I was sorting through my clothes closet last week, actually organizing everything into folded piles instead of a big heap (an endeavor that will last....oh... a week). As I was folding my pajamas, I noticed that 4 (out of 5) nightgowns that I have are the same color. Three of them were gifts. (And the fourth I bought because I had forgotten to pack pj's on vacation and it was on clearance.)
Is light turquoise a popular color for nightgowns or is this just a major coincidence?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
My Look Good/Feel Good Campaign
After about a month of feeling fat and ugly, I finally decided to do something about it.
First I tried shopping for new clothes. I haven't bought any new clothes for quite a while, like since June. But this attempt at boosting my self-image failed miserably.... First it made me feel completely cheap for not wanting to spend $40 on a top. Then it made me feel dreadfully out of fashion, because even if I did spend the money, I'm not sure I'd know how to wear these cute sweaters that are popular this winter. Then it made me feel like a freak of nature, because once I decided to buck up and just spend the money, I couldn't find anything in my size. Well, at least not anything I'd be caught dead in. (And that's saying a lot!) (PS - why do they even make mini-dresses in size 17?)
Next I decided to try exercising. I do like exercising. Once I get to doing it regularly, I feel much more energized. So I found a Leslie Sansone walking video that I really liked - it's a 4 mile walk/jog, a 50 minute work out. I did it for 8 days in a row, and was feeling pretty good about it, so when we were out at my parents' house on Wednesday, I smugly stepped on the scale.
WHAT THE.....?!?!?!
I had gained 7 lbs from when I last weighed myself. ARGH!!!
But - a lovely side effect of exercising is these little things called endorphins. They make you feel good. So even though the scale hasn't shown that I've lost any weight (I'm blaming it on the "muscle weighs more than fat" theory), in my mind, I've lost a bit of flab around my "muffin" and my belly.
My next venture in self image is what I call my Look Good/Feel Good campaign: If I put a little effort into how I dress, even for every day around the house, I feel better about myself. So I went through my closet and took all of my regular t-shirts and put them in the back corner of the closet (you know, the kind you get free for volunteering/buying something/souveniers, and are usually two sizes too big). Same with my old jeans. They are designated for cleaning/painting/gardening only. I put my "good" jeans (and even a couple skirts) and my nicer fitted t-shirts right up front for every day. Because, honestly, I dress up so little that I have clothes I have had for at least 5 years that still look new because I never wear them. (I know I have a sweater that I still wear that I've had at least since the winter I was going to school in KC.... 8 years ago. But that's kind of normal for me - my theory is why get rid of them if they still fit??)
But with this Look Good/Feel Good thing, I'm not the only one that benefits. My husband likes it when I look nice. Not that he says anything when I'm lounging around in my holey pajama pants and stained t-shirts, but he does notice when I have something on that accentuates my figure. So I feel good on two levels: I feel like I look nice, and I feel warm and fuzzy because my hubby told me I look nice.
I'm still going to excercise. I would like to lose about 15 pounds before I get pregnant again. I'm not sure of the likelihood of that, because even though I've given it my darndest with diet and exercise, my weight hasn't budged (more than a 3 or 4 pounds in either direction) in 3 years. And it doesn't move even when I'm not dieting and exercising, so maybe this is my "natural" weight.
But I'm definitely not going so far as to putting on makeup every day. That is beyond trying to look nice, and gets into the "self-inflicted torture" range.
First I tried shopping for new clothes. I haven't bought any new clothes for quite a while, like since June. But this attempt at boosting my self-image failed miserably.... First it made me feel completely cheap for not wanting to spend $40 on a top. Then it made me feel dreadfully out of fashion, because even if I did spend the money, I'm not sure I'd know how to wear these cute sweaters that are popular this winter. Then it made me feel like a freak of nature, because once I decided to buck up and just spend the money, I couldn't find anything in my size. Well, at least not anything I'd be caught dead in. (And that's saying a lot!) (PS - why do they even make mini-dresses in size 17?)
Next I decided to try exercising. I do like exercising. Once I get to doing it regularly, I feel much more energized. So I found a Leslie Sansone walking video that I really liked - it's a 4 mile walk/jog, a 50 minute work out. I did it for 8 days in a row, and was feeling pretty good about it, so when we were out at my parents' house on Wednesday, I smugly stepped on the scale.
WHAT THE.....?!?!?!
I had gained 7 lbs from when I last weighed myself. ARGH!!!
But - a lovely side effect of exercising is these little things called endorphins. They make you feel good. So even though the scale hasn't shown that I've lost any weight (I'm blaming it on the "muscle weighs more than fat" theory), in my mind, I've lost a bit of flab around my "muffin" and my belly.
My next venture in self image is what I call my Look Good/Feel Good campaign: If I put a little effort into how I dress, even for every day around the house, I feel better about myself. So I went through my closet and took all of my regular t-shirts and put them in the back corner of the closet (you know, the kind you get free for volunteering/buying something/souveniers, and are usually two sizes too big). Same with my old jeans. They are designated for cleaning/painting/gardening only. I put my "good" jeans (and even a couple skirts) and my nicer fitted t-shirts right up front for every day. Because, honestly, I dress up so little that I have clothes I have had for at least 5 years that still look new because I never wear them. (I know I have a sweater that I still wear that I've had at least since the winter I was going to school in KC.... 8 years ago. But that's kind of normal for me - my theory is why get rid of them if they still fit??)
But with this Look Good/Feel Good thing, I'm not the only one that benefits. My husband likes it when I look nice. Not that he says anything when I'm lounging around in my holey pajama pants and stained t-shirts, but he does notice when I have something on that accentuates my figure. So I feel good on two levels: I feel like I look nice, and I feel warm and fuzzy because my hubby told me I look nice.
I'm still going to excercise. I would like to lose about 15 pounds before I get pregnant again. I'm not sure of the likelihood of that, because even though I've given it my darndest with diet and exercise, my weight hasn't budged (more than a 3 or 4 pounds in either direction) in 3 years. And it doesn't move even when I'm not dieting and exercising, so maybe this is my "natural" weight.
But I'm definitely not going so far as to putting on makeup every day. That is beyond trying to look nice, and gets into the "self-inflicted torture" range.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Nathan's One-Year Photos
I'm finally getting around to posting Nathan's one-year pics - almost 2 months later! I put all of them up on my other blog.
Some of them the color is messed up... I adjusted them so they looked better on my screen, but then once I uploaded them, the colors looked washed. You can view some of the originals, plus more of Lurenda's work on her page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lurendawalter/sets/.
Some of them the color is messed up... I adjusted them so they looked better on my screen, but then once I uploaded them, the colors looked washed. You can view some of the originals, plus more of Lurenda's work on her page - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lurendawalter/sets/.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
FINALLY
I didn't want to brag about this too soon, lest I curse myself. But I think it's safe to announce now:
Nathan is FINALLY sleeping through the night.
Not "sleeping through the night" as defined by the baby advice columns, which is "sleeping at least 7 hours in a stretch." (Why they call that "through the night" is beyond me.... That's only like 2/3 of the night.)
I don't know what happened - it was like a switch was flipped from one night to the next. He went from waking up crying (and screaming if you tried to let him cry it out) between 2 and 4 every single night (no matter what time we put him to bed), to sleeping through 'til 7:30, and waking up happy and jabbering. And he's been doing it for two weeks.
A couple times, he's woken up and cried a bit, but fell back asleep before I could even get myself out of bed. And two more mornings, he's woken at 5 AM, but one of us took a sippy of milk up to him and covered him back up and he went back to sleep.
I had forgotten how great a full night's sleep felt. The first several mornings, I'd hear him, open my eyes - and it was light! Oh the bliss!
In other Nathan News:
He's got two molars fully in. He's working on more teeth - we can tell from all the chewing and slobbering, but I can't tell if they're his top molars or his bottom canines. They all look like there's something right under the surface.
He hates vegetables. (Any other Mommies have some tips for getting him to eat them?) He will occasionally eat our homegrown sweet corn that we froze (probably just because it's so sweet). Otherwise, I have to sneak them in under some garlic mashed potatoes or in some fried rice. I've tried serving them to him first when he's hungriest, and it's hit or miss (usually miss).
He's got quite a vocabulary! I didn't realize until I was writing our Christmas letter, but he's got about 10 words now... Let's see: hot, light, Daddy, kitty, hi, bye, out, tractor, Herc ("Ush"), dog ("arf"), cow ("MOOOooo"), and down. Not that he says them all all the time, but he definitely knows what they mean. (He also knows what "STOP" means, and will look at you and try it about three times more after you say it to see what you'll do.) This morning, I said, "Let's go change your diaper," and he headed for the bathroom! He knows what "close the door" means, and will do it when you ask him to. And he will go get his shoes when you tell him to, if they're not put away. And - Paul's so proud of this - if his little cowboy boots are out, he will go get them rather than his tennis shoes.
(I realize these may not be big accomplishments for a 14-month-old, but they fascinate me!)
And another thing Paul thinks is hillarious: If Nathan can see my belly or my back under my shirt when we're playing around, he will push my shirt up and blow on my belly (like we all do to babies' cheeks and bellies). Except he hasn't quite figured out the blowing, so he will just put his open mouth there, which kind of tickles (partly because I'm anticipating him biting me). I don't know where he learned that from - Paul does it to me occasionally, but I think Nathan just learned it from us doing it to him. I tried to get him to do it to Paul, but he wouldn't. Maybe it's just Mommy's deliciously squishy belly. (He thinks hitting it and watching it jiggle is fascinating. Lovely.)
Well, enough bragging. The baby video is almost over, so I'd better get back to entertaining.
Nathan is FINALLY sleeping through the night.
Not "sleeping through the night" as defined by the baby advice columns, which is "sleeping at least 7 hours in a stretch." (Why they call that "through the night" is beyond me.... That's only like 2/3 of the night.)
I don't know what happened - it was like a switch was flipped from one night to the next. He went from waking up crying (and screaming if you tried to let him cry it out) between 2 and 4 every single night (no matter what time we put him to bed), to sleeping through 'til 7:30, and waking up happy and jabbering. And he's been doing it for two weeks.
A couple times, he's woken up and cried a bit, but fell back asleep before I could even get myself out of bed. And two more mornings, he's woken at 5 AM, but one of us took a sippy of milk up to him and covered him back up and he went back to sleep.
I had forgotten how great a full night's sleep felt. The first several mornings, I'd hear him, open my eyes - and it was light! Oh the bliss!
In other Nathan News:
He's got two molars fully in. He's working on more teeth - we can tell from all the chewing and slobbering, but I can't tell if they're his top molars or his bottom canines. They all look like there's something right under the surface.
He hates vegetables. (Any other Mommies have some tips for getting him to eat them?) He will occasionally eat our homegrown sweet corn that we froze (probably just because it's so sweet). Otherwise, I have to sneak them in under some garlic mashed potatoes or in some fried rice. I've tried serving them to him first when he's hungriest, and it's hit or miss (usually miss).
He's got quite a vocabulary! I didn't realize until I was writing our Christmas letter, but he's got about 10 words now... Let's see: hot, light, Daddy, kitty, hi, bye, out, tractor, Herc ("Ush"), dog ("arf"), cow ("MOOOooo"), and down. Not that he says them all all the time, but he definitely knows what they mean. (He also knows what "STOP" means, and will look at you and try it about three times more after you say it to see what you'll do.) This morning, I said, "Let's go change your diaper," and he headed for the bathroom! He knows what "close the door" means, and will do it when you ask him to. And he will go get his shoes when you tell him to, if they're not put away. And - Paul's so proud of this - if his little cowboy boots are out, he will go get them rather than his tennis shoes.
(I realize these may not be big accomplishments for a 14-month-old, but they fascinate me!)
And another thing Paul thinks is hillarious: If Nathan can see my belly or my back under my shirt when we're playing around, he will push my shirt up and blow on my belly (like we all do to babies' cheeks and bellies). Except he hasn't quite figured out the blowing, so he will just put his open mouth there, which kind of tickles (partly because I'm anticipating him biting me). I don't know where he learned that from - Paul does it to me occasionally, but I think Nathan just learned it from us doing it to him. I tried to get him to do it to Paul, but he wouldn't. Maybe it's just Mommy's deliciously squishy belly. (He thinks hitting it and watching it jiggle is fascinating. Lovely.)
Well, enough bragging. The baby video is almost over, so I'd better get back to entertaining.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Survey Sez:
So.... What's the most favorite of all pies?
Leave me comments and let me know.And those of you that don't leave comments here, leave me a comment on Facebook. ( I just learned yesterday of two more readers that I didn't know about.)
I'm trying to decide what type of pies to make this holiday season. I may send several to work with Paul at Christmas, but don't know what people like.
As for me.... My favorite would be apple pie. (Made from scratch, none of this canned pie filling.) Warm, with vanilla ice cream on top.
Oh my. Now I'm slobbering.
They Let Me Down. But Should I Really Be Surprised?
Paul and I have been watching the show Chuck on NBC since it started last year (which may have actually been this year, the way they do their seasons).
We have really enjoyed it. The premise is the main character - Chuck - unwittingly becomes the CIA's most valuable asset. An old college friend who works for the CIA, thinking he was going to be killed, sent Chuck the file with all the secrets - "the Intersect." Chuck views the file, and all the secrets become trapped in his head. The real Intersect is destroyed, so only place that these secrets reside are in Chuck's head until the CIA can build a new Intersect.
That sounds really confusing, but it's the base for the story involving this geeky Chuck who is part of the "Nerd Herd" at the local Buy More. Every episode he works with his two CIA protectors (one posing as his co-worker and the other as his girlfriend), trying to be smooth and savvy, but always messing things up, yet somehow always emerging victorious.
Several times before, they've had episodes where there was the opportunity to take things further than I like, with Chuck almost going to bed with his "girlfriend" (who he actually is in love with). But they always took the high road. But I guess they assume that since he's a nerd, it's expected that it's not going to be easy for him to "get some," so it's acceptable for him to not have sex.
But last night, his old college flame was back in the picture. And they slept together at the end of the episode. They glorified it with the orchestra music in the background, like we were supposed to be happy for him. But I was so disappointed. Because until this point, it had been a great show.... Very little, if any language, occasional social or special occasion drinking. He lives with his sister, who is living with her fiance, but they are not main characters - that part of their relationship wasn't glorified. Until last night.
I was just so happy for once that there was what I would consider a family-friendly show, where I wouldn't be ashamed to watch it with my children. Or my parents. Or my in-laws.
But really - what should we expect out of Hollywood. They are the ones pushing agendas. By making it appear to be "normal" for people in their shows to be sleeping around, using drugs, and having abortions, it de-sensitises our youth, and makes them feel as if it is normal, things they should be doing as well.
I hope that this was just a detour from the how they intend for the show to be. I hope they get rid of this new girl, because I really don't like her. (I have a soft spot for Sarah, the "cover" girlfriend.)
Then we can get back to the endearing, innocent Chuck.
We have really enjoyed it. The premise is the main character - Chuck - unwittingly becomes the CIA's most valuable asset. An old college friend who works for the CIA, thinking he was going to be killed, sent Chuck the file with all the secrets - "the Intersect." Chuck views the file, and all the secrets become trapped in his head. The real Intersect is destroyed, so only place that these secrets reside are in Chuck's head until the CIA can build a new Intersect.
That sounds really confusing, but it's the base for the story involving this geeky Chuck who is part of the "Nerd Herd" at the local Buy More. Every episode he works with his two CIA protectors (one posing as his co-worker and the other as his girlfriend), trying to be smooth and savvy, but always messing things up, yet somehow always emerging victorious.
Several times before, they've had episodes where there was the opportunity to take things further than I like, with Chuck almost going to bed with his "girlfriend" (who he actually is in love with). But they always took the high road. But I guess they assume that since he's a nerd, it's expected that it's not going to be easy for him to "get some," so it's acceptable for him to not have sex.
But last night, his old college flame was back in the picture. And they slept together at the end of the episode. They glorified it with the orchestra music in the background, like we were supposed to be happy for him. But I was so disappointed. Because until this point, it had been a great show.... Very little, if any language, occasional social or special occasion drinking. He lives with his sister, who is living with her fiance, but they are not main characters - that part of their relationship wasn't glorified. Until last night.
I was just so happy for once that there was what I would consider a family-friendly show, where I wouldn't be ashamed to watch it with my children. Or my parents. Or my in-laws.
But really - what should we expect out of Hollywood. They are the ones pushing agendas. By making it appear to be "normal" for people in their shows to be sleeping around, using drugs, and having abortions, it de-sensitises our youth, and makes them feel as if it is normal, things they should be doing as well.
I hope that this was just a detour from the how they intend for the show to be. I hope they get rid of this new girl, because I really don't like her. (I have a soft spot for Sarah, the "cover" girlfriend.)
Then we can get back to the endearing, innocent Chuck.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Look What I Found
http://www.nesscityschools.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2008/09/12/48b5afadafea4?in_archive=1
Hee, hee, hee.
Love you, Sissy!
Hee, hee, hee.
Love you, Sissy!
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