Wednesday, February 28, 2007

hack, hack, cough, cough...

Well - last week I was sick - which was why I scare - I didn't have the throwing up thing that seems to be going around but my stomach felt queasy and I couldn't eat for 2 days...

I did lose 4 lbs when all was said and done and when I got on the scale it was a beautiful site - I loved that number- however I knew it could not last....

So I didn't really weigh in on Friday - well I did and that is when I saw I lost 4 lbs...

So I got on Monday and I had gained the 4 lbs back - I knew it would happen....because once I felt good enough to eat I strapped on that feed bag...(OK not really I did restrain myself somewhat...) right now I am still down 7 lbs since the beginning of January - not bad

But I am back in the swing of things...drinking my water and eating right - got back on the elliptical on Monday and "plan" to do it tonight and tommorrow... I even went to the movies last night (Music & Lyrics...very amusing but really total chick flick) and only ate my smuggled in bag of 100 calorie popcorn (ok I lie - I also had 3 handfuls of movie popcorn...but I do have small hands)

I think I am going to make my goal for March 4 lbs...If I can loose 4 lbs by the end of March I'll be satisfied with myself...

My first goal first and formost was to lose the 15 lbs I put back on after my last WW round...so I am almost halfway there....

slow and steady wins the race...

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

You want balls with that?

So last night I had my monthly meeting of my Multiples Group...

Once a month i get to escape and kavecth about my kids to other people who understand - other people that expelled 2 or more squirming bodies from their uterus at the same time...

I do have to say I give props to the triplet moms...I would be locked in a padded cell somewhere...

Anyway usually after the meeting a handful of us will delay going home...we will go anywhere to avoid going home....a few months ago we closed down a Barnes and Noble...yep that's right - they had to kick us out at midnight - ROCK ON (come on I know you all are jealous...not everyone can close out a Barnes and Noble...yeah before you ask I am well aware of how pathetic my life has become)

Anyway last night a handful of us went out to TGI Fridays - mainly so my friend "Bunny Girl" (* not her god given name...because if it was she would be a stripper at an airport bar outside of Tulsa) could get her Quesadilla fix...

So off we went - I was very good and only ordered a cup of French Onion soup - ummmm yummo....

Another friend of ours and her sister ordered the Fried Green Beans...yes...FRIED GREEN BEANS....

Apparently TGI Fridays has decided to take one of the most healthy, low fat foods Gods Green Earth can grow...batter them up and deep fry them...to top it off it is served with a side of Ranch dressing...



When they came out I took one look at them and a thought popped into my mind...interestingly enough before I could say my thought Bunny Girl blurted it out - YES she blurted out my thought

and that thought was...

LEPRECHAUN PENISES

Seriously - I kid you not we had the same thought!!!

I guess this means Bunny Girl is as depraved a human being as I am...SCORE!!!!!!!


Is it just me or does this random picture of a guy dressed as a Leprechaun strike a startling resemblance to Uncle Joey from Full House???

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Better Late than Never

So I totally went whompy on the Friday posting for my Weigh-in...

Not much changed..as in no loss - BUT no gain - that counts for something right?

So I am still at 7 lbs total lost...6 weeks at this = 7 Lbs lost - that is more than a pound a week...I'll take it...I am not greedy

Thursday, February 15, 2007

A sad little post

Today is a sad day…

My brother, John, would have been 30 years old today. He was killed in a car accident in December of 2005. It was a little after midnight and he had just left his companies Holiday party – the roads were dark and icy…his car left the road and hit a tree – he died instantly.

My brother didn’t have enemies…he never met a stranger…he was one of those truly rare individuals that everyone liked.

I was awoken by a phone call at about 5am that December morning – it was my mom – she was crying – my first thought was something happened to my Grandmother…but sadly no.

I was the one to call my sister…she was only 18 months younger than my brother and they were very close. It was one of the hardest phone calls I have ever had to make…the only harder one was the one I had to make to his girlfriend.

Honestly I don’t even remember jumping in my car and driving 2 hours north to my parents house…but I did…and when I walked in my mother just looked at me and said “What do we do….what do we do”

See, we are hardy people, my family we live to ripe old ages and tragedies like car accidents didn’t befall us. When I was pregnant with the twins Third Child was faced with the prospect of losing his job, through no fault of his own, I told him not to worry because “bad things don’t happen to me” – how very wrong I was.

So I got on the phone and called my best friend…my best friend who lost her husband of a year and a half….the love of her life…suddenly just 2 months earlier and asked her “What do we do….What do we do”

Life was surreal – being the oldest child I guess it is in my genetic makeup to mother and organize…so I did it…I found the funeral home…I contacted close family and friends who hadn’t heard yet…I called his girlfriend….I went to see the car…I went to pick out clothes for the viewing and I was the first one to see him at the Funeral Home…

One of the first things my mother started talking about was where was she going to bury her son…my sister and I looked at one another and we knew…we knew John would not have wanted to be buried and we told our parents this…John had never expressed his wishes…why should he - he was a 20 something, by all intents and purposes single, young guy – who thinks about death. After much going back and forth my parents decided cremation would be the best way to go.

The next thing my mother talked about was that she didn’t want a ton of flowers and she wanted John to be remembered in ways other than large stinky floral arrangements – there was a look across her face and she said St. Judes. Now never before in my life had I ever heard my mom mention whit about St. Judes….but she looked at me and said “St Judes – Having to deal with the death of a child is hard enough I can’t imagine watching your child die” – so we asked for donations to be made to St. Judes Childrens Research Hospital…He did not die in vain and hopefully his death will bring comfort to many many children and their parents. In an interesting twist a month before the accident TW and PWG went to a kiddie Holiday Shop - the ones where you as a parent give them a few bucks and one of the shop volunteers help them pick a gift for you and it is wrapped up...gifts that were "donated" (aka let's go through the junk drawers and see what we can find) by people... on Christmas morning I unwrapped my gift from TW - it was a St. Judes magnet - of all the things in the world...A St. Judes magnet...The site of it brought tears to my eyes.

Where am I going with all this…you may ask – other than to write stuff out so I don’t dissolve in a fit of tears…

My brother was basically single….his girlfriend was more of an on again off again relationship – he was living in Northern VA and she in Georgia (in a cruel twist of fate she was in Northern VA that week visiting family – she and John were suppose to meet up the very day he died) – after going to school at VA Tech, living for a year or so in San Deigo with his girlfriend, going back to school at VA Tech (6 year plan…) he had spent about a year back in his old room in my parents home while going through a management program for a restaurant chain. It worked out well – he got a place to stay and my parents got a live-in chef, handyman and landscaper…

After the training program was over he was assigned to a restaurant about 45 minutes from my parents house – he dutifully commuted for a couple months…around October he decided to start looking for his own place closer to the restaurant….one where he wouldn’t have upwards of a 90 minute commute to and from work…He had found a townhouse to rent with 2 other roommates only 5 minutes from work and had moved in about 3 weeks before his death.

Luckly, he like me is a huge procrastinator - so changing things like drivers licenses and bills and such weren’t that high of a priority – because of that when the accident happened he still had my parents address on his drivers license – we still had his cell phone bill at my parents house to use for contact numbers for people he had called, but…that didn’t take care of everything.

When he moved into the townhouse my parents had only met the owner of the townhouse and couldn’t remember his name – the house had no land line – 3 single guys – they each had a cell phone and we didn’t have their numbers. My sister and I drove to my brothers place to find clothes for the viewing…we had to write a note….write a note – as hard as it was for me to write the note I can’t imagine what was going through my brothers roommates head when they had to read the note.

Somehow during the whole thing I was a rock…looking back I wondered how I did it…I came across a memory – two months before his death my best friends husband died suddenly – I went back “home” to console my friend and be there for her…the evening of the funeral I made it back to my parents house totally drained and exhausted and John was there – for someone who was spending 80 hours a week working him being home was a rare site indeed…we sat for about an hour talking about life and how we should never take anything for granted. I told him I loved him…that was the last time I talked with John…my last words to him were

I LOVE YOU

So once again where am I going with this…

Get your affairs in order because we don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring – at the very least make sure your loved ones know your wishes – this is especially true if you are single. If you have single friends or family members ASK them what would they want if something should happen to them…make sure they have a list of names and numbers tucked away somewhere of people to contact should something happen to them

I encourage everyone to take inventory of their life – make it a priority to get a list of important names and numbers together – a list of all your bills (credit card, mortgage, car payments, etc…) – a list of any insurance (car, life, disability) and put everything together. Here are some places to get you started

LOCATION OF PERSONAL DOCUMENTS - has both long and short versions - Word Doc or PDF - I personally use the Long Form Word Document...easy to change around

PERSONAL DOCUMENT LOCATOR - in .pdf format

If you are married – get a will – especially if you have children. Make sure both spouses have access to joint accounts. Make sure you have discussed what would happen if the worst happens.

If you didn’t do it yesterday – tell everyone you love – that you LOVE them… don't wait until tommorrow

And by chance if you happen to have a few $$ left after paying the Holiday credit card bills and treating your sweetie yesterday – think about giving to St. Judes…

Either through a direct donation or shopping through their catalog Gift Catalog

At my brother funeral there were over 400 in attendance...400 who came the week before Christmas in the icy sleety weather....many who drove 5+ hours and a few who changed thier holiday plans to fly to pay thier last respects to my brother - that alone is a testament to the man my brother was. At the viewing many of his Lambda Chi brothers came...both Alumni and undergraduates, a few who had only met John for a few brief minutes - others who had spent the past 6 years being lucky to have a friend like John. My mom I stood in the recieving line and consoled these men, many of whom were in tears... A sign that showed us just how much John touched others...


The measure of a life well loved is not alone in
it's length, but in the quality of the life in the
length it is given, the depth and breadth of
its impact on others, and the character and
quality of the memories it leaves behind.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The perfect gift....

So for Christmas I got the Third Child a Website a Day calendar with the cavet that each day he send me the website listed...

He has almost faithfully sent me the webistes everyday...

the other day he sent me to Archie McPhee - Lotta - whatever you do do not click the link...I am not responsible for what you may buy...they have a whole section of Jesus stuff...

now THIS is my type of store...

I found the perfect gift for my sister (who has been to the Antartic twice...and got into a dueling match with a penguin - where she lost a glove)

That would be the AVENGING NARWHALE

Take that you mean little Penguin....

Myself - I am oddly drawn to THIS

Diet Product Review #4 - Fiber One Snack Bars

Another Diet Review….

I know it has been awhile since I did my last one…what can I say things get hectic in the house of Chaos….

As you are well aware if you are a reader of my blog (all 4.7 of you) I enjoy both a bit of good food and of course a good bargain…just crown me Coupon Queen

So I was sitting cutting out Coupons on Saturday morning when I came across one for Fiber One Snack Bars…hummm a snack bar that SHOUTS Fiber…I am all over that puppy…

The thing is when you are indoctrinated into the Weight Watchers way of life you actively start reading labels…sugar and oils be damned – we WWers don’t care about that…no we only care about the WW Trifecta…

· Calories
· Fat
· Fiber


Because those three things rule the world of WW… it is this Trifecta that allows us to figure out our beloved WW points – those points that dictate what we should and should not put in our greedy little mouths….

So basically put for every 50 calories in something = 1 point….now depending on the amount of fat and fiber it can make a point or two difference…and to someone living the WW way – a point is a BIG deal…for jiminy sake a point is a mini York Peppermint Patty….get with the program people…

Anyway - I saw a coupon for .75 cents off a box of the new Fiber One snack bars – according to the coupon the bars come in two versions – a Chocolate drizzle and a Peanut Butter one. BTW - General Mills has no mention of these bars on their web-site as of yet...so no pictures of the box - sorry

So off I went to the grocery store with the coupon in my hand…I cautiously walked down the snack isle…(note not all “healthy/diet” snack bars are the same…while some may have low fat…many have very low Fiber counts) and came across a box of Fiber One Peanut Butter bars…I snatched a box up and looked at the Trifecta…

Calories – 150 (ok…could be a little lower)
Fat – 4.5 (not to bad but for the size of the bar a little high)
Fiber – 9 grams (BINGO – we have a winner)

I did some quick calculating in my head and figured out at the most a bar would be 3 points…now since my ass is still rather large I do have a tendency to have a few points to throw around during the day…so 3 points for a snack bar – I can do that.

The cost of the box was $2.75, so with my coupon $2 for a box of 6 bars….33 cents each I can live with that.

As soon as I got to the car I grabbed the box and opened a bar…

HEAVENLY….this bar was fantastic – the bar is a good sized and not to dense, peppered with little peanut butter chips and held together with a little sticky goodness.

In looking at WW on-line the bar is in-fact 3 points…

What is interesting to note is while I was digging around the ‘net looking for a picture of the Fiber One Bar I came across the nutritional information for the Chocolate version of the bar (they didn’t have that version at my Grocery store) – it can be found HERE

What a difference 10 calories and .5 grams less of fat makes….when you calculate the Chocolate version it equals only TWO WW points…

One thing about Fiber – it does fill you up and it does help with the “plumbing” – cause after all you don’t want a backed-up plumbing system… No Fiber One picture - but apparently easy to find pictures of back-up Colons...Enjoy!

Overall

The Fiber One Peanut Butter bar hit all the right spots – it gave me a nice sweet treat to eat…gave me lots of fiber to help me feel full and yes…it did help with the “plumbing”

I would definitely buy this again (have another .75 cents off coupon) but I would probably buy the 2 point Chocolate version than the 3 point Peanut butter version and use the extra point for my York Peppermint Patty fetish…

Friday, February 09, 2007

TGIF!

I am sooooo ready for this week to be over...

This weekend the only thing on our calendar is a 3pm Birthday Party at McDonalds on Saturday that TW was invited ot...This is actually a biggie for us because it is the first time only ONE of the girls have been invited to a Birthday Party - those that have twins understand...singleton parents - wellllll? Still trying to decide who gets the pleasure of going to said party - either myself or the Third Child...It might wind up with best 2 out of 3 Quarter toss...

On to better things - the FUTURE MILF WEIGH-IN

(drumroll please)

I lost 1 lb this week

I'll take it - considering I drank half my weight in wine on Superbowl Sunday I wasn't expecting to loose anything

So that brings to total to 7 lbs

Apparently WW online liked that and gave me the following food for thought...

WAY TO GO! Congratulations for losing weight this week. We hope you're thrilled with the result. Here's a quote by Aristotle that we thought might strike a chord with you: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."

Keep practicing your excellence and have a great week.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Just a Note...

Note to husband: Farting in the bed does not make it warmer…no matter how many times you try and tell me that…it only makes it smelly!

Note to TW:
I know you hear me when I ask you to do something, over and over and over again…why is I have to tell you 100 times to get dressed in the morning, in a very loud “I’m being stern” voice, but I barely whisper the word “chocolate” and you are right by my side with your grubby little paw out?

Note to PWG: I am pretty convinced I nicknamed you right…you always seem to have your panties in a big wad…I am so over the “flop on the floor tantrums because you don’t get your way”…and BTW one day you will have to learn to tie your own shoes…just because TW gets enjoyment out of tying everyone’s shoes right now – one day that excitement will wear off and you will be stuck…with floppy laces

Note to Spring 2007 Dress designers: Chubby Gals of the World Rejoice!!! Can I get an Halla-freakin-Luah! Have you all seen the wondrous dresses in the windows of places like Dress Barn, Macys, Sears, etc…


Now on the rack they just sort of look Blah and you feel the fabric and your brain send warning signals because the fabric feels “stretchy” and you think to yourself “Self – you are going to look like a squatty column of flesh lumps” – but noooooo OH noooo – the cut of these dresses are fantastic….nice higher empire like waists…fabric that flows AWAY from the hips….


I tried on the dress pictured this past weekend at JC Penny’s - which is not a store I frequent but I was returning a hideous purse that was a holiday gift from my Mother-in-Law – after seeing the dresses I will probably be back again this summer – I grabbed my size – a 14 – and it was actually a little big on me – I figured I would wait and see where I was weight and dress size wise in another 2 months before I sink $$ into a springy dress.


I was driving by a Dress Barn the other day and they had the cutest dresses in their front window….with an investment in a good pair of SpanxsOH MOMMA I am going to look fan-freakin-tastic!!!


So to the Spring 2007 Dress designers – THANK YOU from the bottom of my chubby little ass….

Friday, February 02, 2007

There's a New Sheriff in town...

and her name is FLO...as in Aunt Flo...

needless to say I was a raving, crampy bitch last night...and while she hasn't begun her "journey" yet the winds have changed in the House of Chaos...

The girls and dear hubby are cowering behind a lead shield throwing candy coated Hersey kisses at me while I stalk them like some Godzilla-like creature...

ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGG

But this morning - I am sitting here with my 7-11 ENERGY Coffee and just trying to mellow....

Sooooooo it's FRIDAY and that means another weigh-in for the Future MILF Brigade...

I lost 1 POUND!!!!

So that brings the total lost the first month to SIX POUNDS!!!

I am happy with that - especially since Aunt Flo sure likes to carry around extra water when she is comin' around