The Best Laid Plans, blah, blah, blah

I know you all are running to look at your calendars. What?!? Is it Sunday already? or  Do we really have to read more from her so soon?

 Well, yes. Yes, you do. 

I just had to tell you all about my crazy Tuesday.

Tuesday was my busiest day, this week.  I had it all planned out with just enough time between appointments - busy, but not crazy busy. You know what I mean? 

• Drop off Boy 1 at school
• Come home, shower and get ready for dietitian appointment (woo hoo!)
• Drop Boy 2 at my sister's and go to appointment
• Pick up Boy 2, feed him, and get him to school
• Actually have an hour to, oh, maybe clean up breakfast dishes, or something :/ 
• Pick up Boy 1 early from school for doctor appointment
• Hurry to get Boy 2 from school - fingers crossed we're not too late
• Drop off prescription at pharmacy
• Feed boys snack and Help Boy 1 find his cub scout stuff
• Take Boy 1 to cub scouts
• Fix dinner
• Bring Boy 1 home, picking up filled prescription on the way
• EAT
• Clean up
• Get boys to bed
• Collapse on the couch

That was the plan. Guess what dis-railed this finely-tuned-train? 

Snot.

My boys got sick. Boy 1 was sick over the weekend and Boy 2 just in time to ruin my Tuesday's schedule. Poor kids - I hate colds - the runny noses, sore throat, achy body. I hate them and I hate them more when my kids have them. I feel bad that the boys don't feel good, of course. But colds in kids are just gross. They don't use tissues - they use their sleeves, hands, the couch, or the person sympathetically cuddling with them on the couch. Just gross.

I didn't want to miss my appointment with the dietitian. It took 3 weeks to get this appointment. I didn't want to have to wait another 3. But I also didn't want to get my nephews sick. So Grandma D saves the day. She seems to have an iron immune system. Thank you!

I feel good about the information I got from the dietitian. It wasn't anything I didn't already know, but a really good reminder about how important portion control is. I'll be writing more about my appointment soon.

I took Boy 2 to Boy 1's doctor appointment, which was crazy town, but it worked.

The rest of the day went relatively smoothly. The kids went to sleep. The day is done, right?

Uh.......................nope.

I live in a suburban neighborhood. I don't live in the woods. I don't have any acreage. I am surrounded by houses and yards with fences. I also, apparently, share the space with a skunk. And it doesn't like my dog.

Poor girl is exhausted after her ordeal

Yep. Our old girl, Sophie,  got herself skunked. She got skunked real good. And I'm not fast enough to catch a 12 year old dog (that can't run) trying to escape a mean, neighborhood bully skunk. She came where she knew she'd be safe - In my house. Our home was immediately filled with the scent of burnt rubber. I herded her back to our laundry room and got her in the shower and spent the next 30 minutes washing and rinsing. Breathing through my mouth did not help at all. The odor was so thick I could bite it. And taste it. 

In the mean time, Lobster gets out of bed to see what the ruckus was all about and finds  himself in the middle of a stench like no other. He immediately starts to gag and puke. Give him a flat tire, and he'll fix it. Give him trouble in the neighborhood and he takes care of it. Give him an emergency of the smelly variety, and he tosses his cookies.

At midnight, there are few choices for shopping. But Lobster went to find something to help. He arrived at a check stand in one local grocery store with about $50 worth of varying types of air fresheners. The cashier took one whiff,  a step back, and looked at the items in front of her and asked, "Skunk?"

He gets home (I'm still washing the dog) and starts emptying a container of the powder carpet deodorizer in our family room. In less than a minute, our floor looks like a cocaine factory - or what I imagine one would look like. He has 3 cans of air freshener in his two hands and is spinning around frantically, trying not to breathe, and stopping every few minutes to throw up. And then feels the need to come to the laundry room to make sure I know that he had vomited. Every. Single. Time.

We get Sophie clean enough and put her in the garage with her bed and try to figure out how to proceed. We decide that we need to get the boys out of here, so we share the smelly joy with Grandma and Grandpa D. Again - THANK YOU!

I stay home to air out the house. I set out bowls of white vinegar in every room, opened every window and finally fell asleep on the couch (after vacuuming up the inch of powder on the carpet) between 2:30 and 3am. I really appreciate all the suggestions given to me on facebook.

24 hours, an $80 dog "de-skunking", a $50 carpet cleaning, and lots of laundry later, our house is almost back to normal. And thank you to my friend that brought over dinner tonight. It was delicious!

 We get whiffs of skunk every so often, especially in the laundry room. I think we'll be doing a lot more laundry in the next few days.  Sophie is not allowed to go outside by herself, but she's only too happy to be inside with her family. She is exhausted. It was a long night and day for an old girl. The boys were tired from all the excitement as well. 

As am I - like I said, it was a long night and day for an old girl. Time for bed in my freshly washed sheets. 

A Day in the Life of THE FAT LADY

I've had a weird food week. Food just hasn't sounded very good. Usually, that doesn't matter too much. I eat anyway. It's not a very permanent way to lose weight, and I may just gain it all right back, but I'll take it for now. I have my appointment with the nutritionist this week. I'm excited to talk to her and hopefully, get a plan in place.

Earlier this week, in another blog I read, I saw that there was a "link-up" and the topic was "A Day in the Life of..."  I followed a lot of the links and read about all kinds of ways that the bloggers spend their days. It was kind of fun. People were inviting me to peek at their lives. Hopefully, that doesn't make me sound too creepy. I decided to join the link up. So I wrote down my usual week day. It's not that interesting, but it's my life and except for the jiggly wiggly parts of me, I love it. Most of the time. Anyway, I chickened out. I didn't link up with the others. Maybe I didn't feel cool enough, maybe I wasn't ready for others to judge me. Who knows?  But, now, you get to read it anyway. Try not to fall asleep....

A Day in My Life...

Anywhere between 4:30 and 5:30am - wake up and have to pee (it's ridiculous that I can't sleep through the                                 night anymore. but then, I am getting to be middle aged). I worry that I'm peeing too loud and might wake the boys up. Yes, they sleep that lightly. I really need a master suite addition at the other end of the house. Hear that, Lobster? It's for the boys - all for the boys sleep, I tell ya! I go back to bed and promptly to sleep.

6:00am - Hear Lobster's alarm, pat him on the arm sympathetically and turn over and try to go back to sleep, hoping the boys will sleep a little longer.

6:15-6:45am - Wake up to a boy's face directly over mine, saying "MOM! What can I eat?" Tell Boy 1 to eat a banana and watch a show - and NOT to wake his brother. yeah right. 

Scare you? Yup - I know. Every - and I mean EVERY morning! Sometimes, though, he gives me a snuggle, too. I don't mind that so much. 

7:00 am - Kiss Lobster goodbye and tell him to "Go get em!" Start breakfast for the boys - of course, never quite soon enough.

7:30am - Check facebook, blog stats, other blogs, etc. while the boys eat. Eat my own breakfast.

8:00am - Turn TV off and "remind" the boys to get dressed about 50 times. Get dressed for the gym. Help Boys 1 & 2 with teeth, hair, etc.

8:30am - Herd the boys into the car, drop Boy 1 off at school and head to the Y. Park a block away and walk inside, drop Boy 2 at the Child Watch and, depending on the day, go to water aerobics (love!) or up to the family work out room for treadmill (hate!) and strength training.

10:15am - Pick up Boy 2, watch him bounce up the stairs like it's nothing and make my own climb with wobbly legs and walk back to car. Drive home.

10:30am - Set Boy 2 up with a snack and a TV show and jump (well, not so much jump as, well, you know what I mean) in the shower. Get ready for the day - which may or may not include makeup. I know, I know - I'll feel better with it on, but sometimes I just hate taking the time.

11:30am - Make lunch and eat with Boy 2, urging him along so we won't be late. Get him cleaned up and his backpack ready and out to the car. Telling him, "Let go of the garage door, it's not a ride!" and "Daddy's drill is not a toy." and "We don't spray tire cleaner on the floor!" and finally, (hallelujah!) "Get in your seat and buckle yourself up."

Don't let the cuteness fool you - he's trouble!

12:10pm - Drive to the school and drop Boy 2 off OUTSIDE. Yes, on the 2nd day of Kindergarten, he told me he didn't want me to walk him in. Half of me is sad that he's so grown up and independent. The other half is happy I don't have to get out of the car.

12:25pm - Home again. I have roughly two hours to GET STUFF DONE. Especially stuff I don't want to do with the boys. I crank the music, grocery shop, clean the house, talk to my mom on the phone, pay the bills, pray about what to do with these crazy boys, etc...

2:45pm - Leave (with the current book I'm reading) to get a good spot in line at the school. Read in a quiet car for 15 blissful minutes. Wait for the boys to come out, get them loaded up, hope a teacher doesn't need to talk to me, and drive home.

3:15pm - Fix the boys up with snacks, look through their backpacks, talk about all the amazing (or not) things that happened to them today, do homework, send them outside to play, get ready for any doctor appointment, soccer practice, cub scouts, etc. Luckily, we don't have any of those today. I just need to figure out what to make for dinner.

4:30pm - Start making dinner. Try to get boys to tidy up before Daddy gets home.

5:30pm - Lobster gets home. Time for dinner. Try, try, try to eat just one serving. Bribe boys to eat dinner with dessert - usually ice cream. Sigh, I know. How do you get your kids to eat dinner?

6:15pm - Finish up any homework, pack backpacks.

6:45pm - Start showers for boys and get them ready for bed.

7:00pm - Brush Boy 2's teeth, read books, sing songs (can I just say how much I hate the Wienie Song? I am probably going to have to take it out of the rotation), say prayers.

7:30pm - Boy 2 in bed. Boy 1 watches Top Gear or some other manly show with Dad.

8:00pm - Boy 1 brushes teeth, reads books, sing songs, say prayers - IN BED - then "remind" him to get back into bed for the next 30 minutes.

8:30pm - Clean up kitchen, do laundry, watch TV, write, read books. I stay up entirely too late relishing the quiet house - well, quiet except for Lobster snoring from the couch.

12:00am - Bed. For one who loves to sleep, I sure don't get enough. It's always a battle between solitude or sleep. Solitude usually trumps, but sleep always sneaks in a sucker punch. This last week, I have fallen asleep in the middle of reading, watching a movie, and watching TV. I even fell asleep for a couple of seconds while reading a book to the boys (nothing like an elbow in the side to wake you up). I guess I needed to catch up.

Well, there you go. Aren't you glad you stopped by today? Maybe we'll have to start our own link-up. Whatcha think?

Catching some ZZZ's

This Fat Lady's totally beat.

 She's falling asleep on her feet.

 She cannot resist,

 Her soft bed does insist

 That she hits the sheets, 

NOW! Tout de suite!

 I need a weekend to rest from my weekend. We'll be back to our regular programming soon.

Good night.

It's Amazing What You'll Find When You Look

It's amazing what you find when you upload pictures after a long time. Lobster is usually my personal photographer. He takes the photos and then "processes" them and then I do what I need to do - which  usually consists of loading them onto Facebook. He has his whole set-up that requires a whole big bag to go anywhere. Well, I have a little point-and-shoot camera that I use. I'm not what one would really describe as technologically savvy. I know enough to be able to get my email, send attachments, upload photos, etc.  So when I took some pictures of my flavored water experiment, I was really surprised to find a whole lot of photos that I didn't even know about. Apparently, Lobster used my little camera for a car show and our family reunion and promptly forgot about them. I'm going to share a few of my faves.

First of all, let me tell you about making flavored water. As you know, I've been trying (only partially successfully) to give up THE DIET COKE. I thought by making my water have fancy flavors it might help me drink more water. And, it does - but it does NOT make me want to drink less DIET COKE. Anyway, I first tried a blend of cucumber, lime, and mint. It was good, but the lime in the water made it a bit too bitter, so the next batch I mixed up I left out the lime and I'd just add a wedge in my glass and it was perfect! 

In one gallon of water, I washed and added 

• one cucumber, sliced
• 10-12 mint leaves, torn or chopped to release oils

Let sit in the fridge over night. Strain, serve over ice and add a wedge of lemon or lime. 

I have to say that it is very refreshing and definitely quenches a thirst!

In July, my family reunion was at Fort Stevens State Park on the northern Oregon coast and I had a lot of fun. Boys 1 & 2 did as well. Although it's a bit blurry (you try to get 2 crazy boys to stand still for a second!), I loved it best of all so I'm sharing it.

Oh, those boys crack me up when they're not ticking me off! Here's another goodie...

I love how Boy 1 is checking himself out. He's ripped! Oh, and isn't the cabin in the background fantastic!?! Loved it!
Here they are at the beach.

Boy 1 is worried about his pants getting wet - in fact, I finally suggested that he just take them off and play in his undies. Boy 2 just didn't care. And yes, it was July and only about 65 at the coast. 

I loved this.

And this...

The boys love fishing with their dad. It doesn't matter that they haven't caught anything yet.

And from the car show,

I think Boy 1 was told to "stand still."

Can you just hear the conversation?

"Oh, looky here."

And,

"Wow! I wonder what this wire does!"

And, of course, the obligatory self-portrait

I'm glad to have ended the day this way. I'm having some very tender feelings about my little guys right now. After the day today has been, I needed that!

I didn't feel like I could put any other family members' pictures up without their permission. That's what Facebook is for.  ;)   

Thanks for indulging me. It was fun to share.

All content and pictures on this blog belongs to Song of The Fat Lady and may not be copied or used without permission.

MOTIVATED?

Sometimes it's hard to stay motivated. Sometimes what I want right now seems more important than what I want most. Sometimes, changing years of behavior and habits seems impossible. I feel like this is a never-ending story - me complaining about how I'm struggling and the scale be-bopping all around the same 5 pounds - over and over and over. I'm tired of it and anyone reading this dribble has to be, too.

So, I've been thinking a lot about motivation. Where it comes from and how to keep it. I thought my motivation was good. I had a doctor telling me that if I didn't lose weight, all the PRE-cancerous tissue I had in my uterus was going to eventually be actual cancer. If I didn't lose weight, I would get diabetes. If I didn't lose weight, my life would most likely be cut short. Now that's some good motivation, don't you think? I thought so too. But somehow, in the day-to-day, normal life-livin', run-o-d'mill stuff, it gets lost. Or maybe it's just that I do. 

At the recommendation of a friend, I've started reading a blog called Runs for Cookies. Katie lost 125 pounds in 16 months and has maintained her loss for two years so far. She wrote a post about motivation and how it differs from determination. You can read that post by clicking here. What I got from it was that motivation is all too fleeting - temporary. Determination is the force that's going to get you there. I've got a bit of determination - a little glimmer. I haven't given up. Each day I try again and most days I do pretty well. I keep reading about others who have lost a lot of weight. I keep thinking they will inspire me. They usually do. But sometimes, it gets me down that they can do it, but I can't. Maybe, I need to take a break from reading other people's stories and just concentrate on mine.

I'm waiting for an appointment with a nutritionist at our local hospital's Diabetes and Nutrition Education. My doctor sent a referral last week. I got a message that they received the referral and that I should be getting a call in a week or so for an appointment. I'm frustrated with how much time it all takes, but excited to get started and, hopefully, get a plan made just for me. I'm also excited about the accountability that will come with it. 

I'd better get to bed. Those boys of ours get up mighty early. It's hard on us night-owls - morning, that is. Over and out.

Watch Those Fingers

As I looked at the scale this morning, sucking in my gut (like it made a difference), I was disappointed. And, really, My Fitness Pal is being kind and rounded up. It was really only 0.8 of a pound. I wanted to lose more.  I should have lost more. It is what it is. But, there are people I could blame. 

I can blame Lobster, who wouldn't put our air conditioner in the window and so when it was 

IN THE UPPER 90'S 

for almost a week and I didn't want to cook and make my kitchen feel like the attic of hell any more than it already did. I didn't make my meal plan's food for lunches or dinner for the first 3 days. And I didn't keep track of calories.

I can also blame the Schwan's man. I know he has a name, but at my house, he's just the Schwan's Man. He knows what we like around here. We like their ice cream. Usually, I go for their Triple Lemon Crunch Frozen Yogurt. It's very light and refreshing and only 130 calories and 3 grams of fat per 1/2 cup compared to 160 calories and 8 grams of fat per 1/2 cup of their ice cream. Well, they have a new flavor. It is Coconut Almond Fudge. And It. Is. DELICIOUS. It's a coconut flavored ice cream with little bits of chocolate covered almonds and a fudge ripple running through it - it's kind of like an oh-so-creamy Almond Joy candy bar.  You know what else it is? Gone. Luckily, boys 1 and 2 liked it, too, and I had some help. 

But, blame is a funny thing. What's that cheesy saying? While you're pointing your finger at someone else, remember the 4 fingers pointing back at you, or something to that effect. It's nice to be able to blame anyone else. But, don't worry. I know just how it is. 

I am grateful that my weight went down. I didn't completely screw it up. I had some momentum going. But, it's kind of my pattern to have success and then feel like I have extra breathing room or something - like 3 pounds lost has made me a super model and I didn't need to be as careful. I've got to figure that out. Sabotaging myself is not what I want.

I watched the season finale of "Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss" tonight. It was very inspiring. The man, Jarvez, began his year at 548 pounds and ended it at 267 pounds. He worked so hard. If that 548 pound man could work out the way he did, I can get up off my lazy butt and work harder. I have a doctor appointment next month and I want to show her that I can do it. 

Well, I'm off to bed. I read that not getting enough sleep makes your body feel hungrier than it really is. I need all the help I can get.

No Rain Dance Today

When we check in at our local YMCA (by scanning our ID), we are invited inside by a sultry female voice saying, "Welcome." I was very relieved to hear that voice on Thursday. I was a little worried I'd hear a mean, hard male voice say, "We have a message for you, please see the front desk." So, apparently,  it was Crazy Hat week at the Y. Earlier in the week, one of the aquatics directors came into the pool area with one of those mini-umbrellas that sit on you head like a hat. Similar to this, except kind of a clearish pink vinyl.

I totally laughed out loud and then quickly apologized (although he's helped me by holding the ladder a few times, I really don't know him well) and told him I liked his hat. He said that he was hoping for rain. So I asked him if he was going to do a dance later -I know, I know, it sounds bad - but I really did mean a rain dance. Well, he looked at me a bit funny and then, pointing to my lifeguard friend (Yay! he's back!) said, "No, he does the dances." And then walked out of the pool area.

Our group was in the middle of our deep water exercise. I was doing laps of "cross-country skier" and replaying our conversation in my head. Although I hadn't meant it that way, it would  be easy to take the dance comment wrong. Now, I have not really put myself out there at the Y. I make polite conversation and get the job done. The last thing I want is a lot of attention while I'm in my swim suit - you know what I mean? Anyone that knows me well, knows that I like to joke. I'm pretty sarcastic and my humor can sometimes land on the side of off-color. In fact, one thing that is KILLING me lately is that my boys are using a word that normally makes me giggle. Boys 1 and 2 think that "nipple" is a funny word. And it is. I'm not sure why, but hearing someone say nipple makes me LOL. But, when they say it, I CAN NOT laugh. If I show any emotion about it at all, they will be using it every other word in their sentences. And, now, especially with school starting, I can't have that, can I? I have enough to worry about. Like being banned from the YMCA for sexual harassment.

Now, I knew that I wouldn't really be banned, but there was that little sigh of relief as I heard that sultry welcome on Thursday. And I kept all my comments to myself.

So, I've been following this meal plan for a just about a week now. Following the food part has not been hard. It is a lot of food and it is good - and I feel good eating it. The only thing is, that it is the same thing every day. If it were just me, there would be no problem. But I have a family. And it seems that my family does not want to eat the same thing every night for dinner. Part of me wants to yell at them to "Suck it up! Mom's trying to change things, here!" But, the other part of me understands. I started this whole thing not wanting to cook differently for my family. I don't want to cook two meals. But I can't argue with the fact that the meal plan works. I lost 3 pounds this week. I was never hungry. And I have to admit that knowing what was for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was comforting. And on those hot days it was nice to just warm up my already prepared food. I just have to figure out how to make it work for my family too. Bah! Details, details. But, what's that saying? The devil is in the details.

The part that WAS hard was the giving up Diet Coke. I didn't have headaches, I didn't get the jitters. But I missed it. The feeling of the bubbles going down my throat. The taste of the cola (and yes, even the aftertaste) with certain foods - especially garlic. I went to McDonald's for a $1 drink twice this week.  But that's an improvement from at least that 32 ouncer each day. I even was able to withstand the temptation of the 2-liter bottle in my fridge when Lobster brought it home late in the week - well not including a couple of swigs. So, I'm playing with some flavored waters this week. My first try is going to be lime, cucumber and mint. I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a great week. It's going to be a little hot here. I'm hoping to keep my cool.