Weekends Update

I know I am long overdue on reporting back on the Women's Retreat from the end of September, so I will start with that. On Friday afternoon, Sept 26, S and I made the 4 hour drive to Indian Creek Camp. I had never been there before and was pleasantly surprised at the ease of the trip. My favorite part of the drive--aside from the pit stop in Jackson to get some Dunkin Donuts coffee--was the rolling hills as we got closer to Nashville. I almost forgot that I was in Tennessee and not New England. We got to the camp just in time to get settled and make our way to dinner. The weekend was very refreshing and uplifting. I enjoyed the energy our speakers brought to their topics. One of the reasons why S was wanting to go this particular weekend was that she had known the main speaker, Lynn Ortel, several years earlier. And of course due to the incestuous nature of the SDA community, I had a connection to her as well. Lynn, an AUC alumni, is friends will my family in Maine. S and I wrapped up the weekend with a School Board Seminar at the conference office which was much more interesting and informative then I was expecting. I even managed to stay on my meal plan for all of the breakfasts and lunches and come home the exact same weight as when I left. As you can see from my previous post, my relaxing and refreshing weekend was followed by over a week of sickness. Once I realized that this wasn't a simple cold, I went to the doctor and received a beautiful Z Pack. With the exception of a lingering dry cough and an outgoing voicemail message created on a sick day (my voice always changes when I'm sick), everything is back to normal. So normal in fact that Saturday night I hosted a group of 5 teens and tweens for a movie night at my house. We watched the classics--Uncle Buck and The Goonies. It was a bit strange to see Josh Brolin on the Today Show talking about his latest movie this morning. All I could picture was him wearing sweat pants under his running shorts.

Sickly

I had a great time last weekend at the Women's Retreat. (I'll do a post about it this weekend. The speaker went to AUC with my Aunt Winnie. Yet another example of how incestuously small the Adventist community is.) Then on Tuesday I started feeling a little sickly but still made it out to Avenue Q with LadyBoyd and her hubband. I don't remember the last time I laughed that much--the car ride home was just as amusing as the show. By Wednesday the sickness had hit. Massive sore throat, sinus pressure and inflamed vocal cords which make me sound like a grown up. I had to leave work early on Thursday and am taking a half day today. I don't even want to think about all of the house work that needs to be done this week before I open my house up for another Teen Movie Night on the 11th. Hopefully with enough water and cat hair this cold won't stick around. On a good note, I weighed in today and I'm down a total of 9.2 pounds since I started doing Nutrisystem. Now if I could just find the energy to get off my rump and walk. I can't let the MOANers down!

Weekend To Be

Tonight I will be gearing up for a weekend away. Laundry and packing are on the top of the list. Once I dig out my sleeping bag and slippers I'll be halfway packed. I'll also need to bring along my main dish foods for the trip. No, this is not a romantic weekend away (I don't see that happening in any near future scenario.), but a weekend away nonetheless. Tomorrow I will be driving to Podunk, TN* to the KY-TN Conference campgrounds for their Women's Retreat. The theme this year is Worship with Abandon. I have only been to a young adult retreat so I'm looking forward to this new experience. I'll be driving up with one of my friends from church and once the retreat wraps up we are heading down to the conference offices for a school board seminar. I don't expect Sunday to be as stimulating. Maybe I'll be surprised. *Name has been changed to more accurately describe the town. According to wiki, the population is 367.

The Week that Was and Is

This has turned out to be a good week after all. I was worried on Monday when my budget got blown out because Commerce hasn’t quite figured out that I shouldn’t still be paying for a cancelled policy. True, the cost was minimal and I was able to cover the budget variance with savings, but I did have to put off registering my car for another two weeks. It appears that I will have to take things into my own hands and not rely on my insurance guy’s confirmation. In addition, I was asked to add a third hat--running sound and burning CDs--to my already scheduled announcement and children's story duties at church tomorrow. This can only go well, right? As the week wore on, I saw my lawn being mowed by a local pathfinder (I pay her for this, but it was still a nice surprise to see her come out one evening after school without being asked.), received my brand new silver digital scale and my new food shipment from Nutrisystem—mashed potatoes how I have missed you. This time UPS left my 30 pound box at the back door so I wouldn’t have to wake up any earlier to pick it up. Wednesday night prayer meeting was an uplifting study of “Prayer” in the Bible and last night’s school board meeting was drama free and only an hour and a half long. We got out so early that another member and I were able to hit Starbucks—which is usually closed by the time we get there (they close at 10p)—for a tall non-fat no whip pumpkin spice latte and some good conversation. Other than the small Starbucks indulgence, I’ve stayed true to my meal plan and even managed to not cheat when I took the staff out Tuesday morning for breakfast at Brother Juniper's. If only ordering one fried egg over easy and a bowl of grapes is not a testament to my new found will power I don’t know what is. I’ve only worked out once this week, but am planning on at least walking some today. The fact that my shiny new scale told me this morning that I’ve lost 7 pounds (6.6 to be exact, but hey, that rounds up to 7) in four weeks is a real motivator. Look out size 10 jeans, here I come!

Labor Day

My mom finally figured out how to email photos from a CD (she goes to Walgreens for a photo CD because she hasn’t quite figured out how to download them directly from her camera to the computer) and sent these my way. On Labor Day Mom and I went for a stroll at the Memphis Botanic Gardens. Our first stop was their herb garden. You could tell that this garden was in the middle of being redone as the majority of the herbs were overgrown and dying. Mom was still able to identify all of the ones still alive and many that were past their prime. (Note to self: stay away from bee balm, but try to find some lemon balm to plant inside the house.) My favorite sections were the Japanese Garden and the Serenity Garden. The Japanese Garden had a beautiful red bridge that crossed over a koi filled stream. Due to my fascination with the fish (as evidenced by tattoo number 8), I promptly went over to the fish food machine and made my way to the stream's edge. I have never seen koi this large or in this great of a number. Of course the fact that many had a bright cobalt blue coloring didn't hurt. There was a mad dash for us once the food hit the water with many of them catching the pellets before they even hit the water. The Serenity Garden held true to its name. The serene water fountains and lotus flowers were tucked away under wood awnings. We took some time to just relax and listen to the water and birds. I may have to consider an annual membership.

Just Another Day in the South

Thankfully the heat of August is fading away and I no longer need to fear the 100* weather. Even though we are still hitting 90* most days, I'm ready for the fall. I can't wait until I can wear a light sweater to work and smell the neighborhood fireplaces when I come home. I will also be happy when the Palmetto bugs stop thinking that my back room is a fine and dandy place to hang out. Daly helps out some, but she would rather play than kill. Why, oh why, couldn't I get a killer kitty? At least she does something and lets me know when I need to come by with a sneaker to flatten and flush the buggers. O'Malley won't give them the time of day. Little do the critters know that I have a plan. The lovely guys at Terminix are coming over tomorrow for the annual indoor spraying. Take that! As for my diet, things are going well. I've eaten more lettuce in the 18 days since starting Nutrisystem then I had in all of 2008 previously. I promise that it's not all lettuce and rabbit food. I get good entrees that take little to no effort and it's just the sides (salads, fruit, veggies & dairy/protein) that I need to worry about. I've not once gone hungry and some of their desserts are quite good. As cliche as it sounds, I feel better, too. Since starting I've lost 4 pounds (according to the lines I squint at to read on my non-digital scale) and have worked out (and yes, walking the Botanic Gardens with my mom for an hour and a half in 90*+ weather IS working out) three times. Now if I can convince myself to exercise tonight I'll be on a roll.

Testing My Follow Through

Let me just start off my saying that I am not good with routines. I may be able to stick to a routine for a few weeks, but then I stop. I’m not sure why this is. Sometimes, like when I was walking at Shelby Farms after work or anything requiring me to set my alarm early and actually get out of bed, my body refuses to continue. Other times I just get distracted or lose interest. For some reason I have a real problem with consistency. Apparently, good intentions don’t count. Why does this little tidbit matter? It matters because on Friday morning I started the NutriSystem Vegetarian meal plan. The amount of pre-packaged food for 35 days (28 days plus one free week) is a bit alarming. On top of all the food that is shipped I am supposed to supplement it with fresh fruit, veggies, dairy/protein and of course lots of water. So far, so good—only one small 24 hour period of eating off plan (but that’s another post). I’m enjoying putting together my fresh options and planning out my food for the day. I’m also making a list of the items to order next month (almond biscotti and pasta primavera with tofu are on the list) and which ones I hopefully will never see after this month is up (BBQ Soy chips, fettuccini alfredo, the chocolate raspberry lunch bar). I am even mastering the difficult task of drinking at least 64 oz of water day. While this may not seem like a big deal, keep in mind that I usually only drink a cup or two of coffee a day and maybe a small glass of water/juice if I remember. (If this is the same problem you have, keep in mind that the amount of trips you make to empty your bladder will greatly increase. By the end of the day I feel like I'm going every 30 minutes! Thank goodness for DVRs.) The next thing to add is that silly thing called exercise. Tonight I am going to try out the Walking DVD that came with my kit. It’s one of the Leslie Sansone DVDs and I’ve only seen good reviews of her things. I’ll let you know how it goes. And because I’m a girl, I’m going to track it like this and not mention the depressing starting weight: Workout Days: 0 Pounds lost: 0

Meet The Neighbors

Tuesday night I met some of my neighbors. I didn't meet them at a party or even out on the street. I met them because I boldly rang the doorbell and they answered. I was let into their nice house and met their two Jewish cats (Levi the Siamese and Isaac the Black). We got to chatting and discovered that the Mrs. is from Worcester County, MA and even spent some time in Portsmouth, VA. Small world. Our visit ended when I got a phone call and went back to my place. Did I mention that I got the phone call on their house phone? No? Well, I was emboldened to knock on their door after locking myself out of my house. I had no keys, no phone, no open doors or windows. Oh and the glass in my back door is strong enough to hold out against several tries to smash through it with a brick. My wonderful neighbors across the street let me use their phone so I could call someone to call someone who had a key and could let me in. (Since the advent of cell phones I don't know any one's number!) Guess that's the penalty for trying to be productive and attempting yard work.

Jumping Bean

Within 48 hours of coming home Daly was back to her old self. She continues to jump up and pounce on everything. If it weren't for the lingering glue in her front paws and the three stitches on her belly, you'd never know that she had surgery just days ago. She is adapting very well and has no problems jumping on the sofas and bed. She's even mastered the fine art of using her front paws to encircle a foot and then use the one-two punch of back claws and teeth. Would it be wrong to get her de-teethed, too? I kid, I kid. The proper term is "extraction of the teeth". After church on Sabbath E brought over her parents (visiting from the Arctic Massachusetts) to see my house and the girls. O'Malley allowed herself to be seen and then slipped up the stairs. Day, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the company. It was good to see everyone enjoying themselves.

Worst Mommy Ever

Yesterday morning I dropped little 3 pound, 19 week old Daly off at the vet for her front declawing and spaying surgery. The vet called by a little before 4p to let me know that all went well. They said that there were no complications and Daly was resting in her little incubator with her "boxing gloves on". Daly had to spend the night there, but I picked her up a little after 11a today. She looked so pitiful. Her little paws tinged red with blood, her shaved belly sporting a line of stitches several inches long, and one back foot noticeable swollen from being bandaged after the IV was taken out. One look at her and I felt like the worst Mommy ever. Her scratchy cry was almost more than I could take (they intubated her for the anesthesia and her throat is a little irritated). She of course tried to claw her way out of the carrier which only started up the blood flow from her little paws. There are now little bloody paw prints on the carpet in the back room. She's going to be staying in the back room for a couple of days. The vet told me to limit the about of jumping that she does so that's the reason for her exile. I've set up a nice little living area for her. Of course the bathroom (she loves to jump in and out of tubs) and the back room door will stay closed (can't have O'Malley beating her up). The hard top carrier is on the floor with a couple of towels carpeting the bottom. I've brought in the litter box from upstairs and am using the vet recommended Yesterday's News litter. I've also set up a feeding station with fresh water, special canned food for kittens, some milk flakes treats for kittens, and kitten chow--I'm trying a new brand and will have to force her to eat it since she turned her nose up at the last one in favor of O'Malley's indoor cat/weight control food. She'll be tucked away for another couple of days until her paws are more fully healed. Here she is in her improvised cat bed. I hope that she forgives me. We go back in 10 days to get her stitches out.

How God Used an Internet Outage

Late last month we had an Internet outage at work. Since our email, accounting system, and of course the Internet were all down I decided to do something I haven't done in a while--go to a book store. I went in looking for a prayer journal. Not one of those dated daily prayer list books, more of a blank paged (inexpensive) journal that I could write out prayers in. The thought is that I am less likely to get distracted if I'm writing my prayers down. Anyway, I decided to look in the Religious Studies section first. Since this is the Bible Belt, the Religious Studies section is quite large and well stocked. I don't know why I decided to pick up He Loves Me, He Loves Me NOT by Trish Ryan, but it called out to me. I'm not usually drawn to all of the "poor single me, why is God doing this to me, I can't live a complete life without a husband, I'm cursed and no one will love me and I have no value because I have a barren womb" books. But since I couldn't get this book out of my head, I shelled out the $19.99 and brought it back to the office. Everything was still down and I had no desire to file--I will never have a desire to file--so I started reading. It was funny, honest, and not too preachy. Ryan's style reminded me of Jennifer Weiner, one of the few chick-lit authors I enjoy. By the end of the night I was 150 pages in and I finished the next day. (For me to devour books at this rate a trip to Oxford, ME is usually needed.) This book really spoke to me. Specifically, this prayer that Ryan used was a slap upside the head: "When you send the right guy Lord, let him make his intentions clear. Protect us from ambiguity. If he's your man, let him make the first move towards me, and let him want the type of relationship You created for us--exclusive, devoted, contemplating marriage. Don't let me get all worked up again on the wrong guy." I immediately copied down this quote in my new prayer journal and made copies for my bibles. Why did this strike a cord? Well, just before I started reading this book I was making arrangements to visit MPC in Boston, a former flame who seemed to want to reignite the spark but would close down (ie, vanish or ignore any plan prep I asked him about) when it came down to actual plan making. I couldn't read him or figure out what he really wanted. Did he just want to try to sleep to me? to date me? or just act like it? I was starting to get worked up over his current vanishing act. When I finished the book I realized that Easter-only-Catholic MPC was MIA because he wasn't the man God wanted me to be with. Once I stopped trying to make God honor my decisions, all desire to have any sort of non-platonic relationship with MPC disappeared. Sometimes I really hate being so stubborn and hard headed.

Always Growing

Daly is growing each and every day. And I don't just mean in size and stature. She's growing more ornery, bold, and painful. (She does take after her mama after all.) I have become her favorite scratching post. She loves to latch on and climb up my legs. It does not matter if I am wearing jeans or a skirt or nothing at all. Those are the times that the declaw countdown is in full swing (Aug 12!). Here are a few new pictures. As you can see, Daly is a prize antagonist. This part of the nightly ritual involves O'Malley sitting pretty on the arm of the couch and then swatting at the little one as she tries to climb up.

She looks so cute. Hard to believe that the other nightly routine involves her razor sharp claws and my blood.

The Girls

Daly had her 16 week check up today. She's 2.7 pounds and is fully up to date on all of her shots. She's also dealing with a small cold and now has to have eye drops 3 times a day. Good thing she's cute! Here are some updated pictures for your enjoyment.

O'Malley at her happiest--no Daly in sight!

Pretty baby!

The closest they get before Daly get a paw upside the head. Silly girl thinks it's a game.

Will I ever grow into my ears?

Something to Think About

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but life keeps getting in the way. When it comes to email forwards I'm on a lot of people's lists. What I find really interesting is that I get all of the anti-Obama propaganda (ie, he's a practicing Muslim, his wife is evil incarnate, his name is similar to Osama, and oh did you know that he's black?!) come from only two people--both of which are spiritual leaders in their respective churches. It's sad that these individuals believe everything they read in an email forward and feel the need to pass on the ignorant negative personal attacks. Disclaimer: While I did vote for Obama in the primaries that is not why this gets to me. I would have the same discomfort if these people were forwarding on ignorant emails about McCain or any other politician. My issue is with spiritual leaders passing on any malicious emails and accepting things as fact without researching them.

Vacation

I had a nice refreshing, relaxing vacation last month. I spent some time in Maine with Dad. We checked out a movie, saw my cousin and her new baby, and took a nice two hour long canoe ride. We also spent a lot of time reading. Even though we were only there for 3 days, that was my favorite part. I really miss being so far away from the peace and quiet at camp. I also got a chance to see my first college roommate and some other of my college friends. Oh, and I took my brother, his oldest son, and my grandfather to Fenway. D was able to last a full 7 innings (on top of an hour rain delay), but since the game took 13 innings I was able to watch the end of the game at home. Here are a few pics:

Poppy's Favorite Part of the game

First base line seats

Me and L at Alewife

Wally the Green Monster at "Beantown" in Jordan's

Make Way For Ducklings at "Beantown" in Jordan's.

Oh, and Daly is up to over 2 pounds. She's growing so fast.

Back to Good?

On Sabbath I tried out high heels again. I haven't been able to wear them for over a month now due to my sore knees and ankles, but I figured that since I'm done with PT (but not keeping up on my homework---I know, I know) I would give it a try. I slipped on my white 2.5 inch heels Sabbath morning and felt ok. I was able to sit down for SS as I only had one student--hey it's the first time someone's bothered to show up since APRIL! Anyway, after SS I booked it over to First Church for Ella's dedication. My knees held up pretty good for those three hours, but I think the driving got to them a bit. Because of the heels I couldn't extend my knees as much as usual. At least it's progress. I don't know why but I can't seem to get anything done on Sundays. Does anyone else have this problem? I have such lofty aims--laundry, cleaning house, packing for vaca, trimming the yard--but spend my time on the couch alternating between watching TV and napping. I don't remember the last time I had a productive Sunday. Now, because of my usual lack of activity, I have to rush around to find time to fit everything in over the next two nights.

Three

I knew it was bound to happen. Hopefully this completes the cycle I mentioned earlier this month. Last night as I was cleaning up the kitchen, my garbage disposal died. I turned it on and only heard a soft whirr. The whirred petered off and then nothing. I checked my circuit breaker and don't have a reset on my outlets. So, a call to AHS was made today. They are coming out tomorrow. I'm guessing that the motor went out and they'll replace the whole no-name unit. What else can go wrong with my POS house? I'm afraid to ask.

Quick Baby Update

And by "Baby" I mean Daly. She's now 10 weeks old and as of her vet appointment this morning weighed in at 1.6 pounds. She took her shots and dewormer like a champ. And wonders of wonders, when we got home she and O'Malley were sniffing noses. They were less than an inch apart and not a hiss was heard. Lets hope that this keeps up. Last night they were not so nice.

Downhill

They say that bad things come in threes. I don’t want to think about what will be next. It started on Friday. I had just come back from my last PT appointment for my knees & ankles and was checking my email when my vision went wonky. By wonky, I mean that I was seeing a nice colorful, wavy “C” out of my left eye. I called my eye doctor and was told to make my way immediately to the local Retina Institute. Thankfully, it was nothing serious - just an ocular migraine. But while they were checking me out, they found a nice little hole in my retina that required immediate laser surgery. (Thank goodness for health insurance.) The surgery didn’t take too long, but was very painful. I was able to drive and resume regular activity right away. Unfortunately, my left eye is still sore and gets tired easily. That was one. This is two: Since I purchased what I lovingly (?) call a money pit, I knew that I needed to get my 22 year old AC units checked out. They’ve been acting kind of rough now that the sun is kicking in and since the prior owners took care of NOTHING, I wasn’t sure what condition it was actually in. I signed up for a yearly tune-up program last week and they came out for the first visit last night. Before I go on, you can get an idea of the situation by the fact that the tech was there from about 6:15-10p. The units are officially “very old and inefficient”. One of the units even shut down while the tech was there inspecting them. The shut down was caused by severe lack of maintenance over the years. So $599 later, they have been bandaged, freshly cleaned, and restocked with Freon (3 pounds were added to the upstairs unit alone). Unfortunately, more work is needed. At least another $600 of work is recommended to keep the units hobbling along. Now it is research time. I’m going to wait on the additional repairs (with fingers, toes, and eyes crossed) and schedule a call with a sales guy to find out my options for new units. Not that I have the money to get new units, but I need to be able to plan for that step. I know that it will end up being several thousand dollars. My hope is that by learning all of the details, I can make a plan of attack. I know that new units will be worth it in the long run. Resale value will go up and energy costs will go down. Why is being a grownup so costly and frustrating? Thankfully, I will be able to get a nice break from being a grownup later on this month when I get to visit Mommy & Daddy.

Get The Fire Extinguisher!

People like me. They make me cake and throw me parties. On Saturday night my friends E and LadyBoyd threw me a party. It was a semi-surprise party. I knew that I was going over to LadyBoyd’s house for a BBQ with E&J. I had a sneaking suspicion that there would be cake. Hello! LadyBoyd was hosting after all. What I didn’t expect was the size of the party--lots of food and people. It was fun to eat carrot cake and play Trivial Pursuit until the wee hours of the night. And yes, I blew out all 30 candles, including the nice black "over the hill"tombstone, in one breath!