven’t cleared so I don’t have the exact number). The purse they dumped was a Coach purse so I am shocked they didn’t take that! Please don’t leave me a comment about how it’s my own fault for leaving my purse in my car unlocked – I get it. I was stupid. BUT that doesn’t give anyone to right to come on to my property and steal things that don’t belong to them.

I really hope the cops find who did this and they go to jail. Chances are they won’t but what goes around comes around.

Weekend Wrap Up

2010-01-25T11:52:00.000-05:00

There was nothing to exciting going on this weekend (which was just fine with me!)

Friday night they had Parent’s Night Out at Roo’s preschool. They have this once a month on Friday night. You pay an extra 20 bucks but the kids get to stay till 10pm and have pizza, movies, art and crafts. Roo loves it but I’ve never left her till 10pm. Anyway with hubby still being out of town I took advantage of Parents Night Out and went out on a ‘date’; Miah to me to dinner and a movie. He wanted to go see New Moon so we did. It wasn’t that good but it was better than Twilight. The book was way better.

After the movie we went to get Roo and she was all excited that Miah was with me and he was teasing her that he took her mom out on a date. Roo says “So are you two dating?” it was hilarious and we all got a good laugh. I explained to Roo that he was joking with her and Miah and I are just friends. AND seriously he is a great friend of Hubby’s and babysits Roo, walks my dogs and house sits for me when I’m out of town. He’s like an adopted member of our family and spends all the holidays with us at our house. (Nothing like getting the cheating rumors stared on a Monday!) HAHAHAHA

Saturday morning Roo has swim lessons and then we headed home to take a shower. We didn’t do much but Saturday evening I took her to see The Tooth Fairy. I thought is kind of sucked but she liked it and that’s all that matters. After the movie we headed to Target to get some scar reducing stuff for Roo’s face. OH – wait; I don’t think I’ve told ya’ll about that. Let’s see it was the week before Christmas? She fell at school and busted her face open. We had to take her to the ER and they glued the cut shut. They didn’t want to stitch it because it is right on her forehead and the doc didn’t want it to scar anymore than it already will. So that was a bit traumatic for all of us. Fast forward about a week and a half; the cut starts turning this yucky color. We watch it for a few days and it seems to be getting worse. I bring her back to the ER and sure enough the thing is infected. The doc had to rip the glue off of Roo’s face which really hurt. But they didn’t glue it back up they put a breathable bandage over it so it would get air and heal. The doctor explained to me to leave the bandage on as long as possible and let it fall off on its own. He also recommended that when it comes off the get the scar reducer stuff and put is on 3+ times a day for 3 months. He also said that she should have high SPF sunscreen and hats on whenever possible once it gets sunny out. All of this will help reduce the scaring.

Here are some photos:
This is what she looked like when I got to her @ school

Here is after they glued it shut and it started looking 'funny'

After they tore the glue off - the infection came right off with it!

The new bandage

Well the bandage made it’s was off late last week. Luckily it’s all healed up but the scar is pretty deep and bad. I’m going to follow the doctor’s advice and hopefully over time it will fade or grow up into her hairline…I don't have any photos of her with the bandage off yet but when I get one I'll post it.

Sunday was church in the morning and they we headed over to the Children’s Hospital Thrift Store to drop off all the old toys and clothes we got rid of after Christmas. The rest of the day was spent hanging at home! Roo cleaned up her playroom all by herself and earned a dollar. She is saving all her money for our Disney trip in May.

Today it’s like a hurricane out and back to work! Yay - :'(

Updates

2010-01-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah so pretty much suck at Blogging lately. It’s been so long since my last ‘real’ blog that I’m ashamed.
Oh well – so things are crazy here but what else is new? Christmas was wonderful expect my mom didn’t get her present until the Monday after Christmas which really pissed me off. Roo got way to much stuff and is totally spoiled. We had to go through her play room and purge some junk to fit all her new crap and it’s still so cluttered. I’m planning on rearranging it someday when I have time.
New Years was good. We had about 15 peps over to the house, stayed home, played games and drank lots of wine. Just after New Years hubby left for Alabama. He’s still there and won’t be home till mid February. He missed our 7 year anniversary (which was Monday) but sent me these beautiful flowers.

A friend that I grew up with and now lives in D.C came down to see me this past weekend so that was nice but it made me realize that I’m a pretty lucky girl. Roo is fairly well behaved and never gives anyone but me and her dad much of a problem. My friends little girl is six and she is VERY strong minded.
I signed Roo up for swim classes and tomorrow will be our 3rd week. She’s doing great and I’m hoping that she’ll be swimming this summer. Other than that it’s work, home, dogs, chores, sleep and more work! It’s been very cold here and I can’t wait for it to warm up a bit.

I’m also signed up to do the 2010 Polar Plunge on February 6th at Virginia Beach. All the money that’s raised goes to the Special Olympics. Check out my fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/kristinamelo and if you can please donate. NO amount is too small.

Till next time…

2010 Polar Plunge - I need sponsors!

2010-01-15T11:48:00.000-05:00

I've been MIA lately but rest your minds - it's all been for a good cause and I promise a great blog soon filling everyone in. BUT - I need your help...

I am registered for the Special Olympics Virginia's Polar Plunge ® Winter Festival 2010. Please visit my fund-raising site at http://www.firstgiving.com/kristinamelo to support this cause and sponsor me! I am currently at 21% of my goal and the plunge is February 6th. This gives me just over 3 weeks to raise $475.00. Any amount helps so please donate today.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. Your donation will also assist Special Olympics Virginia in reaching our total fund-raising goal of $1 million dollars. That's 1 great reason for you to donate and 999,999 reasons for me to jump in the Atlantic Ocean in the height of winter!

Thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate, too.

Music

2009-12-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

I have an iPod and an iPhone; I haven’t bought a CD in years. If there is a song I like I go an iTunes and by the song…Some that I really like this year are Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Kings of Leon and Seether.

My music taste are all over the place; I like any type of music except classical. Hubby laughs at me all the time because my iPod is filled with every different genre. Right now I’m in Christmas music mode. All day everyday!

Peace and Challenges

2009-12-09T15:41:00.000-05:00

December 8 Moment of peace. An hour or a day or a week of solitude. What was the quality of your breath? The state of your mind? How did you get there?

Moment of peace? In my life? Phleeeaaassseee! I have a husband, a four year old and two dogs. AND I work full time as a Information Technology Consultant – No peace for me!

Seriously though – Hubby and Roo just left me for nine days and I was home alone so that’s about all the solitude I got this year (and it’s just fine with me). My moments of peace where some of the most hectic days. New Years Eve celebration at my house, surrounded by wonderful friends and drinking expensive champagne. Memorial Day in Washington D.C. Going to Alaska for two weeks this summer, camping in the rain. Being at my nieces 2nd birthday party…these weren’t times of solitude but they were moments of peace spent with people that I love.

December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?
2009 has not been an extremely challenging year for my family. We’ve had our ups and downs but Roo has bee healthier this year with her asthma than any other. No one close to us has died (knock on wood) I haven’t had to move and we are all still employed.

The biggest thing I have struggled with this year is my weight. I’ve never lost the weight from Roo and it’s been hard for me. This continues to be a challenge for me and hopefully I’ll have more luck in 2010. Another issue I’ve struggled with this year is getting out of debt. It’s hard work and takes a lot of effort but we are using a cash only system now. If we can’t pay cash for it, we’re not buying it! I paid off both of our cars this year so we’re moving in the right direction.

TBBo2009C - 5-7

2009-12-07T15:48:00.001-05:00

I’m still committed to The Best Blog of 2009 Challenge – I didn’t post this weekend (I rarely post on weekends) so here’s a 3 for 1 deal today.

December 5 Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?

WOW – this is a hard one. I’ve had so many great nights out this year. I’d have to say that one stands out in my mind. June 5th 2009 – New Kids on the Block concert in Virginia Beach. I had heard about this show and a group of us where planning to go. We where waiting to get tickets because we weren’t sure who was going.

The day of the concert I get an email from our receptionist, one of our clients had VIP box seats and parking passes for the show. I was on the phone so fast I didn’t even read the entire email. I was the first caller and he told me to come and pick up the tickets! Oh man was I excited. The night of the show it was down pouring and we all wore sneakers jeans and Hubby’s military GORE-TEX jackets. We where late for the show and missed the first two acts but we didn’t care. We all hung out in the VIP bar and then made our way to the box seats, where we had a waitress to get our drinks.

It was a wonderful night spent with Hubby, Miah, Megs, Lexa, Green Girl and a couple other girls that didn’t sit with us but where friends of friends. The entire night was one big highlight but one of my favorite parts was Green Girl and Miah singing an NKOTB duet. Ohhh the fun!
This also kicked off our summer concerts this year!

December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?
Hubby and I attended a Love and Respect couples class at our church this year, the basic philosophy is taken from the Bible. We weren’t having any problems in our relationship but it seem like an informative class and we decided to take it. I was surprised at how good it was. First thing I enjoyed about the workshop was they worked a lot of humor into it. You didn’t have to sit there and listen to some doctor tell you what a bad spouse you where!

The best lesson I learned was the Crazy Cycle. The Crazy Cycle teaches couples that they do not have the same fundamental needs. Most woman are satisfied, motivated and fulfilled by unconditional love from her husband, a husband is fulfilled and motivated by unconditional respect from his wife. If either spouse is denied this basic need, disaster is imminent. Dr. Emerson Eggerichs calls this reality the “crazy cycle;” a cycle that will spin toward divorce.

The bottom line is if a husband doesn’t show his wife love the wife doesn’t show her husband respect. They work against each other until they separate or someone changes. One of the questions that was brought up at the workshop was who should change. If my husband showed my love I’d show him respect and if my wife respected me I’d love her…well Dr Eggerich made a good point on who should ‘change’ first; the most mature person! Oh this got lots of laughs.

The Crazy Cycle won’t stop over night but if you try to make small changes your spouse will see that and do the same. I strongly encourage anyone that’s married and even engaged to look into this conference or check out some of the books Dr Eggerich and his wife Sarah have written.

Ephesians 5:22-25; 31-33

Wives and Husbands

22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

December 7 Blog find of the year. That gem of a blog you can't believe you didn't know about until this year.

I’m still a new Blogger. I just started posting regularly in March of 2009. I don’t have many readers but one person really kept me motivated when she would vist and comment on my blog. Matter of Fact Mommy; although she’s not around anymore (and we miss her) she was sooo funny.

Another blogger that I love and is a loyal reader/commenter on my blog is calicobebop
She has a wonderful blog and we have quite a bit in common so she is always a fun read. Go check her out.

Jaci is usually pretty good for a laugh too, although she’s deleted her blog like three times this year she always come back (thank god!)

Whew – Ok hopefully I’ll be able to keep up the rest of the week.

Day 4

2009-12-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

December 4 Book. What book - fiction or non - touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?
I love to read so I have a few favorite books that I love to share with others but of this year my favorite book is Daily Steps for God Chicks: The 90-Day Devotional for Real Women. I grew up going to Catholic Church and never really enjoyed it. I liked going with my friend to the Baptist church where they sang fun songs and had great food after service. I stopped going to church when I was old enough to make the decision. I went back to church while I was in basic training but other than that I never practiced a structured religion.

After Roo was born I decided that I wanted to start bringing her to church. We found a nice nondenominational church close to our house in Alaska and we went occasionally (Easter and Christmas). When we moved to VA I looked for a church and attended a few services but didn’t find anywhere that I liked.

A friend took me to her church one Sunday and it was a good fit. Roo and I attend service regularly and I was officially baptized on Mother’s Day 2009.

This book was written by Holly Wagner while she was going through treatment of breast cancer. It’s an easy read for women who are looking for a closer relationship with God and aren’t sure where to start. The daily steps are easy and really get you thinking about life and your relationship with God.

The book as touched me because it’s opened my eyes up, given my daily bible verses and devotionals. I read this book at home and haven’t bought a copy for anyone else…yet!

Day 3

2009-12-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

Still keeping up with The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 3 Article. What's an article that you read that blew you away? That you shared with all your friends. That you Delicious'd and reference throughout the year.

OK - I'll be honest I love to read but trying to pin point a specific article has been difficult for me.

So I cheated. It's not really an article as much as it's a news story. I'm sure you all remember the big uproar about the man carrying an assault riffle to an Obama rally. I found the different views on this news story shocking. First I want to you read to news article here.

You can clearly see in the photo that the man carrying the gun is a black man.

How watch this take from MSNBC...pretty cleaver editing they have going on there. Amazing how they make it look like a white man is carrying the gun.

First let me start by saying I support out 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. I could care less if the President is a black man or a Green man for that matter! All I care about is that he is making the best choices for our country and our military. Secondly, I think the media is very bias on their views and try to distort the truth to what fits their agenda. I hate they way they do not support our troops - when my husband was serving in Iraq he said that one of the hardest things to watch was the news because they where constantly negative about the efforts there.

I know this one can be a touchy subject and I try to stay away from politics but this is a story that stood out to me. We need to educate ourselves and our children to make their own decisions.

Best Blog of 2009 Challenge

2009-12-02T13:42:00.000-05:00

I know - it's shocking two blogs in ONE day?

HAHAHA but really after I posted today I went over to visit Heidi Rene and found The Best Blog of 2009 Challenge I only have like three people that actually read this blog but I figured it'd be fun and it would give me some new idea's on what to blog about..

Since I'm a day behind schedule here you get 2 days for the price of one...

December 1 Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?
This is a hard one because it's a toss up between driving across country with my mom from Alaska to Maine and going up to Alaska this summer for my moms wedding.
The drive across was my second trip but this time we drove out through Canada and the first time I drove to Washington state and took a ferry to Alaska. Also this was the first time my mom and I had been on a road trip together. We had a great time except for when I left my laptop in Haynes Alaska; didn't realize it till we where 100+ miles away and had to turn around to get it! HAHA good times.

OK - ummm I just realized this trip was in 2008! Opps...so I guess my best trip in 2009 was going to Alaska for my moms wedding.

December 2 Restaurant moment. Share the best restaurant experience you had this year. Who was there? What made it amazing? What taste stands out in your mind?
I feel like I'm cheating but the best resturant experience this year would have to be the dinner after my moms wedding. It was held at The Crow's Nest on the top floor of the Captain Cook Hotel (where the couple had a suite). If you even get a chance to go to Anchoage Alaska this is a place you have to check out. It's amazing - I had reserved the back room of the resturant overlooking the bay. It was perfect we had our own wait staff, privacy and a wonderful view. It was the first time my mom and Mike had been there so it was even more special. The wine, food and company was amazing and the chef even made a special kid friendly meal for Roo.

Stay tuned for tomorrow (I think this one is going to be hard)

Getting Things Done and Black Friday

2009-12-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

So my last post was a bucket list and I think you’d all be happy to know that I’ve already started working on my items. I got a copy of Rosetta Stones Learn Spanish to cross off my dream of becoming fluent in Spanish (you’d think this would be easier for me consittering my hubby is Columbian and didn’t learn English till he went to school – but that’s another blog). Granted I’ve only worked with the program for about 5 minutes but it seem very cool and hey at least I’m trying here!

I also enrolled in online classes and just have to take my assessment test. I should be started just have the New Year. I really wanted to quit my job and go back full time but that just wasn’t in the cards this year. Hopefully in September when Roo start’s Kindergarten I’ll be able to do that…

So even though I’m unable to go back full time I am trying to make an effort to at least take some classes and ease into it.

As I was looking back through the list #10 is seeing the Northern Lights. I lived in Alaska for 4 years – you’d think I’d have crossed that one off!

Hubby and Roo have been down in Florida so I went to my cousin’s house in Richmond for Thanksgiving. It was great to see them and their kids (and kids kids – wow we’re getting old)

I hadn’t seen them in 10 years! Now that we’ve caught up I need to make a point to get up there and visit more often.

I went shopping on Black Friday. I was home alone so I figured why not. I got up and was at J.C. Penny at 4am. I got a bunch of stuff for everyone and saved over $400.00 bucks so I was happy about that. I was in and out of the store in less than 30 minutes. I had made a list of what I wanted, grabbed my stuff and hit the checkout line! I then headed over to Target (there as a line around the building to get in) it was so windy out that when I opened my car door it almost hit the car next to me so I grabbed it really quick and dropped my iPhone and shattered the screen. I was so upset I cried in the Target parking lot. Then I got mad and went to Target to spend more money!

I finished most of my shopping but felt so guilty about my phone. When I got home I had to get ready for work (yes I worked the day after Thanksgiving) As I was getting ready to leave I started separating all the stuff by what was for who and noticed that a coat I had bought for Megs wasn’t there! The lady at Penny’s had forgotten to give it to me. I immediately called the store and they said I had to come in. I didn’t have time because I had to be to work. Now I was really upset!

There’s a happy ending in it though. My boss let me out of work early and I went to the store, they had my coat set aside for me and gave me no problems. Then I headed to the Apple store and bought myself a new iPhone! So I went shopping on Black Friday to save money but cancelled it out by breaking my phone…on the bright side I’m pretty much done Christmas shopping.

And Roo will be home TONIGHT!!!

I miss her tons.

Bucket List

2009-11-24T16:46:00.000-05:00

I made a bucket list, these are in no order, I just wrote them down as they came to mind...
This is no where near complete but here goes.

Bucket List:

1. Run a marathon

2. Become fluent in Spanish

3. Visit Ireland

4. Take a photography class

5. Finish my degree

6. Learn to play the drums

7. Go sky diving

8. Go scuba diving

9. Visit the Grand Canon

10. See the Northern Lights

11. Visit New York City

12. Vegas Baby!

13. Visit Chicago

14. Travel to all 50 states (I’ve been to 31 so far)

15. Go on a cruise

16. Create a trust fund for Roo

17. Attend a New England Patriots football game

18. Attend a Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park

19. Lose 50lbs

20. Adopted a needy child

21. Swim in the Pacific Ocean

22. Live in another country

23. Pin on Hubby’s stripes when he makes E9

24. Learn how to drive a motorcycle

25. Attend the Price is Right game show

26. Let go of the past

27. Pay off all my debt

28. Read the entire Bible

29. Be a contestant on The Amazing Race

30. Be the maid of honor at my sisters wedding

31. Own a beach house
Done:

1. Drive across the country (did this twice)

2. Mt Rushmore

3. Washington DC

4. Key West

5. Alaska

6. Drove through Denali National Park

7. Niagara Falls

8. Visited Mexico

9. Visited Jamaica and climbed a waterfall

10. Pikes Market in Seattle

11. The Space Needle

12. Been at the start of an Iditarod Dog Race

13. Becoming a mother

14. Gave my mom away at her wedding

15. Deep sea fishing

16. Learn to drive a stick shift

17. Own a home

18. Get a tattoo (I have 7 and want more)

19. Served in the military

20. Quite smoking (2.5 years now)

21. Have my grandfather give me away at my wedding

In my near future:

1. Bringing Roo to Disney World

What are somthings you want to do before you die?

Things that piss me off

2009-11-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven’t been around much lately but I’m kind of in an I hate the world mood lately. There is nothing that has happen to turn me into a total bitch but yeah I’m pretty pissy. Hubby and Roo went to South Florida for the holiday’s and I’m home alone for the first time EVER! You’d think I’d be happy about that and chill out/relax. Nope, not me. I keep thinking about all the shit I have to do!!! This will be the only holiday I have ever spent away from my daughter…but it’s good for her and dad to spend time together right??
Here are some things that piss me off (in no particular order):
Then you see parents out with their children and they have coats/sweaters/gloves/shoes on and their kids don’t! WTF is wrong with you? If you are cold enough to be covered up then but a damn sweater on your kid.
Girls who wear their hair down at the gym. Now if your hair is not long enough to tie back OK that’s fine but I see women at the gym with hair down past their shoulders doing cardio. I don’t get it. My hair has to be off my neck, I’m sweating my ass off at the gym. Pull your hair back – it’s gross! Also the ones that come to the gym to socialize. There is one girl I see there that I have never seen work out her and her friends sit around and talk for an hour.
The word irregardless. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this one before but I really hate that word.
Cars with huge spoilers. You look like a douche. Enough said
I can’t loose weight. It is crazy, I eat well and I work out 4 days a week. I work full time and have two dogs and a 4 year old. I’m not lazy…WTF I can’t loose weight. I feel like its hopeless how can someone how works out as hard as I do not loose weight. It’s not even how much I weight. I could be 300lbs for all I care I just want to shed this fat. What am I doing wrong? It was never this hard before I had Roo
When someone asks you a question then doesn’t listen to the answer. That is rude, just don’t talk to me then.
People who stand to close to me. Give me some personal space please
Shitty servers. Why do you work at a restaurant if you suck at your job? We had the worst service when we went out to breakfast Sunday morning. She brought me coffee. No cream, they didn’t have any. I saw cream on every other table. She brings biscuits. No butter. I ask her for butter and she forgot. She brings my eggs. I ask for hot sauce. They don’t have any; again is see hot sauce on 4 other tables. Maybe she just didn’t like me? It really sucked and the food wasn’t that good either.
User that call me to say their printers aren’t working and they’ve tried EVERYTHING. I get there and it’s out of paper! Most of the time it’s women who do this.
Pumping gas. I will drive around on E I hate pumping gas. I will take hubby’s car and leave him mine. I really hate pumping gas. BTW, on the way to work this morning my gas light came on (sigh)
People who are way to into their pets. I have two dogs and we’ve had them since we first started dating. I love my dogs. I drove to Alaska and back because I wouldn’t put them on a plane. I get it. I love my dogs but some people are crazy with this. IT’S A PET. They don’t need to have more clothes than you. They don’t need their own room and no I don’t want to see photos of them dressed up from Halloween.
Tattle-tails. Didn’t your mom ever teach you it is not nice to tattle?
Speaking of moms. Shitty moms piss me off. Take care of your kids. They come before you job, your boyfriend, best friend, and everything else. AND stop sending your sick kids to school/daycare. You get the rest of our kids sick and that pisses me off.

People who’ve never served in our military making decisions for those serving. Enlist or if you’re to old to enlist, sent your kids then you can ‘vote’ on their raises, cost of living, benefits and sending them away from their families for years at a time. I think your opinions may change a bit when you’re in their shoes.
And while I’m talking about the military, I’m sick of hearing the bitching about deploying. I get it, it sucks I know but we have an all volunteer force. You are in the MILITARY. That is what we do! We fight wars (even if we don’t believe in them) Everyone’s has had an enlistment end since September 11th, if you don’t like the military and don’t support the war…GET OUT. To the rest of you; thank you for everything you do for this country and I’m sorry you’re not told that enough.

The fact that I've been out of the military for over 4 years and haven't gone back to school.

Last but not least. Living so far away from my family. I feel like my niece is growing up without me and Godsons don’t even know who I am.

Whew; I feel better. Thanks for letting me vent. Hope everyone has a great week.

Over the top and Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T16:49:00.000-05:00

calicobebop gave me this beautiful piece of bloggy bling! I'm begining to think she's the only one reading my blog! Is anyone out there?

The Rules:

USE ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit yourself and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers so try your best.

Let all of your blogger friends know that you think they are 'Over the Top'!

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk

2.Your hair? Crazy

3. Your mother? Alaska

4. Your father? Heaven

5. Your favorite food? Mexican

6. Your dream last night? Specific

7. Your favorite drink? Vodka

8. Your dream/goal? Happiness

9. What room are you in? Office

10. Your hobby? Reading

11. Your fear? Loss

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Successful

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. Something that you aren’t? Quiet

15. Muffins? Yum

16. Wish list item? Vacation

17. Where did you grow up? Maine

18. Last thing you did? Work

19. What are you wearing? Shoes

20. Your TV? Big

21. Your pets? Dogs

22. Friends? Laughing

23. Your life? Busy

24. Your mood? Meh

25. Missing someone? YES

26. Vehicle? Pathfinder

27. Something you’re not wearing? Necklace

28. Your favorite store? J. C. Penny

29. Your favorite color? Purple

30. When was the last time you laughed? Morning

31. Last time you cried? Friday

32. Your best friend? Heidi

33. One place that I go to over and over? Work

34. One person who emails me regularly? Sis

35. Favorite place to eat? Plaza Azteca

So there it is! Everyone I know has probably been tagged with it before, if not please give it a try.

Happy Veteran's Day!

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

Halloween and more

2009-11-04T13:37:00.000-05:00

Friday at work we had a Halloween costume party. I dressed up as Rainbow Brite. It was awesome. None of the guys knew who I was. Most of the girls around my age got it though.

After work I had to get home and get Roo ready in her Cinderella costume. Hubs work had an event on base so we took her over. They had trunk - or - treating (which I had never heard of). The volunteers decorated the trucks of their cars and handed out candy. It was great and some themes where very well done. Here are some pics:

This is how the night started: NO photos of the princess..

Then after an arguement and 100 pics later I got this beauty:

And here are ones of me and Roo and Dad and Roo:

Finally some showing the trunks

Saturday it was like 80 degrees out. So much for Fall. But Roo's BFF came over and we went Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. I was disappointed that MOST of the houses where're giving out candy. There are a lot of kids that live around us so this was surprising. I don't care for the place anyway and really want to move but that's for another time.

I'll leave you with these:

I'm still here

2009-10-28T13:32:00.000-04:00

I've been around but I haven't been posting. Here's a little bit of what I've been up to...

A couple weeks ago Roo and I where invited to Night at the Living Museum. It was really cool event at the Virginia Living Museum and the girls got all dressed up (as Princess Aurora and Princess Cinderella) they had arts and crafts, learning centers and of course...CANDY!

Roo is 4 and doesn't really nap anymore, even at preschool they say that she'll lay there but will rarely fall asleep. SO the Saturday of the event she fell asleep on the couch and I let her take a little nap. Obviously it wasn't long enough because I had a demon child when she had to get woken up. Let me start by saying I HATE WHINNING. It goes right through me like nails on a chalk board and most of you with little girls know-they whine. So she was being a whinny crying little brat and her dad lost the earrings for her costumes and the world was coming to and end (you get the point) I wanted to get a photo of her to send to her grandma but Roo was not cooperating.

THIS is what I got:

My Crabby Cinderella

I love this photo! She was pissed at me but once we got there and she met up with her BFF it was all good and we had a great night.

Friday at work we held a United Way event to raise money. We had a hallway golf tournament. Each department had to come up with a hole. I came up with a Halloween theme because it’s so close to Halloween! I went all out on this golf hole and it won first place! My co-workers are threatening me that I’m not allowed to play in anything anymore because I always win. I’m competitive – I can’t help it. I spent Friday afternoon drinking beer and playing putt putt golf at work. Friday night a group of us went to my favorite local winery…I guess it’s a winery; they make all the wine there but it’s setup more like a wine bar. It’s great there and I love the owners. They have awesome wine and food. We all sat around drinking wines and eating appetizers. My friend Megs aunt was in town from Cali and she got drunk – we loved her because she fit right into our group.

After all the wine we headed over to a new local restaurant that just opened.

Saturday we had to get up and go over to Megs house; she was moving and I volunteered Hubs to help carry shit. I carried some stuff too but mostly I saying at her old apartment and cleaned while the kids played. After that I didn’t feel like doing anything. I went home and took a nap. After Roo went to bed Hubs and I watched a movie.

Sunday is my cleaning day. I’ve been a bad girl and I haven’t been to church in a few weeks. Well I didn’t go this week either! In the morning Roo and I cleaned up the house. Hubs sleeps in because he works night but when he got up we all went to go see Astro Boy. It was alright. Roo really liked it but I enjoy the funnier kids movies.

So that’s just a bit of what we’ve been up to. Oh and I darkened my hair back up too; fall is here and it was time. I’m going to try to leave it alone until spring but we’ll see!

(VERY Late) Weekend wrap up

2009-10-14T15:51:00.000-04:00

Oh where to start...originally I was going to go to Maine Oct 7th - Oct 11th. You see; October 7th was my Grampy's 75th birthday. My dad was murdered when I was 3 so I was raised with my Grampy and Uncles as my father figures. Grampy even lived with us until I was about 5 (and he married my grandmother). To me (and my mom, sister, aunts) Grampy can walk on water. He's the greatest man in the entire world. He was dealt a bad hand but he's a survivor and he taught all of us be the same way. I've only seen Grampy mad twice in my 26 years of life. No matter what I did as a teenage when I'd call him he'd always say the same thing "it's all right Krissy" When my mom wouldn't let me do something i wanted growing up I'd call Grampy and rat her out. LOL. Whenever I needed 5 bucks or a ride he was there. He gave me my first Budweiser and fixed my car when I crashed it. He pretty much rocks! I remember when I told him I was joining the military he said "Krissy, you're going in the Air Force of you're not going" and that was that. I enlisted in the Air Force and I know he was proud of me. When I was pregnant with Roo I wanted a boy SOOOO bad. Grampy said "Well Krissy; I don't care what it is as long as it's healthy. And a girl!" He's always loved the ladies. He got what he wanted and we named her after him.
Anyway I got totally off track - I didn't end up going to Maine. The plane tickets where way to much and I was just up there 3 weeks ago for my nieces birthday and I got to see my grandparents so I wasn't to bummed about not going. Hubby and I already had the approved time off from work so we decided to take a little family get a way. We rented a room at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg VA. If you're not familiar with the Great Wolf Lodge; it's a hotel when an indoor water park - and it was AWESOME! The room was pretty pricey but we had a blast. I was so proud of Roo because she went down her first 'real' waterslide and I'm not talking a baby slide (she's been doing those since she was 2) I am a real waterslide. She loved them. There was also a kiddy area with small slides, a wave pool and hot tubs. We got there Thursday around 2pm and as soon as we where checked in we hit the water park. Then we got cleaned up and went out to dinner, after dinner we hit up the hotel arcade. At 8pm they have story time in the lobby of the hotel so we took Roo up for that and then got ice cream!
Friday we where back at the water park and by the time we where done there and on our way home the three of use where exhausted! Hubby went to play cards with the boys Friday night but Roo and I didn't move from the couch, except to walk upstairs to our beds.
Saturday - hummm what did we do Saturday? Oh yeah; it was Roo's BFF birthday party so we hit up Target and let Roo go wild in the clearance aisle and then we headed to the birthday party. I ended up playing with a handful of 4/5 year olds all afternoon. Lot's of fun. Saturday night Hubby and I stayed in and played the Wii
and Sunday we brought Roo to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. She had a great time and sat through both movies (and ate a crap load of popcorn).

18 things men should know about women

2009-10-07T15:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure where this orginially came from but I found it on LOTD and thought is was pretty funny - some of the comments in italics have been changed by me.

18 things to teach your sons about women

1. Pick your battles. (Argue what you know, not what you don’t know. The toilet seat is not a battle.)

2. Walk on the outside (closer to the street) of your female companion. (Or she will push you into traffic if you do not follow rule 1.)
3. Saying "You're being crazy" is never an appropriate response, unless you want her to go postal on you. ("Is it me who is crazy" is also not appropriate)

4. Cooking, cleaning, and taking care of kids are things men can actually do as well as women. (Do not let them know that or you will be doing it)

5. Keep backup supplies of quality chocolate in the house for her to raid. (And beer.)

6. Buying tampons and other feminine products shouldn't embarrass you --everyone knows they're not for you. (Actually, relish these moments because she is crazy at this point)

7. Women like compliments and gifts. (“You are really good with a crockpot” is not really either.)

8. Earning less than her shouldn't be emasculating. (Earning nothing should)

9. Be on time, even if she usually isn't. (And if she is always on time she may not be a girl; check first)

10. Don't be a pouty puppy when shopping with her. (Pouty is never good. Just avoid shopping altogether if you can.)

11. Find out what her favorite flower is. (And have them delivered to her at least once a year)

12. If you like her, then don't buy her shoes; it's bad luck. (Just give her the money and tell her to go buy herself some shoes)

13. Smiling and nodding aren't the same as listening. (There’ll be a quiz later)

14. It's OK to cry in front of her, but keep the blubbering to a minimum. (Actually, never use the word blubber in her company.)

15. Personality goes a long way. (And the lack of an ability to laugh at oneself is a deal killer.)

16. At some point she'll be more important than your mother. (And guess what? You’re grounded!)

17. You will never completely understand women. (Better to master calculus or compete in the Tour de France.)

18. Oh yeah, and no woman will ever be good enough for my baby. (I don't have a son but no one will ever be good enough for my baby girl so I get it)

19. Understand this now. Just put the toilet seat down or somebody is going to drown

Bad movies

2009-09-30T10:23:00.000-04:00

Rottentomatoes.com has come out with the Worst of the Worst 2009 list. This is a list of the top 100 worst movies of the last ten years. I have listed below the movies I’ve seen from the list

#94 – The New Guy (2002)
Yes I agree this was an awful movie. It’s the same old teen cliché of the teen turn popular

#90 – Dragonfly (2002)
I liked this movie. Granted it was a little unbelievable but I liked it (didn’t love it)

#72 – Broken Bridges (2006)
I didn’t watch the entire movie. I tried but couldn’t get into it. I thought I would like it because I do like Toby Keith and Kelly Preston but it was to predictable and the acting was not the greatest either.

#19 – Half Past Dead (2002)
Horrible movie. I’ve never been a big fan of Seagal movies anyway

So that isn’t bad. I’ve only seen 3.5 horrible movies of the past 10 years. AND I like one of them.

I bet my husband has seen (and liked) most of the movies on the list. He likes the stupidest movies. I on the other hand am pretty picky about what I watch. I don’t want to waste 2+ hours of my life watching a crappy movie.

Getting back on track

2009-09-23T11:33:00.000-04:00

I’ve been a busy girl! Roo and I drove to Maine on the 16th, my niece turned 2 yesterday and we went up to celebrate her birthday with her. My sis had a party at her house on Saturday and it was great to have all the kids together. I had to drive up because I had so much stuff to bring to her. She got two bikes, a box of toys and three boxes of clothes all from Roo. I will post some pics of the girls when I pull them off my camera

Now I’m home trying to get back into the routine of things. We didn’t get home till Monday night so I ate, took a shower and hit my bed. I love my bed! Yesterday I had to work and by the end of the day I thought I was going to pass out. I went home and made dinner and went to bed when Roo did. Tonight I’m hoping to hit the gym and get back on track.

Yesterday was the first official day of autumn and today there are only 100 days of 2009 left. Time for some goal setting…I’ve gained all the weight I loss back and I can’t fit into any of my clothes. Now that summer is over I’m reassessing my goals and starting my diet/exercise program with new hopes. I didn’t really stop working out but I’ve been eating like a pig and I need to be hitting the gym at least 4x a week. AND be doing my Wii Fit/elliptical at home too.

I also am going on a budget. We spend way too much money and if I want to go back to school full time in January I need to get us on a budget. If I’m spending my time at the gym then I shouldn’t be spending money; right?

So here’s to the rest of 2009! I can’t believe there is only 100 days left this year.

Never Forget

2009-09-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

It’s been 8 years. Wow; it’s hard to believe. I some ways I feels like yesterday and in others it seems a lifetime ago. Most people in the military around my age joined after the horrific events of September 11th 2001. I was active duty Air Force at the time and it was a much different military then. I was in during the USS Cole bombing and I talk to some who don’t even know what the Cole bombing is (if you don’t you should read this).

You’ll probably learn more about me personally in this post that you have in any others. I graduated high school a year early and joined the Air Force at 17. After basic training and tech school (where I graduated as the distinguished honor graduate) I was stationed at Langley AFB VA. I met Hubby not long after I moved here but we where just friends. I loved it! I loved my job; I was assigned to headquarters just out of tech school which is unheard of. I even loved my boss and most of the people that I worked with. I had it good, I didn’t deploy, I didn’t even have to play in the exercise on base. I wore my blues to work everyday and was grateful!

Hubby had a different life in the Air Force; he works maintenance. This means he goes where the jets go. Back then they use to do 90 day deployments to Saudi Arabia. Oh they would bitch and moan because it was hot and they couldn’t drink but the bases where built up and had chow halls, dorms, pools and community centers. Yeah they worked hard over there but it wasn’t ‘that bad’ Hubby’s squadron returned from the deployment from Saudi on September 9th 2001.

When the 2nd plane hit I remember thanking God they where home. Then the chaos happen, the phone lines where jammed everywhere, the gates to the bases where closed. No one could get on or off. We went to a 24/7 operation. Finally they started letting people off but only authorized personal could get back in.

I lived on base in the dorms at this time so I told everyone I’d stay. I worked 23.5 hours that day. My family was in panic because they couldn’t get through to me. Life changed. Things didn’t happen as quickly as I thought they would but no more blues to work, we now all wore our BDU’s (battle dress uniforms). Stop loss was put into effect which meant Hubby couldn’t separate from the Air Force as he had previously planned. Before 9/11 if you had stickers on your car you where waved through the gates. Now they stopped each car and search most. We all waited.

In October my mother flew down to see me and we had planned a Washington DC trip. Neither of us had been and it’d been in the works for months. She was practically striped searched in the air port and had to be there 3 hours in advanced to get from Maine to Virginia! Everyone said we where crazy but we went to DC as planned. I saw the enormous hole in the Pentagon. The streets where all blocked and you couldn’t drive anywhere near the Whitehouse or monuments. We had a wonderful time, we walked everywhere and saw everything, we went on living our lives as we deserved to.

We didn’t deploy troops to Iraq until March of 2003 and we’re still there today. This isn’t a political blog so I won’t go into my views on the war or the decisions made by people who are unaffected by the choices they make for our military but I will say that day changed my life. Hubby and I wouldn’t not be married today if he had not been ‘forced’ to extend his enlistment, after all was said and one he made the choice to stay and just hit 11 ½ years of service. I separated from the Air Force in September of 2005 because we decided we wanted to have a baby. One of us needed to be able to stay home with her if the other was deployed so I gave up my Air Force career and put in for a pregnancy separation. Do I regret it? No. Do I miss the military? Sometimes

I’m sure September 11th is going to be one of those times you will always remember where you where and what you where doing. Regardless of your stand on the political issues; today is a time to remember those who lost their lives and pray for all our military heroes.

How'd you get here

2009-09-09T16:11:00.000-04:00

I've never done one of these and thought it might be fun.
These are the following searches that got people to my wonderful blog:

bodypump boston (x2) - I know I've blogged about body pump because it's AWESOME. I 'm not sure how Boston worked its way in there, but I love Boston too; so I'll take it.

why did I ever want kids... - ahh; from when Roo cut her hair

revlon runway collection - huh? There is never anything about Revlon or a runway in my blog. I only use Bare Minerals makeup (it's the best)

body pump fuck - wow that body pump sure gets some hits

vacation "no bra" - forget your bra one time!

BTW, now that I looked at that I know there are people jumping on here all the time but no one ever comments me :(

Her new haircut

2009-09-04T13:51:00.000-04:00

Looking back I guess that the haircutting incident wasn't 'that' bad. She only snipped one piece of hair and she didn't cut it to her scalp...so all and all it could have been much worse.

I took her last night to get her hair fixed and this is the final product:

I have to be honest. I don't love it and I'm kinda pissed that I can't just pull her hair back and be done with it. See Roo has crazy hair like her mama and cow licks, bangs don't really work well for me. I have to wet and blow dry her bangs now before leaving the house. It's not only the extra work but I just love her hair before.
Hubby has been trying to talk me into cutting her hair up to her shoulder for a while now but Roo and I are against any talk of this. See she likes her hair to be long (like Ariel's) Roo doesn't even look like Roo anymore. I know she's still cute and beautiful and perfect but I'm having a hard time with his. I shouldn't have done it - I should have just left if alone and let what she cut grow out...

Kids...why did I ever want kids...

2009-09-03T13:51:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: I am usually a very good mom. I'm fairly patient, we do fun things all the time, she has her own room, her own playroom, her own fish. You get the point.

One thing I never did with Roo was put up her arts and crafts. She's had play dough, crayons, markers - everything available to her when she wanted it. Roo knows the rules and knows that if she breaks them I will throw all her arts and crafts supplies in the trash. Needless to say I do not have craft mishaps in my house.
After our trip to Alaska where Grandma gave Roo her fist pair of scissors she has been obsessed with cutting paper. Roo know the rules - you only cut paper and only at the table. No walking/running with the scissors and put them back when you're done. She's had them for a couple months now and the other night she was cutting some pink felt that I got for her. Apparently she was having trouble cutting the felt and thought that cutting her hair would be a good idea!
NOW - my little Roo has beautiful long brown curly hair that is just has unruly as her moms so I didn't know about the hair cutting. We go to bed and get up the next morning. I'm looking at her hair and I'm thinking WTF? Why does she have bangs. I grab her and sure as shit her hair is cut.
I just about lost my mind. I asked her if she cut her hair and she lies and says no. Well now I'm really pissed. Finally she admits that she cut it but won't really talk about it. She goes to school after I hide it the best I can and when I pick her up I get the whole story out of her. I was mad that she lied and made her go home and tell Hubby the truth about the hair cutting. She was not happy about this and said she was too scared to tell. But she did as she was told.
Punishment: NO scissors, no arts and crafts and the possibility of no Bush Garden's this weekend.

When I told Hubby, Sis and Mom about this happening they all laughed at me. I don't think it's funny. Not one bit. I'm going to take her in tonight to see if the stylist and help blend it. She cut about an inch thick and two inches long...

I may possibly post pics if and when I ever get over my anger.

Weekend recap and school stuff

2009-09-01T12:47:00.000-04:00

Friday after work I met Hubby and Roo out for dinner. After dinner Hubby went to go play with this friends and Roo and I headed to get her a fish. She picked out a pretty purple and pink beta fish and her name is Alice. First we where going to get a boy gold fish named Timmy but when she saw Alice she decided that she NEEDED a girl fish. We picked the name and then it was Alex for a couple minutes but before going to bed Friday night her name was Alice yet again.
Roo has her setup in her room in a cute little tank (that already needs cleaning). She’s a proud little mommy to her fish and feeds her every morning.

Saturday Roo and I hung out around the house and Saturday night Hubby and I went out to a comedy club to celebrate a friend’s birthday. It was a good time but I stayed out to late and so I was tired on Sunday.

On to school news; I applied last week and promptly got an email stating that I f-ed up the in state tuition part and that they needed a copy of Hubbys military orders, a local utility bill with my name on it, a copy of my dependent ID card and this other form. I got all this crap together this weekend and emailed it over to the school, hopefully that will be all I have to do and I will get approved for instate tuition. I would really hate to have to change my driver’s license to Virginia (I like have my Alaska driver’s license…people look at me funny when I have to show it)
After I get approved I have to figure out a schedule and enroll in classes, then the VA will process my G.I. Bill. I have over 4 months till I’m due to start but I just want to get all my ducks in a row. I haven’t mentioned to my boss that I plan on going back to school. I want to be sure I get in and everything’s all set before I cross that bridge.

Monday is Hubby’s birthday and we’ll be spending most of the weekend in Virginia Beach at the American Music Festival. Boyz 2 Men are playing Friday night and I am way to excited about that. Heart and Black Crows will also be there. There are a ton of bands but those are the big names. So I’m sure I’ll have much more to talk about next week.

I did it

2009-08-28T10:46:00.003-04:00

So I did it, Wednesday I applied for school. It cost 50 bucks just to apply; that shit better be approved! If all goes well I will hopefully be started classes on January 9th - what a great way to start the New Year. I have to admit I'm a little scared though. I haven't been in college since 2002 and even that was just a class at the community college...this is a university and I'm considering going full time.
I have been on my own since I was 17 and have never not worked. Even when I got out of the Air Force; I had a job before I separated. When we moved from AK to VA I didn't work for two months, one of which was spent driving across the US and visiting family. Once we got here and moved into our house I was working.
I know that we can afford for me not to work while I go to school full time because I have my G.I. Bill but that means no vacations, little eating out and my shopping habits will definitely have to change (I better go get myself a few new Coach bags to hold me over) It will be worth it in the long run...right?

In other news; still looking for a good book to read. AND someone came across by blog by googling 'no bra' that kind of made my day! It was on the vacation recap part 2 with the white bra and black dress disaster.

hanging out

2009-08-26T10:06:00.004-04:00

It is hard to believe it's been so long since I posted. I really have no excuse besides being out of town at King's Dominion a couple weekends ago I haven't been up to much.
I guess I'm kind of in a funk right now. I just feel blah. I want to go back to school, I want to move, I want to loose weight...so now I have to set my mind to get these things done and not sit around thinking about what I need to do

So in order to get out of my little funk I have gone back on Weight Watchers and started working out again. The past few days I've been doing very well but I did cheat a little big last night.
I've worked out both days this week and plan to do so again tonight.

Next step is trying to get someone from the school to help with my GI Bill stuff. I've called the counselor on base but that's been no help so I'm going over there this week to find out what I need to do to get registered for the next semester.

So here's to making changes. By the way; I need a good book to read. Any suggestions?

Nothing New

2009-08-13T12:43:00.002-04:00

There's not much going on around these parts right now; it's kind of nice because we are usually so busy and on Saturday things will start to pick up again.

It is f-ing down pouring here. This shit better stop cause if it ruins my weekend...Roo will be very disappointed. This is the plan (if the damn weather cooperates)
Friday night: Fun at the Fort. Me and Roo go almost every Friday night. Ft Monroe has a pool that is on the beach. The pool is open till 8pm and the beach stays open til 10pm. They have a grill, bar, face painter and balloon animals for the kidos and even a live band. It's one of my favorite things to do in the summer here. This Friday night Hubby and his friend JK will be joining us.
Saturday it's up early to make breakfast and hit the road for Kings Dominion by 8:30am. Let me just tell you how excited Roo is. She burst into my bathroom this AM and says:
"Mom, just one more day and then we go to Kings Dominion...right?"
Our plan is to hit up the water park on Saturday. Don't worry; I have my 50SPF all packed.
I got us a hotel room across the street from the park so I'll be able to take Roo over when she needs a break.
We are staying the night Saturday night and doing the rides on Sunday. Driving home Sunday night. It will be a busy weekend but I'm looking forward to it.

Next weekend we are going to Crue Fest 2. The line up includes: Motley Crue, Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman and Drownding Pool. I am looking forward to this show. I've been Godsmack before and they rock.

The weekend after that is labor day weekend and hubby's birthday is on Sept 7th so I'm sure I'll have something planned for him for that.

Roo showed me just how smart she is today. At our pre-school you have to type a code in to unlock the door. Roo ran up to it this morning and typed the code it all by herself, I didn't even have to tell her the numbers! Shit, most days I can't remember the code myself.

Yup; it's Monday

2009-08-10T12:04:00.002-04:00

This weekend was pretty chill. Friday after work I took Roo to the pool. While we where in the kiddy pool and she was sliding down the slide for the 100th time the lifeguard requested that we get out of the water. When a lifeguard tells me to get out of the pool; I'm out; you don't have to ask me twice. Especially when I'm in a kids pool. Good thing, I grabbed Roo and was out of there in a flash. Another kid had puked in the pool. Roo wanted to see it! Gross.

We headed to the big pool and had fun till they called break. Then we headed down to the beach so she could play in the sand and they have a pirate ship on the beach with a slide for the kiddos.
I grabbed a chair, a beer and hung out there for the rest of the night. Roo also got her face painted and by the time I got her home and to bed it was 10pm.

She still woke up at 6:30am Saturday. It was a chill day; we went to BJ's and Hubby took Roo to the park while I cleaned my bathroom and bedroom. It stormed and down poured out Saturday night so I stayed home and went to bed early.

Sunday morning was church then we hit up the beach. It was so freaking hot out! We had a great day swimming and grilling out at the beach. After getting home, showered and fed we headed to Cold Stone for ice cream (I got a sinless smoothie. They're good) and Roo fed the turtles in the pond.

Next weekend we're heading out of town to Kings Dominion amusement park. It's a water park and theme park. Roo is looking forward to it; I'm just hoping it's not too hot.

BTW: still crabby today.

Huh?

2009-08-05T12:56:00.003-04:00

There is not much going on this week. Work and I went to body pump on Monday. I did a crap load (100+) squats so I'm sore as hell now. Once I get back into going regularly it won't hurt as bad but I'm dying now. Going to try to do some cardio tonight.

I called hubby a few minutes ago to work out some plans about the Dave Matthews Band concert this Friday. I told him that I wasn't going to go because I've been him a few times already and lawn tickets are over 50 bucks. He asked what I was going to do while him and the guys went to the show and I told him that Roo and I where going to go to the pool Friday night.

H - "Well; I'm going to get you some 50SPF sunscreen"
M - "OK, why? How 'bout 30?"
H - "Because you are extremely caucasian and I worry about you being in the sun"

WTF?

M - "Did you just call me caucasian?"
H - "Well you are!"

We went to the pool on Saturday and I got a bit of a sunburn while using 15SPF sunscreen. Yes I am very irish and tend to burn. Just because hubby is 1/2 Colombian and 1/2 Ecuadorian he doesn't have to rub it in. Oh yeah and Roo has a awesome tan, guess she's not extremely caucasian like her Mama

I got screwed.

Weekend recap

2009-08-03T16:09:00.002-04:00

Friday Green girl came to my office and said a few of my favorite words...
"Lets go to the winery after work for an hour."
She didn't get an argument out of me. I called hubby and told him to bring Roo to me around 6 (he goes out on Friday nights). And off we went.

We did a wine tasting and had some delicious crab dip with these home made tortillas. They where so good. I bought three bottles of wine and when Roo came all the girls talked to her and she had a great time. I went to the bathroom and Roo sat with Green girl. When I came out Roo was tell Green girl all about her 1st field trip she had gone on the day before. One of the waitresses came over and was saying how cute Roo is and looked right at Green girl and said
"Your daughter talks so clearly"

Green girl had the most horrified look on her face and said "take your kid"
It was very funny; the girl apologized and explained that Roo and Green girl both have brown hair and brown eyes. Roo quickly corrected her but tell her that she has dark brown hair.

I got Roo home and fed her dinner. We did some arts and crafts, watched some TV and I put her to bed. I didn't even go back downstairs after; I headed to bed myself.
Because I was in bed by 8:45pm the night before I was well rested when Roo woke me up at 7am on Saturday. We got up and had breakfast and I cleaned the downstairs, did more arts and crafts with Roo and packed the cooler. We finally got hubby out of bed close to 11am and we headed to the pool. We spent the entire day at the pool/beach and had a wonderful time. I got a sunburn of course while my daughter has the perfect tan. We both had sunscreen on and reapplied through out the day but I must have missed my chest and neck because they got it pretty bad.

We where all beat after the pool so we hit the showers and ordered pizza. Hubby rented Push. It kinda sucked. I went to bed.

Sunday I did not a damn thing. I slept in, watched TV, finished my book and then started on the 2nd season of Grey's Anatomy. Green girl is obsessed with this show and wants me to watch all the seasons to get caught up. I don't think I'll make it through them all before the new season starts but I do have to say; It's a pretty good show.

So that's all folks.

The best part of waking up...

2009-07-31T12:05:00.002-04:00

I have been sick for about a week now and last night was the first night all week I have had a good nights sleep. So; I didn't want to get up this morning. Of course this was the morning Roo was in my room saying "MOM - it's time to get up!"

I get up and get in the shower and a few minutes later she comes in and says something about how she can't get her tanktock on (yes that is how she says tank top; it's very funny)
I poke my head out of the curtain and she has on a multi-colored stripped skirt. OK that's good. And a tanktop that has stars all over it...hmmm; not so good.

Roo is very opinionated about her wardrobe. She likes to pick out what she wants to wear and get dressed herself. Some mornings this makes me want to kill myself
This is how it went down today:

Me: Roo; go get your orange shirt that matches the skirt you have on
Roo: NO. I want to wear my tanktock
Me: But your tank top doesn't match. It has stars on it and the skirt has strips
Roo: They're not strips mom. They're lines. And my tanktock has orange in in. SEEE? It does match.
Me: No baby it doesn't, go get your orange shirt out of your drawer and put it on.
Roo (stomping out of the bathroom): Well I guess you're not my mom anymore.

Silence

(cricket, cricket, cricket)

Did she just say that to me? She's only 4!

After I got out of the shower I went to check on her and she did have the orange shirt on.

My first ever Blog award

2009-07-30T10:54:00.004-04:00

WOW. I got an awesome award from Calicobebop

First I want to say "Thank you"

and now I am suppose to tag 15 other bloggers...

yeah, most of the blogs I follow have already been given this award so I'll just post some of my favorite sites:

LOL Dogs - this site is hilarious for dog lovers

List of the Day - always good for a laugh

Calicobebop - read her everyday, one of the first blogs I got hooked on. We live in the same area, both have little girls and are veterans. She rocks.

Passive-Agressive Notes - this is the funniest shit. Once you start on this you become addicted

Overheard in the Office - makes me feel better about my job

Vodkamom - she has almost 1000 followers, so a lot of people like her

Postcard From Yo Mama - because we all have crazy moms

Ravings of a Mad Housewife - Jaci is the creator of Blog Fart Friday

FML - bad shit happens to all of us

Bricks and Stones Gossip - the best gossip site around

Raising Stink - this girl is funny. She would definitely be someone I'd like to party with and her
kid is very cute

Not Always Right - funny and stupid customer service stories

xkcd - a web comic

someecards - just plain funny and somewhat offensive

and last but not least...

Let me google that for you - I work as a computer technician. There are some days I would like to do this to my users...

Birthday's

2009-07-29T10:39:00.005-04:00

I have a tendency to go a little over board when it comes to birthdays...ok, a lot overboard (don't judge me). Growing up birthdays where always a big deal. We didn't have much but every year on your birthday our family would get together and go out to eat at whatever restaurant you wanted. It was always a ton of fun because my family is crazy, loud and most of them drink. I remember for my 16th birthday we went to TGI Friday's. I was late because of cheerleading practice so by the time I got here my mom and Grampy where half drunk. We all had a wonderful time. The servers tied 16 balloons to me - we laughed so hard we cried.

I remember the first year John and I where together for my birthday; I woke up that morning all excited because I had taken him to Maine for his birthday and I knew he had to have something planned. He didn't. I called my mom and cried. It was MY birthday - didn't that mean anything to him? He learned his lesson. When I turned 21 hubby flew my mother and sister in town, got us rooms at the Marriott and we partied our butts off. Then he held our hair when we all puked. Great times!

Hubby is spoiled. When he turned 30 I took him to Key West. We only stayed a night because Roo was about 7 weeks old and I couldn't wait to get back to her. We left her with John's mom but it was the first time I had left her overnight. On his 31st birthday I planned a weekend getaway to Denali National Park. I got a lottery ticket that allowed us to drive through the park in our Durango. This is a pretty big deal. There is an annual road lottery each fall. In September, the park service allows 400 cars to drive the length of the park road. We saw so many bears, they walked right by our car. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We left Roo with my mom for the weekend. It was the longest either of us had been away from her and we couldn't wait to get home and see her.

Like I said, I go a bit overboard with birthdays. I do this with my close friends and sister too. Coach bags, expensive makeup, dinners - whatever they want. It is the one day out of the year that is your special princess day :)

Roo just turned 4. I rented a pony, bounce house and face painter to come to our house. I am pretty sure my neighbors think I'm crazy and everyone else just says "She's 4! What are you going to do when she turns 5" I haven't gotten that far but I'll think of something good.

I'm done with birthdays for now; well at least until Labor Day weekend when we have a joint birthday party for Hubby and his best bud @ my house...

Getting to know me

2009-07-27T16:33:00.004-04:00

- Do you do dance crazy when no one is looking?
I dance like crazy when everyone is looking

- Do you like to sing in the shower?
If the radio is on and it's a song I like

-Whats your favorite colour?
Purple

- Do you like baths or showers?
Baths to read/relax and showers to get ready

- Do you blow dry your hair? or just let it dry on its own, or towel dry?
If I am straightening my hair I towel/air dry it. If I make my hair curly I do it while it's still wet

- At the beach would you rather play in the sand, or play in the water?
I'd like to lay there and ready a book. BUT I have a 4yr old so I do what she wants

- Do you think people should eat the fish they catch, or just let them go?
Eat them

- Wet the toothbrush or brush dry with the toothpaste?
Wet

- Pen or pencil?
Pen

- Have you thrown up in a car?
Yes

- Date someone older?
Yes...always have. Hubby is 8yrs older than me

- One place you could travel right now?
Maine. I miss my sis and niece

- Are you afraid of the dark?
Nope

- What was the last drink you drank?
Diet Coke

- Do you prefer hugs or kisses?
hugs

- What is your favorite word?
shit, or douche bag but that's two words

- Are you a heavy or light sleeper?
Maybe more on the light side but pretty average

Parent’s Day

2009-07-24T10:43:00.001-04:00

The 4th Sunday in July is Parent’s Day. This year it also happened to be the day of Roo’s birthday party (7.26.09) but I’ll cover that in another post.

What is Parent’s Day; well here is what I pulled from the official website:

In 1994 President Bill Clinton signed into law the resolution unanimously adopted by the U. S. Congress establishing the fourth Sunday of every July as Parents' Day, a perennial day of commemoration similar to Mother's Day and Father's Day. According to the Congressional Resolution, Parents’ Day is established for "recognizing, uplifting, and supporting the role of parents in the rearing of children."

The establishment of Parents’ Day was the result of a bipartisan, multiracial and interfaith coalition of religious, civic and elected leaders who recognized the need to promote responsible parenting in our society and to uplift ideal parental role models, especially for our nation's children.

Since the creation of this annual day of commemoration, local faith communities, elected officials and activists throughout the nation have creatively launched many activities around the theme of Parents' Day designed to celebrate and strengthen the traditional, two-parent family.
The National Parents' Day Council does not envision Parents' Day to be yet "another" day to honor parents, but rather a day when parents honor their children and the God-centered family ideal by rededicating themselves to manifest the highest standard of unconditional true love.

Although it’s refreshing to see a holiday that is based on the ideal that we should honor our children (because we should everyday) I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the fact that they assume that just because there is a two-parent family it’s in some way ‘better’ than a one-parent family. It is the best case scenario and one that I am grateful I have the ability to provide my daughter with; it’s not always realistic. And I don’t believe that God loves any parent or child less if they don’t come from a two-parent family.

I grew with my mom as a single mother. My sister is a great single mother. Was/is it easy for them? No, but it’s not always easy for me either and I have a husband. So weather you’re a single mom, single dad, step parent, adopted parent or anyone else I’m leaving out…Enjoy your children on Parent’s day; and every other day. They grow to fast.

Blog Fart Friday

2009-07-24T10:11:00.000-04:00

Blog Farts – noun. Def: Crappy ideas that are too short to make a real blog post, but when combined, join forces to make one unified, albeit half assed, post. Definition by Jaci

I really do love my family despite my cynical nature about them. At times I do not understand the decisions that they make; but they are my family and I will do my best to support them.

Those ‘things’ that make water sounds. I hate them. They always make me have to pee.

Basically, my high school experience totally sucked. Joining the Air Force, moving away, traveling and enjoying being on my own @ 17 was much more exciting and rewarding.

My 6+ years-of-marriage started as a fling

I have 7 tattoos. (and want more)

I changed my hairstyle for the first time in 10+ years in November; and highlighted it in June. I'm ready for something new...I pray I like it; I'm so sensitive about my hair.

I love the smell of vanilla, my laundry (ask my sis, it smells AWESOME), freshly made coffee, butter popcorn, and babies

I can’t see a damn thing without my glasses. I want to get Lasik

I hate riding in the passenger seat during road trips. 99% of the time I’d rather drive. I can’t ride in the back for over 30 minutes or I’ll be car sick

I love have people at my house even if it’s a pain in the ass most of the time.

I am addicted to purses. Expensive ones.

I’m still pissed off they cancelled Friends. Now I just found out the cancelled Life and Without a Trace… Good thing I don't have much time to watch T.V

Roo is named after my Grampy and my uncle. Her real name is Danah (that's Dana NOT Dan-ah)

And bonus...
Things to Be Miserable About: Studies show that the average father spends less than thirty minutes a week talking to his children.

4 years ago today...

2009-07-23T13:43:00.005-04:00

This post was meant for yesterday...

On this day 4 years ago (July 22nd 2005):

This is the 203rd day of the year. There are 162 days remaining until the end of the year.

George W. Bush was President

We Belong Together by Mariah Carey was the #1 song in the country

Wedding Crashers was the #1 film in the country

U.S. House votes to renew expiring Patriot Act

And…
Danah Crisalida was born @ 6:32 am at Elmendorf AFB hospital Alaska. Making her appearance 5.5 weeks early!

Happy 4th Birthday baby girl. I love you!

The End

2009-07-21T16:04:00.008-04:00

OK so I really need to finish up the wedding story but I've been a bit busy with a sick Roo and Green girls 30th birthday.

After I make it into the limo I have to ask the driver to take me to mom's car so it doesn't get towed. I know at this point the driver has to think I am the stupidest b*tch in the world. But at this point I don't give a shit what he thinks. I've been running my fat ass off all day and I'm tired, crabby, wearing a white bra (with my black dress because I forgot my black bra), and I haven't eaten ALL day. I'm all smiles because at my wedding no one helped me and it was terrible. I don't want my mom to remember her day that way...but I digress

Now, cars moved and we are heading to the ceremony. I need (more) beer. I ask; very nicely if we can stop for beer and the nice driver says no problem. All of us girls are in the limo taking photos and laughing.

We stop at the store; I look outside...You've got to be f-ing with me! I am in the HOOD. Shit so here I am in a huge ass limo with a nice dress on and this guys stops in the worst part of town so I can run in the store (with everyone staring at me) to get beer. Yeah; he hates me.
Either way. I need a Corona. Bad.

Store, beer, good. I come out and Aurora is gone. Now I'm not a very pat person to begin with so at this point I'm pretty much going to loose it. But mom says "you'll never believe it"
NOW what? "you forgot the flowers in the suite" Nah ha...there right... CRAP! Roo says "mom, I have to pee" Out of the limo we go. And just because the universe loves me that much the MFers at the store wouldn't let my 3yr old use the bathroom! Roo is almost crying and I'm trying to explain to her that we'll go to another store but she doesn't get it. She has to go now.
Aurora is back in the limo with as many roses as she could find at the grocery store making bouquets! Yes this is really happening. We get back on the road and it is dead stop traffic (well duh; it's 5pm on a Friday). I get Roo to the next store, we all go pee and take a smoke break. I don't even smoke and I'm sure we all looked very classy standing in a Chevron parking lot in bridal wear smoking cigs and making wedding bouquets out of grocery store roses. If I wasn't laughing I would have been crying. But I had my Corona and we where once again on the way.

This is about the time I get the WTF call from Hubby "Ummm; where are you girls?"
Me: "where stuck in traffic, haven't left Anchorage yet"
They took the news rather well and we made it drove right pass them to the outhouses. We all had to pee again from the beer drinking in the limo...and what a better time to take pictures!
LOL yes, I'm not making this shit up. The guys walk up to wear we are because they're confused; I tell them to get lost and we'll be down shortly.

Here we go. It's wedding time. Aurora is walking down to the creek with Roo and she starts freaking out because the wind is blowing away her flowers. Next thing is total break down mode. Luckily; Aurora has been with Roo since she was born so she just picked her up and moved it along. I had the honor of walking my mom down the 'isle' and it was so windy, Roo was crying and they got married!

It was a crazy day but it's over and it was great. The rest went off without a problem and we all had a great time. We where suppose to go out after dinner but didn't make it. We all hung in the suite drinking and dancing. It was perfect.

Congrat's Mike and Mom! I love you both.

Sorry about the flowers Big Sis. I know you put a lot of work into them; they where beautiful and we did take a lot of photos with them after the ceremony.

Vacation Recap 2

2009-07-06T16:54:00.002-04:00

So it's the BIG day. I'm trying to get my mom and her BFF and my Roo ready. The limo driver Anthony calls and I'm not even dressed, Aurora is dressed but not finished with make up.
I tell mom, Kathy and Roo to go and have a ride in the limo and I'll get really faster if no one is there. So I speed race with my hair/make up, squeeze into my Spanx (the best things invented) and put my dress on. Now keep in mind I have a black dress...but I didn't bring my black bra, so I try the dress with no bra - yeah NOT going to happen! Shit, shit, shit. So I freak out over this for about 5 mins, mom is blowing up my phone. Aurora leaves to move her car because it's parked at a meter (parking in downtown Anchorage sucks) At this point I don't care.

Now another thing I should have mentioned; when mom and Kathy left the room they took NOTHING. So image me, trying to bring the champagne, beer, purses, cameras and every other damn thing down to the limo where everyone else is waiting. I go out the wrong door of the hotel and have to walk 1/2 block around the building to fine the limo. At this point my feet are already killing me, I'm about to drop a bag with beer in it and I lost Aurora!

Oh and it gets worse...

Vacation recap pt. 1

2009-07-02T15:29:00.001-04:00

I’m not dead, call of the search and rescue teams…I’m here! It’s hard to believe it’s been over a month since I posted. There have been times when I’ve gone way longer than that; but when I started blogging again I told myself that I would post a least once a week. Guess that is not working out so much. I have all the usual excuses: work, kids, family, dogs – you get it!

I really have been busy though. My family headed to Alaska for my moms wedding. We left on June 17th and returned June 30th. It was a long trip but when you are traveling that far you have to take as much time as you can.
When we arrived in Alaska it was cold and rainy. I didn’t see the sun for 5+ days. We went to Seward and went camping on Father’s Day weekend. It rained on us the entire time! Hubby doesn’t really do the outdoorsy camping stuff; growing up in NYC and South Florida he never really had the opportunity. I on the other hand grew up at camp but camping in the rain sucks so we threw everything in the back of the truck, took Roo to the Sea life center (where she acted up and didn’t listen at all) then headed home. I was so tired because I had gone out the night before and then drank all day with mom and got kicked off the air mattress by Roo…I had a back ache and needed a bed!

The rest of that week we took it pretty easy. We went to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and saw all the animals, I took Roo on her first hike at Thunderbird Falls and she made me run it on the way back. Where she gets the energy; I don’t know but I need some. I went out a few times but nothing to major, except for the Tuesday night that I drank 6 long island ice teas and didn’t leave the house the next day. Of course this was the day the sun came out…thankfully Hubby took Roo to the park and to her old pre-school that day.

From then on it was wedding stuff. Thursday was spent running around getting our nails done and picking up last minute things. I also had to steam moms dress and pack everything up for the hotel. Friday I got us checked into the hotel at noon and had to get moms BFF and have the cake delivered to our room. Then I had to run around and get everything else together. My BFF got stuck at work and wasn’t there to help me as I had planned. I got mom, Roo and Kathy ready and the limo showed up! I wasn’t even dressed yet…

I’ll write more about the wedding day tomorrow. I will be at work while everyone else has the day off (I’m not complaining…well maybe a little) And I’m sorry to everyone I didn’t get a chance to see on my trip. I hope you all understand.

Goodtimes and Summertime

2009-06-11T15:30:00.001-04:00

It is summer. Summer in VA is hot and sunny (most of the time) Roo goes to pre-school so I can make that money and hubby can sleep (he works nights). Last week Hubby went to go get Roo at pre-school and the kids where playing outside. Roo was red, red enough that when I got home 30+ minutes later her face was still red…she had a sunburn. Hubby is religious about the sunscreen thing and years ago when I use to go to the tanning bed and fry myself in the sun all summer long we use to get into arguments about it. He is Columbian and wears 55+ SPF sunscreen! I’m Irish and wear 15 SPF. Roo was lucky enough to get her Albeulo’s genes cause she tans better than both of us. Hubby was pissed when her face got a little burn. The pre-school ladies don’t like dealing with him (cause he tends to over react when it comes to his baby girl) So he goes and talks to the director of the school about sunscreen and how it’s dangerous for these kids to be outside without sunscreen on. Seems like common sense right? Nope. The director tells hubby that Roo’s doctor must fill out this special form for her to have sunscreen applied at school. She told him that we needed to apply sunscreen to her before school…OK but between breakfast, play time, lunch, nap that sunscreen is going to wear off.

Long story short (well not really) hubby went to Roo’s doc and he wrote a letter to the school stating the Roo needs to have sunscreen applied 30 minutes prior to resess. Come to find out this is common here. All the schools require a doctors note for sunscreen. Is it that way everywhere?
I brought the letter in this morning with Roo’s sunscreen and guess what? They can’t use our sunscreen it has to be their’s….huh?

Me: So let me get this straight; you have sunscreen here for them to use but you won’t put it on them?

Assistant Director: Yes, that’s right. Not without a doctors note

Me (shaking my head): Well that’s logical

AD: And we also need a new note from Roo’s specialist about her asthma and inhaler use.

Me: Why?

AD: Well, her last note is over a year old so we can’t give Roo her required medicine unless a new letter is provided. We require a yearly renewal from the doctor.

Me (getting pissed now): You know that she has to go to Portsmouth to see her specialist for that? We get appointments every 3 months or so. It’s not like I can just call up and they’ll see her that day; plus it’s a 30+ minute drive and I have to take ½ day off from work to bring her.

AD: …

Me: So if Roo requires her inhaler before I can get you the new letter you will not give it to her?

AD: If she was struggling to breathe we would call you

Me: I’d appreciate that

Needless to say; when we get back from our trip to Alaska I will be touring the Christian school I’ve had my eye on. It’s going to cost us more but they’ll start her in Pre-K in September.

On another note, went to Paramore and No Doubt last night. It was awesome! I had so much fun with Megan and the boys (pics to follow) But I’ve been burning the candle at both ends…today is the LONGEST day ever!

Congrat’s to Caitlynn on graduating from Elementary school today!!

Shopping

2009-06-09T15:56:00.004-04:00

The mission for the perfect dress isn't going to well. First my mom changed my color on me so this threw me all off. Second, I kind of fell off my workout routine and was eating like shit...so I haven't been seeing the same results which is unmotivating and then I get stuck in a crazy cycle.
Third, I have NO time to shop.

I am weird about how I shop. I like to start at a certain point in the store and make my way carefully through it; hitting all the clearance rack along the way. This is the way I like to shop because then I know I saw everything and picked up what I wanted to try on. This also means I usually have a crap load of stuff to try on and I either find everything I love and can't buy it all or I end up hating it all.

So the bottom line is; due to the fact that I have a very specific way of going through a store, I have a hard time taking Roo shopping with me because I usually take a while. There are only a few people that can handle shopping with me (I go grocery shopping the same way).

I have been dress shopping for my maid of honor dress twice but with no luck. I have a dress I could ware but I really want something that I love! I leave for Alaska next Wednesday, I have 8 days (not even) to get my hair cut, highlighted and styled, find a dress, get John's shirt and tie, clean my house, go spray tanning, pack...and on top of this I have to work and go to the gym.

Oh yeah; and I'm going to No Doubt & Paramore! Whoo hoo

I'll post all about the New Kids on the Block concert (I went Friday night with VIP passes) when I get the pics up...

Daughters make moms crazy

2009-06-04T11:00:00.001-04:00

On the way to work this morning I heard a news story on the radio about a mother who kidnapped her 21 year old daughters boyfriend because she didn’t want them seeing eachother.
You can find the story here

They had callers and texts coming in about what parents have done to protect their daughter from guys they didn’t think they should date. I was laughing my butt off listening to some of the calls. Mother’s will do crazy things to keep their daughter safe. One mom would sit on the porch and clean her gun when her daughter’s dates would arriver (that’ll be me!).

My mom never did anything to crazy to my boyfriends. The worst was when she would come outside to the car in her nightgown if a boy didn’t come in to see her when picking me up.
But my sister had a boy that she was dating. He was much older than her and my sister ran away with him. My mom lost her mind and tracked them down and beat the guy up. Needless to say all of the boys at school heard about this and where petrified of my mom!

I have a few more years before I have to worry about Roo and boys. Good thing; cause I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. At least I had an older sister to pave the way for me…

Memorial Day Weekend recap

2009-05-29T14:44:00.005-04:00

I started this blog last week and never got around to finishing it or posting...so here it is. Better late than never!

We had hubby sister and her hubby come visit for Memorial Day weekend. I took the advantage of the holiday weekend and took Friday off; giving me a four day weekend! Friday we headed up to Colonial Williamsburg and my family was able to get in free because of Memorial Day and they where offering free weekend passes to all Active Duty, Retired or Veterans. We spent the day walking around and taking a tour of the Governor’s Mansion.

It was a nice day but Roo really wasn't into it; she's still a little to young to be interested on tours through houses where she can't touch anything.

After leaving Colonial Williamsburg we headed to The Williamsburg Winery for a wine tasting. This was my 1st wine tasting and although I enjoyed all but one wine Roo was acting up a bit and had to go potty twice. I did purchase a bottle of the Governor’s White Wine and hubby got a red. Now that we all had a bit of wine in us we stopped at another place; Vintners Cellar of Yorktown. This little restaurant/winery was awesome and the staff was great. I bought a couple more bottles of wine here and headed home.

We had a last minute BBQ at my house but I was kind of crabby by then because Roo was over tired and so was I. It had been a long day and I knew I had to get up and drive to Washington DC the next day.

Saturday we all got up later than I originally wanted but we made it to D.C with very little traffic and where even able to check into our hotel a little early. We headed out to the Zoo and it was so hot that not one animal was outside. It kind of sucked. We walked around that Zoo for hours and saw maybe 3 things! After the Zoo we headed down to the White house and to the Washington Memorial.
And about this time my little Roo is begging me to bring her back to the hotel (where the pool was closed for construction). We stopped for dinner on the way back and I was pretty beat. After giving Roo a bath we both headed to bed.

Sunday it was more walking but when we made our way down to the museums there was a motorcycle rally going on. Let me tell you; it was awesome. Rolling Thunder is a non-profit organization united in the cause to bring full accountability for POWs and MIAs of all wars, reminding the government, the media and the public by the watchwords: “We Will Not Forget.”
It was amazing to see all the bikes and the flags ride by but I have to say; This was one of my favorites:

I was surprised to find my sis-in-law didn't know the meaning behind it either. We had another wonderful day walking around the city, we got caught in a thunderstorm but it was hot so it was kind of nice to have the clouds and ran.

We headed back and again didn't hit much traffic on the way home. Monday we took Roo to a carnival in town and then hung out all day. It was a fun weekend but I must be getting old cause I am still sleepy.

A to Z

2009-05-27T11:30:00.001-04:00

It's the ABCs of me, if you want to play along feel free!
A - Age: 26
B - Bed size: huge ass Queen (it’s like 3ft tall. Roo can’t get on it)
C - Chore you hate: all of them! but really putting laundry away and cleaning the microwave
D - Dogs' names: Rocky and Simon
E - Essential start to your day item: Shower
F - Favorite color: Purple
G - Gold or Silver: Gold
H – Height: 5'7.5 ish
I - Instruments you play: none
J - Job title: Information Technology Consultant
K - Kid(s): Roo
L - Living arrangements: Hubby, me, Roo, Rocky and Simon
M - Mom's name: Susan
N – Nicknames: Kris, Krips, Krissy
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: none for me, but been there done that too many times with Roo
P - Pet Peeve: Laziness, liars, fake people, bad parents
Q - Quote from a movie: hmmm, can't think of any right now.
R - Right or left handed: Right.
S - Siblings: sister and brother
T - Time you wake up: On weekdays, 6:00am, on Weekends maybe 7:00am why can't kids sleep in?
U- Underwear: tons
V - Vegetable you dislike: onion
W - Ways you run late: daily
X - X-rays: chest and foot
Y - Yummy food you make: everything
Z - Zoo animals: most

3yr olds are funny

2009-05-18T14:49:00.002-04:00

Last week my mom calls me up and tells me she wants me to wear a black dress to her wedding instead of a purple dress. Her BFF is having a hard time finding a purple dress; blah blah blah. OK that is fine (I'd wear the black dress again). I go online and find a cute black and white dress and I email it to her. She goes to JC Penny on Saturday and calls me. She saw the dress there and LOVES it. She said it's way prettier in person than online.
Mom approves of the dress but tells me that she is concerned about my "huge knockers" (yeah her words) the conversation goes a little like this

mom: well ya know, the only think I'm worried about are those huge knocker. I'm not shewah (sure) they'ah (they are) going to fit
me: actually I don't have boobs anymore. Since I've been working out they're gone. I'm wearing a C-cup again
mom: oh good...wait really?
At this point Roo walks right over to me and pulls my shirt down
Roo: mom, you still have boobs! They're right there!

My mom and I just about died laughing. Roo didn't get it but then wanted to talk to Grandma. She told her all about how she was going to get boobs and that she needed a pink bra...

Blog Farts

2009-05-08T16:54:00.001-04:00

Blog Farts – noun. Def: Crappy ideas that are too short to make a real blog post, but when combined, join forces to make one unified, albeit half assed, post.Definition by Jaci

I feel like it’s been raining for months (honestly it’s been like a week but still) even on the days when it’s beautiful in the morning by afternoon it’s down pouring. It’s getting really old. During a moment of sunlight yesterday hubby tried to mow the lawn, I brought Roo to the gym and it started pouring – I laughed my ass off thinking about hubby trying to get everything put away and getting soaked…even Roo was cracking up.

I’m the worst when it comes to mailing things off or depositing checks. I don’t know why but I can never seem to make it to the post office or bank. Seriously I still have pictures of Roo from her birthday LAST year that I haven’t sent to my mom or sis. I still have a Christmas present for my BFF in Alaska; maybe she’ll get it when I got up there in June. This is why I buy things online for people who don’t live near me, that way it’s shipped right to them. I know; I suck but get off my back. I’m busy!

WTF is twitter; I really don’t get it. Please explain it to me…
But I am getting totally addicted to Facebook

Why am I not loosing anymore weight? I dropped about 15lbs now I just…stuck
I’ve been hitting the gym like a mad woman and all my friends think I’m some crazy drill sergeant, granted I need to pay more attention to what I’m putting in my mouth (and stop drinking). Green girl and I are going to go back on Weight Watchers.

Don't forget Mother's Day is Sunday.

Love you Mom

Mother's day and gift giving

2009-05-05T14:36:00.002-04:00

Just a reminder that Mother’s Day is Sunday. If you haven’t already you better get your ass out there and buy your mom (step-mom, wife, sister, grandmother, aunt) something for Mother’s day. She’s put up with all your shit so for one day stop being a selfish douche bag and do something nice for the mothers in your life

John never knows what to get me for any occasion and most of the time I just buy what I want and say “you bought me (fill in the blank here), thanks. I love it” I want a GPS for my car and a guy I work with has a nice one. So I look it up online, find one for a good deal and send Hubby the link stating this is what I want for Mother’s Day. Easy enough; I know he is spoiled and never has to work and struggle over what I want but the first Christmas we where together he bought me a PSP (some handheld video game) with this accessory pack that had everything ever made for this game thingy. I know it’s the thought that counts but I’d rather get stuff I actually WANT…not what he wants! He just sent me flowers for the first time this past February for my birthday, because I told him “You know; we’ve been together for over 7 years and you’ve never sent me flowers” his defense was that he brings me flowers. It’s not the same thing.

Moving on. John was surprised at my request for the GPS but other than that I haven’t heard anything about it. All I know is I’ve sent both our moms gifts and I better have my damn GPS on Sunday!

I guess I should get online and send my sister something too because I doubt her sperm donor will think of it.

Who has time for sleep?

2009-05-04T15:16:00.003-04:00

Who has time for sleep?

On Friday someone at work stopped me in the hall and asked
“How much weight have you lost? You’re wasting away in front of me”
Although it’s nice to have my hard worn noticed I have about 50 more LBS to loose before we need to start worrying about me ‘wasting away’. I smiled nicely and told her that I’ve lost around 13lbs. Another lady we work with was in the hall and she made a comment about how she doesn’t understand how I have time to workout so much. A lot of people tell me this and the only answer I have is that I make it a priority. Here’s a little break down of a normal day for me:

Get up, take a shower, iron my clothes, and get ready
Get Roo up and dressed, brush her teeth and attempt to fix her hair
Feed the dogs
Get Roo a snack and pack my lunch
Walk the dogs
Drop Roo off @ pre-school
Go to work for 8.5+ hours
Pick Roo up (sometimes Hubby does this)
Go home
Get Roo dinner
Change into gym clothes
Mon/Wed/Fri I try to be at the gym by 6 so I can do cardio of 30mins before my body pump class which is an hour long. Some days Roo comes to the gym and plays in the kids zone, other days she stays home with Hubby. Tue I like to do body combat class for an hour and I am thinking about added a cycle class in. Thurs I do Ab Attack class for 30 mins and Cardio Kickboxing for an hour.
When I get home from the gym I eat dinner, give Roo a bath, play and get her to bed.
Clean my house
Read or watch a little TV then
BED

The weekends are not much different…here’s a recap of this past weekend:

Saturday morning I was up by 6:45am and had everyone showered, ready and out the door by 8:15am. We went to the VA zoo for the Walk for Life 2009. After the event we went to lunch and then I headed to find Roo a flower girl dress for my moms wedding (I found a great one at an awesome price) and curtains for my bedroom. When we got home I filled up Roo’s pool in the front yard and let her play. About 9 kids from our block showed up and it was chaos at my house.

Sunday we where at church by 9:00am and after service we have bible study. After leaving church I went over to an Earth Day 2009 event that was sponsoring eCycling of old computer equipment and dropped off a bunch of broken equipment. Hubby took us out to lunch and I was planning to hit the beach but it started down pouring so that was nixed.

I need a haircut, I need to fold my laundry, I need to mail packages to my mom and sister, I need to find a dress for my moms wedding, I need to book plane ticket to Alaska, I need to go to the dentist and the optometrist. Oh yeah and Roo has a dance class for parents to see what the kids have learned at school next week too; wait…I think it’s next week…

Shit - I need to look that up

Earth Day

2009-04-22T08:23:00.003-04:00

It's hard to believe that it's been so long since I posted. The days are just flying by! Easter was wonderfully stressful and last weekend I went to Roanoke VA for the weekend to see a friend for her birthday.

Today is Earth Day (and Administrative Professionals Day). I work at a fairly large General Contracting construction company and one of my good friends leads out Green projects. These are jobs that meet certain criteria and are awarded different levels of Green certifications. We try to recycle as much as possible in the office and out at the job sites. The city I live in also provides us separate recycle bins for use at our house. Even at Roo's school they are teaching the children about the Earth and how to take care of it.
I'm far from perfect and I don't consider myself a tree huger, I think we should open ANWR for drilling and keep the resources in the U.S (I lived in Alaska for 4+ years & I am still an Alaska resident - so I have the right to weigh in on this one) I also drive and SUV. I'm not saying you should take drastic measures but everyone should be trying to do their part.

How long it takes the items we toss into our landfills to decompose:

Paper ................... 2 to 5 months
Orange peels ............ 6 months
Milk cartons ............ 5 years
Filter-tip cigarettes ... 10 to 12 years
Plastic bags ............ 10 to 20 years
Leather shoes ........... 24 to 40 years
Plastic containers ...... 50 to 80 years
Disposable diapers ...... 75 years
Tin cans ................ 100 years
Aluminum cans ........... 200 to 500 years
Styrofoam ............... Never

Trying New Things

2009-04-10T16:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a day of first for me. I went to the gym right after work; I’ve gone every day this week because I didn’t get to go at all last week due to a sick Roo. See 90% of the time when I go to the gym I have to bring her with me. On Tuesday’s and Friday’s Hubby goes to play cards and most of the other days she wants to come with me. The kid zone at my gym is pretty awesome.

But I’m getting off subject. Yesterday I took a Flow Yoga class:
A COMBINED CLASS THAT INCLUDES YOGA, PILATES AND TAI CHI.

I have never done yoga before and it was a bit harder than I thought it would be. At first I didn’t think I was going to like it because we where just doing all this breathing and shit but then when we got into it and had to hold those moves….yeah it was pretty hard. I work muscles in my core that I didn’t know I had. My legs aren’t sore because I run (or attempt to) and do a body sculpting class but my arms, abs and back are feeling it today. I am a lot more flexible than I thought I was!
After the yoga class we did a 30min abs attack class. I thought I was going to die but we make it through. I tried to talk A into going for a run after but she laughed at me (I’ll get her there).

After the gym we went to a tanning salon. I can’t go in tanning beds and if I’m out in the sun I have to wear 55spf sunscreen but I’m sick of being soooo pale. I wanted to look into spray tanning. Again, I’ve never spray tanned before so I was very nervous. I made A do it too so if it was horrible I’d have someone to be miserable with. She’s a good sport and agreed. I went first because I thought I’d chicken out if I didn’t. It was freeeeezzzzziiiinnnnggggg
But that was the worst of it and Roo was in the waiting room with A yelling “mom are you naked in there?” and “do you have your panties on yet?” and “mom, mom, mom” x100
I noticed a difference right away but the girl said it take about 8 hours to set. So it was A’s turn and Roo got to yell “Miss A, are you done yet?” for the next 10 minutes. (Next time we’re leaving her @ home!) All the girls at the salon thought she was very cute and she hammed it up of course.

So all and all I love the spray tan, it’s not overly dramatic but I see the difference. I also learned a few things for when I go back next time!

I’m skipping the gym tonight and heading to Joe’s Crab Shack to sit on the desk and drink Margarita’s (they even have a playground for Roo). Happy Friday and Happy Easter. I’ll post pics of Roo in her Easter dress next week

Wednesday Weirdness

2009-04-08T14:39:00.003-04:00

WW #50 Questions

by: Aiden Church and Biz Brunette

1.) What condiment goes best with french fries? Ketchup and Mayo

2.) What condiment do you feel best represents your personality? Hot Sauce

3.) If the love of your life was a different religion from you, would you convert for them if they asked you to? If it was a form of Christianity I would consider it

4.) What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? Apples

5.) If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? NO

6.) If you could change your eye color to anything in the world you wanted, what would you change it to? Purple

7.) Are you more often the partner in crime or the good conscience with your friends and family? Partner in crime as long as it's not to illegal

Wedding Update

2009-04-08T08:56:00.002-04:00

My mom got her wedding dress in the mail yesterday and loves it! whew; that's a relief. I was having horrible images of it being some nasty mesh material. She'd open the box and hate it then we'd be right back at the begining. But she loves it and said it's even more beautiful than the picture!

So I make her put me on speaker and try it on while I'm on the phone with her. It fits her great except she can't get it zipped all the way up! SHIT

I told her she better get her ass to the gym 4+ days a week and try that bitch on every week. I emailed the company I ordered the dress from asking if it was possible to exchange it for the next size up; so we'll see what they say. I am just glad that I requested the order by April 15th giving us enough time to figure it out.

I found this dress for me; I'm pretty sure this is the one I'm going to get but I have to to go to Macy's and see if they have it in stock to try it on.

Girls Night Out

2009-04-06T14:49:00.002-04:00

Roo is still having problems with her Asthma and breathing treatments every 3 hours last night makes me a grumpy mommy. AND I feel like asthma, steroids and breathing treatments is all I've talked about lately.

Friday night I talked (coned) a few girls to go out for a bit because I was at the end of my rope and needed to de-stress. One of the girls (AJ) just moved into a new place and has been asking me to come over and check it out. She used to live not far from me and was my gym buddy but she moved to the "other side of the water" and is trying to sucker me into moving out there. With Roo being sick and work I haven't had a chance...sooooo I called and asked her if we could stop by and then we'll go for drinks. I call Hubby; work it all out with him and ta-da we're off.

When AJ asked what time; I told her 8:00pm. Well I meant that's what time I was leaving my house. I probably should have made that clear...
A shows up at my house just after 8:00pm - we head over to pick up L. A has never been to L's house so we have to do the tour and meet the hubby; blah blah blah; you get the point.
I get directions to A's house and we're on our way. I got sooo lost, like 3 times on the way there. It took us over an hour to find her house! But we made it. After another tour we decide to hit up a bar to get a beer and some food.

We get to the bar and there is a band playing (a guy and a girl with guitars and microphones). We sit in the back room and wait....and wait....two waitress walk by. Nothing. A got up and asked a server for some menu's. Not to long after the server comes to take our drink orders. L asked "what do you have on tap" the waitress rattles off the list and L selects a Miller Lite (gross I know but she likes it). I order a Blue Moon, AJ and A order mixed drinks. A asks for lime in hers...I ask her to bring everyone a water with their beers/drinks. She comes back. My beer is right, L gets a Miller Lite in a bottle, AJ has no lime and A's drink is the size of a large shot. No water. Needless to say the service left a lot to be desired. But the food was great. After eating we went back out to the main bar and found a booth.

I started drinking water because I had to drink us the hour back home. So maybe it's that I was sober or that I am getting old but it was so smokey in that bar my eyes where on fire. I am not one of those non-smokers who complain all the time about everyone smoking. I smoked for almost 10 years but this place was smokey! and that band - to loud. I think I could have taken her microphone away and the volume would have been perfect. A is tossing the drinks back and doing some shots, my head is killing from that girl attempting to sing and my eyes are burning. I can't hear what anyone is saying and I'm ready to go home. About 1am I tell the girls I've had enough. Pack it up - We're going home! After dropping everyone else off I went home, got in the shower and washed my hair 3x to get the stink out.

I was the sober one so there are not even any inappropriate pictures from the evening that I can post - Next time I'm not driving; I enjoy my nights out my more when I'm the one sucking drinks down and buying the next round of shots!

Roo update

2009-03-31T12:02:00.000-04:00

Still dealing with a sick Roo here; Saturday night was horrible and I ended up sleeping with her so I could make sure she was still breathing. She was coughing and had to get up twice for breathing treatments. I also started her back on Prednisone which is an oral steroid used to treat sever asthma among other things. We have an asthmas action plan worked out with Roo’s Pediatric Pulmonologist and when she enters the ‘yellow’ zone we administer prednisone at home once a day for 3-5 days. I hate this.

First Roo fights it because it tastes really really bad (yes I have tasted a drop to see). She calls it the yucky medicine and tells me that she isn’t sick and won’t cough anymore! Second; I think that if Roo’s asthma is acting up enough for her to be taking oral steroids then she should be seen by a doctor. I Alaska they would have to administer the prednisone at the doctors office or in the ER and monitor Roo’s progress for four hours before making a decision to send her home or admit her…

Yesterday morning first thing I called her Pulmonologist to have her seen (per their action plan). Yeah; the first available appointment…April 27th! WTF? They tell me to call her Pediatrician and have her seen there. I call them; no appointments available. The tech tells me that she can get her in tomorrow but I insist she has to be seen today. Blah blah blah they put me on hold, I talk to a nurse and she can be seen at 3pm…grrrrr OK

So hubby is taking her to the doc because I’m at my favorite place…I call him and have him write down word for word everything I tell him about since she has been sick, medicine giving, dates, times. He brings her in and the doc hears something in Roos’ left lung. After x-rays Roo is diagnosed with pneumonia. They prescribe her antibiotics and tell hubby to keep up with breathing treatments and steroids for 3 more days. AND get this; she fine to go to preschool and dance class today!

Roo was up at 4am this morning coughing away. I’m tired and I hate doctors right now.

MIA

2009-03-24T13:23:00.003-04:00

I've been Missing In Action lately. Things have been busy (but they always are); mostly I'm just being an overly sensitive bitch. When I get in my moods I really don't want to deal with anyone.

Last week Roo wasn't feeling well but Thursday night it turned ugly. I knew I was in for it when she came home from school and literally didn't move off the couch. She looked exhausted and was coughing constantly. Out came the nebulizer and Albuterol! I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this little machine.

Here's some history for those of you that don't know: Roo got sick when she was about 6 months old. Daycare called and asked that I come and pick her up because she wasn't feeling well. I get her home and make her an appointment for the next day. Roo got worse and worse through that night. I thought she had a cold; I'm a new mom and honestly didn't' really know better. So we get to Pediatrics the next morning and her doc listens to her lungs. It becomes apparent to me rather quickly that something is very wrong. The next thing I know they have all these machines hooked to her to monitor her breathing - and she stops breathing! They have her on oxygen and albuterol (an inhaled steroid). I think I went into shock about now. Once they got her stable and breathing again they admitted us into the hospital. They took x-rays of her lungs and ran tons of test. They couldn't' find anything wrong with her. The had her hooked to a machine that monitored her heart rate and it would keep dropping. All the nurses and docs would run in...it was horrible. On top of all this we had to keep her on breathing treatments every 2 hours just to keep her breathing normally. After 4 days of this we got to go home and Roo was hooked to a machine when she slept that would set an alarm off if she stopped breathing.

We went though this same scenario off and on for another year. They sent us to heart specialist who said nothing was wrong with her heart. They gave her so many EKG's I can't even count them all. They put tubes in her ears, it helped but she'd be fine; but when she got sick we'd be back in the ER and then admitted.

At this point I was at risk of loosing my job. Roo got sick again. I was numb to it and brought her to Pediatrics. I was unable to get in to see her doctor and the doc who saw us wouldn't listen to me when I was trying to tell her about Roo's condition. By the time I finally got someone to listen to me they couldn't get her stable. They called in the EMT's from the Children's Hospital who came in and transported Roo and I do the Children's Hospital via ambulance. Once there; they admitting Roo into Peds ICU. They brought in all the children's specialist and finally diagnosed Roo with sever respiratory distress. The hospital got Roo to see the correct specialist and that was the last time we've been admitted.

Hubby and I gave Roo breathing treatments with a nebulizer 2x a day for almost 2 years.

As she has grown out of it we've moved to an inhaler 2x a day but when she gets sick or has an attack...we get to go back to the nebulizer treatments.

So that's how I spent most of my weekend. Breathing treatments every 4 hours...

I have to say; for everything she's been through Roo is a trooper about it all. She can take her inhaler on her own and once I get the nebulizer set up she can do that by herself to. She still goes to a specialist every 2 or 3 months and probably will for a long time.

Unless people know about her asthma; they'd never guess. She's just like any other almost 4 year old little girl (we just have to take a few more precautions with her). Yesterday she went to the gym with me (my gym has a kids zone that is very cool) we had to park way, way, way back in the parking lot. So she says "mom, lets run" huh? OK. Off we go. We're running along and she slows down.

Roo - "I'm getting tired mom"

Me - "OK, lets walk"

a few steps late

Roo - "I have to catch my breaths cause sometimes it hurts when I try to breath"

Me - "I know, baby, I know" as I fight back tears.

This is one of the saddest things she's ever said to me.

The longest week; ever

2009-03-19T16:54:00.002-04:00

I swear; (huh; I really do...but anyway) this is the longest week EVER. It's dragging by and I just want it to be over. I'm pretty sure that I am just crabby because the weather has totally sucked and it's been raining forever. Yesterday it got nice out and this morning it wasn't bad - but I just looked outside (yeah they stick me in an office with NO windows) and it's dark clouds. Weather report for tomorrow:

Forecast - Friday
6am 42°F Feels like 37°F
8am 41°F Feels like 34°F
10am 43°F Feels like 36°F
12pm 45°F Feels like 38°F
2pm 46°F Feels like 39°F
4pm 45°F Feels like 38°F

Sunrise: 7:09 AM Sunset: 7:18 PM

AND - you guessed it...RAIN. aaahhhhhgggggg
It's the first day of spring tomorrow
I know I shouldn't complain. My mom called me yesterday and it was 12°F in Anchorage AK; but shit, that's why I MOVED.

Ok enough bitching about the weather. I am sore as hell though but pretty proud of myself - I ran last night. I could only go .25 miles before I had to stop and walk for a min but then I started right back up running again. And even when I walked I kept it at a fast pace with the treadmill at an incline. I did 25 mins and could have gone longer but I went to body pump class. 100 + squats later...

K

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T16:29:00.002-04:00

Your Leprechaun Name Is: Lucky Potfiller

Top of the mornin' to ya, Patty!

What's Your Leprechaun Name?

Lucky Potfiller - this cracked me up. Yeah, yeah I know; it doesn't take much! But seriously if you knew me in high school (before my military days) this would be totally hilarious!

Mom's getting married

2009-03-17T10:39:00.004-04:00

My mom and her BF Mike are getting married this summer in Alaska. This means me, hubby and Roo will be flying up to AK in June. Although I am excited about the trip, seeing my mom and my Alaska friends; it's kinda stressing me out. AND planning a Alaska wedding from VA sucks ass.
I already knew it would, I mean John and I got married in Maine and I planned that wedding from VA. It's harder now because Alaska doesn't have all the same stores as the rest of the United States! They just got a Target!
My mom found a dress she loved online. She hummmed and haaaed over it for a while (showed it to Mike - who wasn't suppose to see the dress) but we bought it yesterday. I love it! She's going to look so amazing. We also have the guest list pretty much done (yeah there's only 10 people so that wasn't very hard).

Next on the list:
Limo
Hotel Room
Flowers
Cake

Oh yeah and I still need to buy my plane tickets and get MY dress! LOL

I have also been asked to be the Maid of Honor at Crystal's wedding. She's lucky I love her and excepted cause I don't like being in weddings, I'd rather just attended and get inappropriately drunk at the receptions...
But once her and Chris set a date I'll be planning that one too!

I should change careers and be a party/wedding planner...yeah RIGHT!

OH BTW; here's the dress:

Me...one way...NO?

2009-03-16T12:27:00.000-04:00

You Are ONE WAY

When you're confronted with a problem, you know exactly how you want to handle it.

You are decisive and act quickly. Once you get the ball rolling, you don't change course.

You can be a bit stubborn at times, but you have reason to be. You're often right.

You are unwavering and brave. You do what needs to be done, even if it isn't popular.

What Street Sign Are You?

See this proves it...I'm stubborn but at least I am right! LOL

Myspace blog vs. Blogger

2009-03-14T21:17:00.002-04:00

I have been blogging here and there on Myspace since January 2006, I moved to Blogger for a short while in 2007 when one of the jobs I was working had Myspace blocked.

Now I'm back! Not because anything is block, because; I've been following (and commenting on some) blogs here, then I am doing the summer weight loss challenge thing; which I hope you're not getting tired of hearing about...but I want to Norfolk for Tubro Jam class today. Hard workout. The Ab part killed me after my Ab Sculpting on Thursday.

Anyway, I like it and hope that some people will move this way from my Myspace blog.

Some of my Myspace followers are complaining. Guess they miss me over there.
I'm trying to drag them overt his way but looking that I only have one comment and it wasn't' ever from a Myspace friend. (thanks Matter of Fact Mommy)

Well guys come on over...I'm not coming back

By the way; the TV show Kath and Kim totally sucks. Why the fuck do I watch this shit?

K

Roo Interview

2009-03-13T19:41:00.003-04:00

Matter of Fact Mommy did this with her son. I stole it and did an interview with Roo tonight.
These are her answers, I haven't edited them at all.

1. What is something mom always says to you? – Listen (she’s got me there)
2. What makes mom happy? - Listening (do we see a trend here?)
3. What makes mom sad? - Not listening (Okay this is getting bad)
4. How does your mom make you laugh? - Silly words (I was getting worried it would have something to do with listening)
5. What did your mom like to do when she was a child? - Play
6. How old is your mom? - 26 (she's right)
7. How tall is your mom? - this big (with her arms soooo far apart)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? - work...you know, with your computer (ummm; not really little one)
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? - Look for me (yeah the world revolves around her)
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? - My little girl (I'll be famous for her. LOL)
11. What is your mom really good at? - Working
12. What is your mom not very good at? - Doing the game (not sure where she was going with this one)
13. What does your mom do for her job? - Work, work our computer (I'm an IT girl, she knows I work on computers)
14. What is your mom's favorite food? - turkey, like a real turkey, gobble - gobble
15. What makes you proud of your mom? - Oh, listen (we're back to this)
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? - No, no, no, no more. I have to go to the ball (she runs into her playroom)

We continue when she runs back in with her Princess dress

17. What do you and your mom do together? - Fix everything (she means fixing the house as in cleaning it)
18. How are you and your mom the same? - Love
19. How are you and your mom different? - Clean the house (yeah she likes to make a mess and I get to clean it)
20. How do you know your mom loves you? - Kisses
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? - When he brings me to school (I do like him when he helps me)
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? - Work (man, do I work to much?)

I am beginning the think I tell her to listen to much, and I obviously work way to much!

K

These people are CRAZY

2009-03-12T15:43:00.002-04:00

When we moved to Virginia I wasn't working, so I was hitting the gym 5+ days a week trying to lose the 50+ lbs I gained living in Alaska (and having a baby).
I started working again in Jun 2008. From Jun 2008 - Feb 2009 I gained 16lbs back from what I had lost! All these people do is eat. It's crazy. So in Feb I decided to really start hitting the gym again and watching what I eat. I've lost 10lbs of the 16lbs I had gained but I have a lot more to go. AND I can't really post anymore of my weight loss because of the summer challenge I'm doing. http://psgsummerchallenge.blogspot.com/

Today we had a conference in our Learning Center and lunch was provided. One of the girls I work with came over to tell me that there was some food left in the kitchen. The catering company makes this killer pasta salad so I went over to get a small bowl of it. The kitchen was packed! Everyone was trying to get in there to get what was left over of the brownies, pasta salad and sandwiches. So OK that's fine, it's late afternoon, everyone is hungry...but there is one lady how is filling up bowls and plates FULL of food and wrapping it up on tinfoil. WTF; their are people who want to eat it here and she is packing it up to take home??? So I go to get a bowl of the pasta salad; there's not much left (which I am thinking is a good thing so I don't pig out) and she snatches up the bowl and empties it. I swear; I wanted to punch her in the face. It didn't help that this lady is a total bitch at work. She's the type that you can walk by and say hello and she'll give you a dirty look like she doesn't know who you are. She's worked here for like 100 years and dresses like my grandmother would in 1960. (that was mean, but now I'm hungry and pissed)!

I work with a bunch of crazy people, I'm sure you'll hear more about them soon enough.

So no afternoon snack for me, I guess she did me a favor cause I didn't need to eat it anyway...but still! I guess I'll just grab an apple on the way to the gym tonight. Body Pump tonight - it's hard.

K

Body Pump Class

2009-03-06T14:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a crazy busy day (just like every other day). I worked all day and had to run home on my lunch break to let me dogs out because after work I had to go get Roo and head straight to the gym. I took a Body Pump class for the first time. I posted a description from the class below from the gym's website:

BODYPUMP
A group barbell class that challenges every major muscle in your body. Ten stationary routines using weights and music, strengthen and tone in record time. Speeds metabolism for fat burning.

My friend from work was going to go with me but she bailed because she had some other stuff to take care of. So here I am in this class that I have never been to...lost. I have no idea what I am doing and this class is packed. I find a spot in the way back of the room, grab the same equipment as the girls around me and wait. The instructor ask if there is anyone new to the class, of course my hand is the only one that goes up. She hands me some papers and off we go!
At first I was thinking, this is great; I like weights. Then the squats began. We did 110 of them...with weights. And lunges - more than 50; I lost count when my knees started giving out.
Thank god for the lady beside me, she would tell me when to use the lighter weights and how to hold the bar! This class was a full body workout for sure. My legs and bum as sooo sore; I have been wattling around all day. My arms aren't that bad surprisingly.

After the gym I still had to get Roo home, fed and in the bath. But I got it all done and even though I am sore I feel great for pushing myself and trying something new. I was going to go to Cycle class tonight but I think I need a break and I can always to my elliptical at home if my legs are feeling better later.

Tomorrow I am going to try Turbo Jam...wish me luck.

K

The Summer Challenge

2009-03-05T11:47:00.003-05:00

Most of you that know me, know that I have been working very had other the last month to get back in shape and to Pre-Roo weight. I lost almost 10 lbs in February and want to keep it up.
I have joined in on The Summer Challenge. I found this blog and decided what the heck!

I am inviting all of you to join me on my summer challenge, to lose 30 lbs by June 1, 2009. If you don't want to join the Challenge that's alright to, but please come here to follow my progress and cheer me on! Those of you that would like to join (by Sunday) email: plus_sized_confessions@yahoo.com
so she can add you to the roster. A few of us are pitching some prize money in for the girl who loses the most weight.

So I am pretty synced that I already down 10lbs and looking forward to the Challenge ahead. Especially because I totally cheated all weekend (and last night). I went to Cycle class Tuesday and then did some light arm weights after. Yesterday I did nothing...but I had bible study so at least I had a good excuse!

But today is a new day! Going to Bodypump class today and maybe a little cardio after that?

K

I'm back

2009-03-05T09:45:00.002-05:00

It has been forever since I posted here. I've been doing the Myspace blog thing for a while now but have made the choice to move back. Mostly because I am hooked on so many other blogs and I've been trolling the the background for to long.
So here's my coming out! The Myspace blog is private so I know only my friends are reading. This is different for me, so please be gentle.

New pictures

2007-04-24T19:41:00.000-04:00

I have updated my Picasa site with new pics of Danah and of Judy and Concetta Marie

Too much going on lately so I'm sorry if I haven't been in touch.
Thursday my mom turned 45! Me, mom, Mike and Aurora went to Darwin's to celebrate - hey Jude and Lee-Lee membah getting kick out of there?
Friday night Aurora and I decided to hit the bar pretty late. Everyone was up there and it was a good time. Saturday John went to plays cards all day; Danah and I went for a nice long walk and headed over to Mel's bridal shower. I wasn't able to stay long because John and I went out with my mom and Mike for her B-day dinner at Blues Central. The band was great and I can't wait to go back.
Sunday it was over to Keli's to hang out and let the kids play. They had a blast!

I'm back at GCI for the week and there is sooo much work to do here I haven't had a chance to breath. But it's nice to be busy; makes the time go by.

The next few weeks will be crazy...I have Mel's Bachelorette party on Friday night.
Saturday night mom and Mike are taking Danah and I'm not sure what John and I are up to. Maybe we'll hit up Blue Central again!

Next weekend is Ian and Maddy's B-day and Mel and Fred's wedding, then Lisa and Ed's wedding, Aurora's B-day, Gabby and Sydney's B-day, Danah's B-day...I'm booked through July!

http://picasaweb.google.com/kmelo566

2007-04-17T18:17:00.000-04:00

Do you ever have a day that leaves you wondering about how your life turned out and why?
I find myself thinking about his more and more. Over the past few weeks I have been questioning where I am in life and where I want to be....more importantly, How do I get there?
I wish that I had a crystal ball that could answer my questions and guide me on whatever path I am suppose to be following. Because honestly I am not sure, sometimes it's like everything I do is wrong. I am unable to be happy and keeps the people that I love happy at the same time.
I am 24 years old and I feel more like I am 34 (not that 34 is old!) But I joined the Air Force when I was 17, got married when I was 19, moved to Alaska at 21 and had Danah at 22. Between John, Danah, my 2 dogs, the house, cars, work...it's all so overwhelming.
Ultimately I would love to go back to school full time and finish my degree but where do I find the time or money to do that? John is suppose to get orders out of Alaska in March 2008 and I have mixed emotions about that too. I miss my family and want to be closer to them but I have a good job here and some very close friends that I can't see my life being the same without.
Anyway, enough rambling from me. I have to go get Danah, go home, cook dinner and clean up the house!

Easter

2007-04-09T13:05:00.000-04:00

I hope the everyone had a great holiday. Me, John and Danah got up early yesterday and went to church. She was very good; and I am proud of her.
We went to my mom's for dinner (it was great not having to cook!) Mike and mom spoiled Danah all day and half way through the Red Sox game we had to come home because she was being a brat. I finished watching the game at home and after Danah went to bed Aurora and I went out of a few beers.
Happy Easter

New Stuff

2007-04-06T19:51:00.000-04:00

I updated some of the pics; you can find them at
http://picasaweb.google.com/home

Not much has been going on with me. I have been trying to catch the Red Sox's games but it's hard up here. They play mostly Seattle games because that is the closes team to us. I recorded the season opener with Kanas City and that was a crappy game.
Wednesday night me, mom and Aurora went down to the Peanut Farm and caught the last of that game (which we won!) They lost today against Texas so we are 2 - 2 now.

Danah has a bit of a cold right now too but other than that she is doing great. She says new words everyday and LOVES Elmo and Blue's Clues. To be honest with you I'm a bit tired of watching both shows...but at least they are educational! I can't wait for all this snow to be gone so we can start doing more things outside.

Works the same. Not much to say there...

Hope everyone has a great Easter

Red Sox loss 1st game of season

2007-04-03T17:01:00.000-04:00

Well I am sure that most of you have heard that the Red Sox lost their first game of the season to the Royals. The final score was 7 - 1; I recorded the game and watched a bit of it before falling asleep last night.

Boston's pitching coach pulled Curt Schilling out of the game after just four innings...but with good reason. I am not sure what happen to my beloved pitcher yesterday but it was a sad day for Schilling fans. Curt even says himself on his blog "Not sure where to even start. Two words sum it up best, no command" (http://38pitches.com/)

What makes this loss so much worse is that the Yankee's beat the Devil Rays 9 - 5 yesterday!

I am hoping that we pull out of this by tomorrow when we play the Royals again.

161 games to go!

Either way I am glad that Baseball season is finally here. It seems so long since the Super Bowl and I found myself watching Basketball Saturday night!

Go Red Sox!

Baseball season STARTS!

2007-04-02T16:44:00.000-04:00

Today is the official start of the 2007 Baseball season.

The Boston Red Sox are playing the Kanas City Royals and from what I am reading online the score is 1 to 1.

David Ortiz launched a double to the left-center field gap driving in Kevin Youkilis with the first Red Sox run of the season.

Curt Schilling allowed three straight singles to Mark Grudzielanek, Mark Teahen and Mike Sweeney to load the bases. After striking out rookie phenom Alex Gordon on what looked like a splitter, he went 3-2 to first baseman Ryan Shealy before what looked like a slider or a two-seam fastball for ball four. Pitching coach John Farrell even made his first in-game appearance to the mound. Schilling was able to retire Ross Gload with a pop to center.

It's 1-1, but it could have been worse.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

I hate it that I can't watch the game live; I am checking online to find out any information that I can...and I have it recording at home so I can watch it tonight.

GO SOX!

Frustrating

2007-03-30T23:10:00.000-04:00

Anyone that knows John and I; knows that he tells me everything

I know all the TDY secrets, I know who's doing who, I know who is getting into trouble and why...TMI!

The problem with this - I hear all these things everyday and never tell anyone else about them. It's very frustrating! I use to tell people; I thought that the wives had a right to know what their husbands where doing while they were away...but I learned the hard way that they don't want to know. I was make the bad guy by saying something. I was told that I started rumors and spread lies about people. SO I let it go. I keep my mouth shut now and when I see these people out and about I just shake my head and turn the other way.

But just remember my mom use to always tell me when I was younger:

"People in glasses houses shouldn't throw stones"

Just a little venting!

Till next time...

It's a Girl!

2007-03-29T12:28:00.000-04:00

My sister found out yesterday that she is having a baby girl! We were all hoping to get a boy this time; but as long as the baby is healthy we'll all be happy. As of right now her name will be Concetta Marie Nappi. Albert's aunt is named Concetta and Judy wanted to name the baby after her because she has been such a big part of Albert's life.

I am so excited...I can't wait for her to get here so I can spoil her!

Danah will have her first cousin and I'm sure she'll be just a cute as Danah is. I keep teasing Judy saying that it's too bad that her baby won't be able to be as beautiful as Danah; but I know that she will be a gorgeous baby - you just have to look at her mom to see that.

Till next time

I love you Concetta Marie Nappi

Don't take life to seriously!

2007-03-27T14:36:00.000-04:00

A good friend of mine forwarded me this email...I thought it was pretty cute. Enjoy

Don't take life to seriously!

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like...night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
5. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
7. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
14. OK, . . . . so what's the speed of dark?
15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
17. Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
18. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
19. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
20. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
21. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
22. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
23. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.
24. Just remember - if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.
25. Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
26. Life isn't like a box of chocolates.... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your rear tomorrow.

The Man in the Glass

2007-03-26T17:49:00.000-04:00

THE MAN IN THE GLASS

(Author Unknown)

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to a mirror and look at yourself
And see what THAT man has to say.
For it isn't your father or mother or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass,
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
Some people might think you're a straight-shootin' chum
And call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,
For he's with you clear to the end,
And you've passed your most dangerous test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you've cheated the man in the glass.

I had seen this poem a while ago and happen to come across it today. I think that everyone can learn something by it. Till next time...Enjoy

1st Day of Spring

2007-03-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

On the radio this morning they kept insisting that today is the first day of spring. As I look up to the thermometer in my car it registers that it is -4°... so much for Spring.

The first day of spring is around March 20 or 21, depending on what day the vernal equinox occurs. This is when the sun sits directly above the equator on its apparent trip northward. Of course this sun isn't moving; Earth is. As Earth revolves around the sun, the top half, called the Northern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more toward the sun as winter turns to spring. Meanwhile the bottom half, the Southern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more away from the sun. The beginning of spring for us is the beginning of autumn for people in Australia and the southern parts of Africa and South America.

Unequal equinox
The word “equinox” comes from Latin and means “equal nights.” Around March 20, sunrise and sunset are about twelve hours apart everywhere on Earth. Because of that, a lot of people think that day and night are of equal length on March 20. But actually the day is a little longer than the night on this date. There are a few reasons for that. Sunrise occurs when the top of the sun (not the center) is on the horizon. But the sun actually appears to be above the horizon when it is in fact still below it. That’s because Earth’s atmosphere refracts or “bends” light coming from the sun, so we see the sun a couple of minutes before it actually rises over the horizon. If you add the daylight that persists after sunset, you’ll find the day on the equinox is several minutes longer than the night.
http://www.wxdude.com/spring.html

Thinking back to when I lived in Virginia it would be about 70° out right now. We would all be getting ready to hit the beach! I love Alaska but I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't ready to leave. I am tired of snow, tired of frozen pipes and 7 months of winter driving, tired of NO BEACHES and not being able to play outside with my daughter for fear of front bite.
Yeah, I think that I am ready for spring!

Currently in Anchorage: 4°
Daylight : 7:59 a.m. - 8:15 p.m

St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-19T18:17:00.000-04:00

I hope that everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day! This is one of my favorite holidays; next to my birthday it is my favorite night to go out...right up there with Halloween.
I started my night off at the Peanut Farm with John, mom, Mike, Cathy, Lisa and Ed. We drank an excessive amount of green beer and watched the boxing match. John and I left there at about 10:00pm and headed back to my house.
Aurora, Keli and Amanda where waiting there for me and us girls headed to the Homestead where we drank and danced the night away. Good Times!

I have uploaded the pictures to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kmelo566

There are also some updated pictures of Danah too.

Enjoy!

Gym Etiquette

2007-03-16T12:18:00.000-04:00

When you go to the gym you should have to sign some sort of contacts stating that you will follow all gym etiquette. I was at the gym last night and there was a girl walking on the treadmill talking on her cell phone. Not just for a minute be for 30 minutes. Everyone could hear her conversation. I go to the Ft Richardson gym so I understand that if your husband or wife is deployed that you want to have your phone on you in case they call. BUT if you do HAVE to have your phone on you and you receive a call; PLEASE have respect for everyone else trying to workout and take the phone call out in the hall way! K...I think I'm done with that one (for now).
My next complaint about girls at the gym is - this is not a beauty contest. If you are going to come to the gym get serious and WORKOUT. Again I was at the gym and this girl was there looking like she was ready to hit the clubs. She had on more makeup than I have when I go out!
Her hair was down (??) and she had all her jewelry on. OK so if all this is not bad enough she made she that she carried her Coach bag around with her too. I don't think I saw her do a single thing the whole time. It was like she just walked around making sure that everyone was checking her out! I find this quiet amusing but a little annoying at the same time. I mean nothing like making the rest of us feel a little self conscious!
I guess from now on I need to take a shower and get ready BEFORE I go to the gym; I better go buy some new clothes too...I don't' think my ratty gym tee shirts are going to cut it anymore!

Till next time...

Take care of our Troops

2007-03-15T13:43:00.000-04:00

As a veteran this story hits close to home for me. We have thousands of military members deployed from Alaska alone and it brings tears to my eyes that they are fighting for our country and when they are injured this is how they are treated?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/03/05/congress.reed/index.html

Please support our troops:
http://ltgov.state.ak.us/military/troopsupport.php