I'm Not Dead...

...Just busy. Its that time of year when my time is not my own, very little of it is spent on the computer (except at work of course) and life just flies by. So, what have I been up to, you ask? Lets see...

Well, first and foremost - God has blessed me with a 5 lb. weight loss this past week. The "alli" is working well, and I'm not having too many side effects. What few I'm having are my fault - eating too much fat and paying for it! I will spare you the gory details. Positive effects overall though.

Tyler and MacKenzie went with their dad on a fishing trip this past week. They left Thursday and just got back this moment. They are obviously tired, and already getting owly. Time to begin the deprogramming!! Maybe by next Wednesday they will be the beautiful, well-behaved children I know and love.

Larry hurt himself working at our church last Sunday. I have one thing to say to him -- "Act your age!!" He was working hard at planting grass seed and doing some landscaping with 2 other members of the church that are half his age. Larry was right in there in the trenches (so to speak) working as hard as they were for as long. He had some back stiffness the next day, but then by Sunday night he was flat on his back. He was off work all last week and bored out of his mind. An MRI of his back shows an extruded disk -- meaning surgery. We see the neurosurgeon on Wednesday morning. Not very fun.

All and all, a busy week. This week it is back to show choir performances and work. Larry will be flat on his back at home again and driving me all nuts with his complaining and his crabbiness. Oh well - I love him anyway.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday (what is left of it) and I will check in again soon.

Renewed Resolve

On May 21st, on this very blog, I made a promise to work hard to get myself in shape. Nearly a month later, I'm in no better shape than I was then. In fact, I'm probably worse off. Damn! I hate the thought that I failed - once again. Well....I can't fail anymore. I need to get my mind set in the right place, and really try. This time, I'm turning to the pharmaceutical world for help. A new weight loss aid hit the market this week -- alli. Perhaps you have heard of it? Well, if not, let me give you a quick run down:

It is a medication that when used with a low-fat diet, and exercise (there's the kicker - pun intended) can help you lose more weight than with dieting alone. It works in the digestive system, rather than tricking your mind or unnaturally increasing your heart rate with stimulants; and it blocks some of the fat that I eat. So...in a sense, it is a negative form of reinforcement. If I eat a meal that is high in fat content when I'm taking the medication, I could have uncontrollable bowel movements. That alone is incentive enough to eat veggies and fruit!

I'm at the point now where if I don't do something, I'll end up in bad bad shape. I'm not ugly (so I've been told) and I can still see my feet. However, I would like to see my neck again, and I know that people are only supposed to have one chin! I want my heart not to beat like a bass drum just from walking up the stairs. I want to be able to chase and run with my kids at the park without feeling like I need to call someone to bring me the AED and call 911. I want to be able to put on a bathing suit and not feel like everyone is looking at me saying to each other, "I thought that they outlawed whaling!" I just want to be the person I am inside, only on the outside too. Just once I want to be the woman who looks great for 40 (next year) and can share clothes with her teen aged daughter. I'm going through with this. I'm determined. I can see the goal -- if I have my contacts in -- and I'm going to go for it! I have support - I have the alli website, I have the book, I have my friends (one of them is doing this with me, bless her heart), and I have my family. Most of all, I have GOD. I am praying for strength. I am praying for power. I am praying that the next time I eat meat, I don't poop myself!

Wish me luck!

Baseball & Sunshine

What could be better than sitting in the sun, watching your favorite baseball team win one on the road? Well, sunblock would have been a good idea! Yesterday, Larry, me and another couple - Craig and Robin - took off on the bus to Milwaukee to watch the Chicago Cubs play the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Now, normally on these bus trips, members of the "blue-haired brigade" are along; its been my experience that more than half of the folks that go on these trips are retired people-median age is about 70. Anyway, when you book a trip to a sporting event, and taking into consideration the typical age of a passenger, normally, the tickets are for seats under the terrace. There, you are out of the sun, yet, you can see really well. Miller Park is one of those ballparks that doesn't have a lot of shade. It does not have the charm of Wrigley Field, but it also does not have those annoying support poles in your way. Drawback=sitting in the sun for 4 hours. Short sleeves didn't help either, but at least I was smart and didn't wear shorts, but instead, blue jeans. While sitting there, laughing with Robin, making good-natured fun of the players (Did you know that Pie's last name - pronounced Pe-aye) means "foot" in Spanish? Robin is fluent and told me so. When Pie would come to bat, we would yell, "Go, Foot!!!!" I guess you had to be there. We laughed, we ate ballpark food - pretzels, popcorn, Dippin Dots - drank Mike's Hard Lemonade (I only had one) and we had a wonderful time. So, again, while sitting there enjoying the atmosphere, I cooked my arms. We could have easily carved them up and ate them like turkey legs. It probably would have felt better than my scorched skin!

Robin is one of my best friends. She has been there for me through some really dark days, and she has brightened up a lot of other days. We used to work together. She used to do what I do - evaluate calls - and when we met, we hit it off immediately. We are very much alike. She is one year younger than I am -- Yes, Robin, I admit it - and yet, she is way more mature than me. We make each other laugh and there is nothing more wonderful than having a good laugh with a good friend. I thank God for her friendship often.

My other good friend is Karen. Now, Karen and I have a different friendship and it is just as important to me as Robins. Karen is older than me (I won't say how much older), but I look up to her. I am the oldest of my mother's 3 children and the oldest of my father's 4 children (long story). I never had an older sibling to lean on, and I had to learn everything the hard way. Karen is in a way, my surrogate big sister. I'm not sure what I would do without her, and I hope I never have to find out. Karen has a daughter -Amanda- I call her "Amanda Panda" and she lets me get away with it. Amanda just turned 13 and is very good friends with my kids. They have so much fun together, and they do love each other. While we were at the game, Karen picked up the kids, took them back to her place, and let them spend the night. Well, I think she deserves a medal, but she insists that the kids were really good and had a fabulous time.

I am very blessed. I have the love of a wonderful GOD, the love of a good husband, the joy of my beautiful children, and the support of terrific friends. I must learn never to take any of them for granted.

By the way - the Cubs won.