The last day of July

Hard to believe August is on the doorstep.
We had a busy weekend of not doing much bet doing a lot all at the same time. I did some pretty major cleaning in my kitchen and living room. Ron was home to keep the wee one busy while I busted a power move on the floors. They were getting really bad. This summer it has seemed impossible to keep up with the up keep. Ron is trying to get some organizing done in the computer room today and then I should be able to finish the house work tonight. It's gonna feel good to have a sparkly clean abode. I always feel more peaceful in a clean house.
Ella and I took a trip to the paint store and I think I have found my color for the guest room. I need to paint all the trim still, and may wait to take my paint samples to the fabric store before my final color decision. I want to see if there is some really great curtain fabric first. I may find something so awesome that I chose a wall color to match the fabric. It's kind of fun to do a room however I want. I wish I had an IKEA so that I could find a groovy comforter cover and matching curtains. I'll just have to make do with what Oshkosh has to offer. Unless we plan a trip to Minne sometime soon..... Hmmmmmm. That's something to think about. We are supposed to head that way sometime in the next month or so. And it will probably take me that long to sand and paint the baseboards and install the quarter round trim. Oh, and I have to paint the doors upstairs, too.
Bah, I keep going around in circles in my head. I am getting dizzy.
It's really hot outside. My cats are shedding too much.

Report to the General

Uh, General? Are you out there anywhere? I think you abandoned your troops in the field... Oh well, I'll continue reporting because it's helpful to me.
Today I weighed exactly the same as Monday. How can this be? Dunno. I was very extra special disciplined for 5 days. BUT the good news is that I am NOT going to get discouraged because I've all ready told myself that I must "stay the course" (I feel like such a republican when I say things like that, yeesh). Just because the scale did not show me results today it does not mean my plan is failing... Tomorrow could show me great results! So onward I go. 15 pounds and 9 weeks to go.

Long Emergency

It's a good thing there is no such thing as Global Warming or a fear of running out of fossil fuels. Otherwise I might be a little concerned about the 90 degree temps way up here in Wisconsin and the rolling blackouts affecting many regions in the U.S. If anyone wants a good read about these issues I recommend The Long Emergency by James Howard Kunstler.
I struggled through another day of discipline and good choices. 4 days till August. I know I will not make my goal for the month, but I am feeling much more in control this week. I've got to keep going, one day at a time, and I'll get there. I need to start using my muscles more and get a little bit of strength somewhere in this floppy noodle body. Chugga-chugga...

A Note to Blogger

I am feeling a little dissapointed with the template options. I want something more me... Perhaps I'll attempt to create my own.

Mid-Week Madness

There is no madness, really, I just could not think of anything else to call this post. As I was looking through some pictures to send to my cousin this morning, I realized that I completely forgot to post these pictures from Clio's birthday party two and a half weeks ago. Ella just had to wear her crown to the party...
This is Ella between her favorite Oshkosh Kids, Madison and Clio.
And this beautiful shot is from our ride on the carousel. I was standing between Ella and Clio and was lucky to capture some super happy beautiful girls.

Okay, on to other things. Yesterday afternoon Clio's mommy called and asked if Ella could play and join them for dinner. I said "Absolutely!" Clio has been on vacation for a week and Ella has been missing her best buddy. So Ron was gone all night at a politics gathering and I had the chance to finally get some work done in the Neptune Suite. I got ALL the trim pulled up that had been glued down with huge oozing glops of silicone and could not be painted AND I used a gallon of primer and completed one coat on the walls. Next up is to finish removing the silicone from the baseboards and floor (it was really gooped in there. They must have used a whole tube for every strip) and do some sanding, caulk around the window, and paint some more. It sounds like more labor than is... It is just really hard to find the time. Ella is scheduled to go to Clio's for about three hours on Friday so I hope Ron doesn't get roped into any meetings and can help. Six hours worth of effort would get a lot done.

OH, I almost forgot to mention that I had another very disciplined day yesterday. That's three in a row. Chugga-chugga-chugga. I feel like the little engine that could trying to scale a mountain. But I'm not delivering a car full of toys. Just a gift for myself.

Tuesday

Okay, yesterday I was very disciplined. Very. I feel good about that.
Unfortunately I did not get much sleep due to troubled dreams, my daughters nightmares and my husbands snoring. I moved Ella in to the guest room with me around 1 and tossed and turned till 5 or so before having a fitful sleep till 7. Big Sigh. Ella continued to have bad dreams. What was going on last night? Ron said he slept terrible, too. Maybe it was the thunderstorms or humidity? Thankfully E is perky today.
I am interviewing a student for a job opening we have Fall semester and I hope it goes well. And that I am alert and focused.

Monday means a fresh start

Yes, it is time for new beginnings. My personal goal deadline is fast approaching and I have a LOT of work to do. LA, do you have any tummy strengthening exercises you like best? Or a whole body workout that does not require weights? I just don't have any small ones and no money to buy them. Only 10 weeks left.

What am I thinking?

Ron says I have the word "sucker" written across my forehead, but it's in special ink and only shows up under a black light. He may be correct.
Jasmyn was here until 11:30pm last night. I know there was a pretty good reason for her mom to be almost 5 hours late in picking her up, but I am not sure how soon I'll be repeating that favor. Ella and I had a fun day, though. We made decopage drums out of old coffee cans, wrote a book and colored the pictures, played with Janetta, went to visit dad at the library, read books and snuggled. This morning we worked a bit more on her book, but I am a little sleepy. Ron's off to his student groups weekend-long meeting. I hope they get done early today.

Report to the General

General Ma'am: +3 and deeply saddened. Also menstrual and cranky. I think it's all related.

This is a picture of Jasmyn. She is three months old and our very special guest for the day. Her mommy had to go to Chicago this morning and wont be back until about 7 or so tonight. So Ella gets to play big sister all day long. I am sure I'll take more pics later today, but Little J is asleep right now.Oh, I have a guest blogger now. Ella is going to help me write the rest of this post. We are babysitting. I really love baby sitting today.

I took this picture of my mommy. I think it is cute.

This is me and Captain Jack. I am making pirate faces. Arrrrrhg. Swap the deck, matey. Hoist the sail. Shimbery Timbers. Land HO!

Okay, guest blogger is gone. She likes to talk pirate and we encourage her. It's really good to learn a second language when you're young.

I hope ya'll have a great weekend!

One Hot Weekend

It was super hot this weekend. That does not happen very often in this part of the world and I must say I prefer cooler temperatures. I think it has a lot to do with: a) over a decade of living in Seattle; b) I aint as young as I used to be; and c) I am fat.
Ella and I were solo this weekend (Ron had a whole weekend of business to attend to in Richland Center) and so found ourselves out back in the "splashy" pool quite a bit. I was taking pictures of my wee lass and then decided to join her for some wet fun. Well, Ella wanted to take my picture, too. I am not quite sure what I am thinking to post it, but here it is. A beached Mommy Whale in the kid pool. I am hoping that by next summer I am not so whale-ish.
Ella and I also made muffins for daddy and got a little party ready to celebrate his return home. All but one muffin was gone by the time he got home. Perhaps this is why I am so fat? Just kidding! Ella ate them all. We played "birthday Party" and she kept making wishes and blowing out the candles.
Although we missed Ron terribly, I must say that E and I had a great time this weekend.

Report to the General

A day late, but worth the wait! General Ma'am: I have made a full recovery from my holiday extravaganza. I may even drop another 1 or 2 this month for a new all time low! Keep your fingers crossed. I really like that new salad dressing I told you about, and it's a good thing because I have a romain and tomato salad EVERY SINGLE DAY for lunch. The dressing helps jazz things up a bit. I have branched out and purchased the Italian version, too. It's not quite at good as the balsamic, but variety is the spice of life, right?

Travel dreams on a limited budget

Now I can officially blab to the world that the Levelwinds are going to have another baby. So World, that's the news. It is awesome!
I want to drive there this weekend, but don't have the money or a husband to make the trip. I may pass on it and just see them when they roll through town in August. From here they are heading to Seattle and I wonder if Ella and I can tag along. I miss Seattle more than mere words can express... But how would I manage those finances? They have a mini van so if they don't take the dog we may just fit. How would I get the time off work? Maybe I could flex the time, as they call it. Who am I kidding... I can't go to Seattle. But I would love to. And it would be a fun trip with Henry and Carl. But Jenny and I go a little wild out there... Oh, wait, she's knocked up so wont be too wild. And we do have kids these days. So it would just be fun.
We have come up with the plan of trying our damnedest to make this house real purty and then just putting it on the market to see what happens. We don't have to move or anything, but we know this house is not our dream home and we want to be on a quieter street and maybe have a garage. And if we don't sell it wouldn't hurt us. We would just have a purtier home to live in!

Plans, plans, plans. I keep trying to get $50k but so far no one has written me that magical check.

Reproduction Dreams

In an effort to keep up with a friend, I am going to try my damnedest to get knocked up. I just hate being lapped on the race track of life.

Report to the General

General Ma'am: I really don't want to report in today. The news is very bad indeed, but I promised myself I would repot every week. I have to keep myself on track. So I am up a significant amount and I am not too pleased. I wonder if I can get back down to my low before the end of July? 10 pounds in three weeks. Wish me luck!

Inspired

I am thinking of taking a class or something. Our friends, Clio's parents, are taking a Waltz class and I am a bit envious. I know I could never ever get Ron to partake in such an activity and I have the grace of a one-legged bullfrog, but I want to take SOME kind of a personal enrichment class. Maybe a cooking class? Or an art class? I wonder if the community college here does that sort of thing. Back in Seattle there was always an evening class of some kind available for like $50 for 12 classes. I am going to look into it. I don't think hanging out on the front porch drinking cold beer is the best summer hobby for me...

Parade

Yesterday we all took part in the Fourth of July parade. Our friend Jenny did an absolutely fabulous job of decorating the trailer. Ella rode in the wagon for the first part of the parade and really enjoyed throwing out candy to the masses. Then she walked along the street waving to all the people. She is a natural at public appearances and I think she has a future as a public personality. In other words... she's destined to become famous. some shots of the trailer...
Ella and Carlos get the pillows in the wagon. Had to make sure our little pumpkin was comfortable!

Holiday weekends are not always relaxing...

Eli was scheduled to come visit with his fabulous new wife Leah but he ended up with a case of the hives or something. Bummer. So, Ron decided to throw a party for Senate Candidate Rae Vogler at our house. Lat minute preperations are not my favorite thing. We did manage to put together a nice spread of food and have the house (mostly) clean it time. And I enjoyed the evening.

Ella is ready to party! Rae's son Carlos took this shot. Those two ran around with the camera for an hour or so and took some pretty funny pictures.

The usual suspects... and Rae.

Ella's picture of Tray, who was a big hit at the party!

Amy and Rae talking about houses or something. Rae has a victorian, too, and has been going through the same repair and renovating issues as the Hardy Family.

Baby Jed (Jedidiah) received the Cute Baby of the Night award.

Report to the General A Day Late

General Ma'am: I'm up. I guess I will not meet my goal for this month. I don't really know what happened... I had a good week and everything, but I am up. Hmmmm. It's July, so I'll have this month to analyze and stratagize, and write down all the things that may be sabotaging my efforts. Wish me luck.

Sleepless Nights

I just could not stay asleep! I woke up around 3am and layed there listening to the world for about 2 hours before throwing in the towel and getting up to make some coffee. Damn. It's going to be a long day.

Mousetrap

Ella plays with this game for HOURS! She loves contraptions of all kinds. I am thinking of getting her an erector set or something similar. We had a big day at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association fair. Ella and I spent most of our time in the "Rainbow's End" Kid activity tent while Ron roamed about and saw a speaker. This is a picture of Ella "weaving" a basket out of yard and cardboard. She seemed to have a nice time, but I was pretty ready to get out of there at 2pm. And Ella had spilled a strawberry banana smoothie on my head around 1pm. I am glad we went, though. There were lots of vendors and displays of windmills, earth builders, bale houses, solar panels. and I think Ron and I could totally manage to live off of the grid. If only we had that magical gift of 30K to get out of debt... Please, money fairies, help us out! I promise will never go into debt again! Ever!
Hmmmm.
I don't feel like cooking dinner tonight.
I am bummed out that my boss' last day is Thursday.
I got to go play with my baby, she usually cheers me up.