Comment Moderation

I've been getting some weird comments from unknown individuals on my posts lately and think I'm getting spammed. So I have enabled Word Verification for folks when they want to comment. Sorry, I know it can be a nuisance but now I understand why everyone uses it.

Today's Weigh-In

I weigh 198.5 this week, a loss of 2 pounds. WooHoo! I finally feel like everything clicked and the Pilates seems to be doing the trick - plus I feel better. That's probably the most important thing.

Good luck to Y'all!

Pierced Ears

For her upcoming birthday, Little Grim wanted her ears pierced. I told her it would pinch when they did it, and she was fine with that. Here is a picture of her beautiful new earring:



Notice I said earring - singular. Here is a picture of her other ear, with a little purple dot where her new earring SHOULD be:



She would not let them do the second one. So now, she has a lovely pierced ear that she is very proud of. I really don't believe she has any intentions of going back for the other one any time soon. It is totally my fault, I should have gone when they had two employees working so they could have done them both at exactly the same time.

UPDATE: After some discussion last night, she decided she really wanted the second earring, so I took her back to the Mall at 8 o'clock last night, and she got the other ear done. She never even flinched.

A new meme

RT and Aprilwine both tagged me with this meme. I'm supposed to write 5 True facts about myself. So, here goes:

1. My favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip (the green kind, not white). I don't know why the color makes a difference - it just does.

2. I always wanted to have some great musical ability, either the ability to sing or play the piano well.

3. I'm 5'11" tall (unfortunately you all know my weight!)

4. I've always wanted to be a wealthy philanthropist, that could help all kinds of people who need it.

5. I've always wanted to be a guest on the David Letterman show.

At this point, I think most of you have been tagged, but if anyone decides to do this meme, let me know so I can stop by and visit.

Whew!

So, the reason I was not concentrating on my weight loss this past week was, I went for my annual mammogram in the beginning of February. My mother is a breast cancer survivor and I started getting the mammograms 15 years ago due to the family history. In the beginning of last week, the office called and said I needed to come back for additional films on one side. The technician at that time said it wasn't urgent and they needed a clearer view, etc. Of course, I took the earliest appointment I could get, which was on Valentine's Day.

Needless to say, it was worrisome - I had never been called back for more films before. At that point, I figured my weight loss was the least of my worries.

Happily, the radiologist called late today and said although there had been an area they were concerned about, the new films were clear and the area just turned out to be shadows of some sort. So now we can relax.

PS - Apparently the birds in the photo are called Boobies. It came up when I did a Google Image search for boobies. I realize, men, that I could have picked something you might have liked more, but I liked this one.

Workout of the Week

I decided to try a Pilates workout today. I have a book that contains Pilates, Yoga, Meditation and stress relief techniques. Occasionally I've picked up the book, thumbed through a few chapters, but then put it down without actually trying it. So today, I decided to actually go through the Pilates section, and do every exercise I could.

If you aren't familiar with Pilates, " ...the aim of Pilates is to work different muscles to tone and condition the body, while developing correct breathing, good posture, and mental concentration and focus. It improves overall balance and coordination while it streamlines the body and also helps to improve flexibility in all the musles and joints."

I have lower back problems due to bone spurs and spinal arthritis, so I have to be careful what types of exercises I do. I can no longer do Tae Bo, or anything that contains jerky movements. So I hoped the fluid movements of Pilates or Yoga would be a good choice. I had taken a Yoga class a few years ago, but had never done Pilates.

Well, I am happily surprised. The exercises in my book are very basic and not a full Pilates routine. Of course, the book cautions that if you have any medical problems you should consult your doctor before beginning. I did all of the upper body warm-ups, as well as some standing and sitting exercises, and a little leg work. The movements are very slow and controlled, and continuous, so the flow is smooth. Everything I did today really felt like exaggerated stretching. There is a certain breathing pattern that is suggested, which took me a bit to get used to but halfway through I got it down.

At the end of the workout, my muscles were nice and warm and I felt very good. I feel like I am standing straighter and I can actually tell I had a workout, even though it didn't feel like a heavy one at the time. I'm going to do this routine for the next few days until I am used to it, and then move onto a Pilates workout I have on tape/DVD. If the workouts turn out to be more advanced than my back can handle, I'll just go back to the book again. This, plus the treadmill, should have me feeling better in no time.

I found this cute meme over at Saoirse’s and thought I would do it, too.

What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now?
Lever 2000 with Aloe, and minimum of three kinds of Body Wash, compliments of 20-year-old daughter

Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
No, not this time of year here.

What would you change about your living room?
The size, too small for our clutter and piano and my 'office'.

Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty?
Clean

What is in your fridge?
Milk, vegetables, chicken, creamers, condiments, eggs & cheese, lots of half empty bottles of salad dressing, and some containers of leftovers that will probably still be there at the end of the week.

What is on top of your refrigerator?
Three boxes of cereal, three or four boxes of cereal bars, basket of snacks, oatmeal

What color or design is on your shower curtain?
Black and white pictures of famous travel landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower, etc.

How many plants are in your home?
Three.

Is your bed made right now?
Yes, that is one thing I must do first thing in the morning after getting out of bed. I have to have one room give the appearance of being neat.

Comet or Soft Scrub?
Soft Scrub.

Is your closet organized?
Hahahahahahaha. (Um, that means No.)

Can you describe your flashlight?
We have a lantern-type one.

Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Glass or coffee mugs mostly.

Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now?
Yes, but it's from a mix, not homemade.

If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
No garage. But our basement is cluttered.

Curtains or blinds?
Both on most windows.

How many pillows do you sleep with?
3

Do you sleep with any lights on at night?
Dark room for us, but we have a night light in the hallway, and usually keep the upstairs bathroom light on, in case Little Grim gets up at night. Plus that way, we won't trip over either of the cats.

Weigh-In, etc

Sorry for the late weigh-in, my daughter and our grandson were visiting for a few days. I'm at 200.5 this week, which was not unexpected to me. Bad week, I was not concentrating on my weight loss or fitness this week. Better luck next week. I hope everyone else did OK.

Here is a picture of Kara and Benny eating pizza the other night, and our dog Maggie waiting patiently for her chance for a nibble.

Come Away With Me

To Grimjack. My sister sang this Norah Jones song in our wedding. Love you!

Learn to Crochet

----- A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had
shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no
secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe
box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.

For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one
day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the
shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.

She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.
When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money
totaling $95,000.


He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,' she
said, 'my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two
precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two
times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with
happiness.

'Honey,' he said,'that explains the doll, but what about all of this money?
Where did it come from?'

'Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

In keeping with the Valentine's Day holiday...

I took this quiz over at RT’s Place....and got Erotic Thriller. Which is weird because the description doesn't match me.

Erotic Thriller

You've made your own rules in life - and sometimes that catches up with you. Winding a web of deceit comes naturally, and no one really knows the true you. Your best movie matches: Swimming Pool, Unfaithful, The Crush

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Happy Valentine's Day...

To all of my kids, their partners, our grandsons, our parents, and to my husband, our siblings and their partners,

All My Love, Always.

Today's Weigh-In

Today, I weighed in at 199.0. Not the best, but hopefully it is the beginning of a downward trend. I was surprised I only lost 1.5 pounds this week, because I thought I had done better. But, 1.5 is definitely an accomplishment. Slow and steady wins the race?

Really slow!

Some Valentine's Day Advice

Here is some classic Chris Farley, my way of offering advice to those men out there who do not yet have a special Valentine to celebrate with next week. You still have time to make that important first impression, as Chris Farley demonstrates.

My Oldest Daughter

My first born Lynda turned 25 this week, so I thought I would dedicate a post to her. I was 21 years old when she was born. I remember panicking the day I was supposed to be coming home from the hospital. I thought there was no way that I would ever be able to take care of a helpless infant. But I managed, of course, and learned as she grew.

Just a couple of stories about her growing up:

* The neighborhood kids were playing baseball down the street, when she was in grade school. Lyn was catcher, and she accidentally got hit in the face with the bat across her nose. Her cousin Chuckie, who is the same age, was also playing, and because they were great friends, took it upon himself to run up and punch the batter in the face, for hitting his cousin. It was hilarious afterwards (once all of the bleeding stopped). The nice thing is, she and Chuckie stayed friends all of these years, and they both now have babies and spend time together.

* She and her sisters liked to play dress up together and I have a 'flattering' picture of her doing a Steve Urkell impression - with her pants pulled halfway up to her armpits. She would never forgive me if I posted that one!

* When she was in high school, she and her friends adored the Monkees - yes, Davey Jones and Peter Tork et al, and Herman's Hermits (Henry the Eighth). They went out as The Monkees for Halloween one year. They also went to see Davey Jones whenever the old fogeys tour came around. They were in the Peter Noone fanclub, and he would let them know whenever he would be in the area. We met him for lunch one day up at the Bethlehem Brew Works when they were doing a show in Allentown.

* She and Brad have given us one of our perfect grandsons, Bo. He is fabulous. He can do animal noises now, so if you ask him 'What does a cow say?', he will Moo. If you ask him 'What does Daddy say?', he will say 'shit' in his tiny little voice. I'm so proud, my daughter taught him that one. We will stop asking him, obviously, since we don't want him to continue saying it. But it sure is funny now. And she could not have picked a better guy than Brad. We love him and he is good to her. For her birthday this week, he surprised her with a day at a Spa, for a massage, facial, manicure and pedicure.

This is a picture of the three of them at my sister's wedding last year.

* The best thing is, in spite of all my worries that I may have been parenting the wrong way or not handling things well, she has turned out to be a beautiful woman and a wonderful mother. Happy Birthday, Lyn!

The Bucket List Meme

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list.

Jeffro tagged me with this one. So here is my Bucket List:

1. Take a nice long nap. Being sleep deprived most days of the week, this is the utmost priority.

2. Take my whole family somewhere fun.

2. I would love to take a long car ride across the country. Just a meandering, relaxing, back roads, see-weird-stuff-and-stop-whenever-you-feel-like-it vacation.

3. I would like to learn how to ski (as long as I could do it without falling and breaking a hip, heh).

4. I would learn how to play the piano.

5. Plant a new flower garden.

6. See the seven natural wonders of the world:
Mount Everest
The Great Barrier Reef
The Grand Canyon
Victoria Falls
The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
The Paricutin Volcano
The Northern Lights

7. I'd also like to visit Ireland, to stroll around, and Italy, to drink wine, eat good food, and stroll around.

8. Visit Machu Pichu in Peru, the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, The Colossus of Rhodes, The Pyramids in Egypt, The Sydney Opera House in Australia, The Louvre (so I can see the Mona Lisa)....

I guess my list of places I'd like to see is endless, which is kind of funny since I don't really like to fly. But if money were no object, those are the places I'd like to go.

I think most of you have already been tagged, but if not, I tag YOU!

Our Yard is a huge Muddy Mess.....

And so is our daughter, as evidenced by the pictures below. This mess was the result of about 15 minutes unattended in the yard with the dog, who fared better than she did.



All of the muddy stuff on the floor came out of her shoes or dripped off of her socks and pants.



Hopefully it will come out of her clothes. She will definitely need a new pair of shoes now.

Boobie Names

Your Boobies' Names Are...

Love Muffins

Boobie Name Generator

Super Bowl Sunday

Here is a particularly meaningful halftime performance, coincidentally another Patriot's Super Bowl.



And here's a little ditty from the Chicago Bears from 1985, just for fun:


And I can't leave out the commercials:

She's F***ing Matt Damon

This is the funniest thing I've seen all week.

I Got Tagged

Aprilwine and USA Admiral tagged me with this, which is Awesome!


Thank you both! Right back at ya!

Incidentally, Aprilwine just added tunes to her blog, making the experience even more enjoyable.

I'm permitted to award this to others, so here are my choices (that Aprilwine and the Admiral didn't already catch):

Wyatt
Grimjack (Nothing like a little Nepotism)
Loving Annie
H2O

Weigh-In

Today, I weighed 200.5, up a half pound. Not nearly as bad as I expected after my bad weigh-in Weight Watchers on Tuesday. Counting my points the rest of the week kept me in check. Good luck to everyone this week!