Christmas, a week late, was a hit. The kids really seemed to enjoy their gifts. I remember being little and I'd open something up and do a fake "I like it" smile and throw it aside and move on to the next gift. Either they all really liked their gifts or they are phenomenal at the fake "I like it" smiles. Brian and I had to laugh though, because the gifts Bella and Brandon liked the most were the 88 cent stocking stuffers from Wal-Mart. Brandon loved these "nasty" teeth.



Santa got Bella a dissolving seashell that produces a plastic mermaid. Once she finally got to the mermaid, she treated it like it was her child. She talked to it, fed it (by the way, cookies and a mermaid in a bowlful of water do not mix well), and slept with it. She put the mermaid (all of 1 1/2 inches of it) in a pillowcase made to be its sleeping bag. I overheard her reading a ballet book to it and then sang it a lullaby.

Brandon was all excited about his cash register. It actually was kinda neat. It has bar codes that you scan, it talks to tell you the price and then there's a microphone. Brian loves that part because the kids keep saying "Clean up in aisle 4. Thank you." For some reason he really gets a kick out of them saying "thank you" after everything.

Taylor came by for a few hours today to get her stuff. It's hard to tell what her views are about the whole Santa thing right now. But she seemed pretty excited about her gifts, as well. She's at that weird age where she's not a kid but not a teen.

All of the kids got homemade hats and scarfs from my mom. Surprisingly, they were pretty excited about them. I don't remember being that excited at that age from a hat and scarf. Bella is Miss Pink and Brandon had Spiderman colors. Taylor got a really bright pink mixed colored set and a matching set for her American Girl doll. Baxter got presents too.....notice the Tidy Cats behind Bella...Santa always knows what everyone needs!

They made out pretty well. Plus they still have another day of presents next week. We're celebrating Hanukkah at Amy & Chris' after Carter's baby naming.

I don't like WW.

I do. I lied. I don't like that I don't have the will power I had before. And when I say before, I mean about 6 years ago before. Granted, 6 years ago, I was about 240 lbs. And by the "point quiz" I'd be able to eat about 30 points and still lose. (Makes you wonder just how many "points" I ate before to gain. Ughh!) Now, hanging out around 170, I can only eat 23-24 points a day. Its amazing how much 6-7 points can affect your daily intake. I think the problem is my mind hasn't realized its not 240 anymore, even after all these years. Weight fell off by eating 31 points a day. Now 31 points a day, while still delicious isn't making the scale go down. So those few extra cookies (and I use few, very loosely) I had over the past few days.....yeppers, went straight to my behind.


But no fear, I'm back to being a good girl. I walked right past a plate of cookies and had a bowl of yummy raisin nut bran. I can't lie. I wasn't all good today. At 4 or 5 am, I had pancakes, eggs and sausage for breakfast. I'm telling you my work schedule (and working with a bunch of good cooking hungry firemen) doesn't exactly help WW. Although I'm sure that yummy deliciousness put me over points today, I feel okay about it, because I ate definitely less than I normally would. And tonight, Brian offered to take me to one of my favorite places to eat. Now, I'm still contemplating that offer, however, knowing its not exactly WW friendly, I'm starting to lean towards a trip to the grocery store and making something myself. Just trying to decide what that is the hard part.

My best friend Laura is starting back on the program---today she did 2 miles on the treadmill and I am very happy for her. We both like to talk about all the stuff we're going to do, so when we finally do it, its a big feat. Hopefully she'll continue with it....I know she wants to lose some weight for some personal reasons. And I like when she's on program, because it helps me out a lot too.


OK, enough WW talk. On to bigger and better topics. This past week has been crazy, as I'm sure it has been for everyone else. I had my hell weekend at work (lay mans terms: way too many work hours in a little bit of time), surprise parties, traveling to PA and back---it was hectic but very nice. Brian's stepsister (Cortney) hosted a surprise party for her dad, also named Brian, last Saturday. I wasn't home from work yet so I missed the surprise, but I hear it was a success. I showed up in time to play trucks with the 2 year old (which I initiated...it was fun). Sunday I worked (again) and Monday we trekked north to my hometown in PA for the holiday. This trip, Brian and I opted to stay at the Hilton in Scranton (highly recommended and very reasonably priced---but then again, Scranton's not exactly the vacation center of the world). Best decision we've made in a long time.... It was like a vacation. Much needed, I might add. We met my parents at a family friends home for a Christmas Eve party. Brian was in heaven with all the food there. There was the normal dippy appetizers, but then tons of Northeast PA ethnic favorites. Pot luck parties are the best. (And I wonder why I hate WW!) Christmas Day I dragged Brian to church. I think I would have been better off taking a 4 year old there. After that, we met my family at my parents for presents and dinner. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at Laura & Blaze's house. Visiting there makes me want to decorate my house nicer. (It at least motivated me to clean it---big housecleaning day is tomorrow if anyone wants to come and help!!) The 26th we came back to Maryland, lounged around and our life returned to "normal" yesterday with a 24 hr shift at work.

I'll try to post some pics from the surprise party and Xmas once I figure out where my camera is.

High school, cont'd....

When I was younger, I couldn't wait to grow up. I couldn't wait to move away and find new friends that didn't frustrate me or didn't fight about petty stuff. I couldn't wait til the gossiping was over or the "look what she's wearing" or the rumors were history. But the more I live life, I realize life is just one big "high school."

The gossip doesn't change. The rumors get worse. The petty fights get pettier. And as I've encountered, the "I'm not going to talk to you, and I'm not going to tell you why" is still in existence.

My first encounter with this was in 4th grade. After a few weeks, I eventually found out my friend wasn't talking to me because I got new glasses and I guess she was jealous. Almost 18 years later and the same thing is happening. I pretty sure this individual isn't upset over my glasses. I have honestly no idea what the issue is. I can come up with nothing. And to be honest, even though I'm writing about it, I'm not even upset. I told someone there are two different kind of "not talkings"---there's the one where you know you just got busted saying something you shouldn't have said or you just got caught doing something. Then there's the "I can think of nothing" which is where I fall in this scenario. Now, granted, I'm very curious, and I will eventually approach this person face to face. But for now, it amazes me that grown adults will go to extremes of "I don't want to talk/work with her" yet never be man enough to tell me the issue. And worse than that, they continue to be "fake friendly" to my face.

Like I said, its like one big high school.

On a side note, Xmas is in 2 days and I'm not sure I'm ready!! I am leaving work at 11pm tonight and hopefully will get something, I'm not sure what, accomplished tonight. I have a bunch of running around to do tomorrow before we leave for PA. I'm supposed to be making a list of things I need to do and pack. But, I'll I've done so far is type a post. And I've just decided I'm hungry. Any suggestions?

Kids say the cutest things...

For those of you who don't know, I'm a paramedic. I see and hear a lot of things that most of you wouldn't even imagine happen. My job is kinda like the medical version of "Cops." Every once in a while we get a sick kid and if they aren't feeling too bad, they usually come up with something to make us laugh.

Last shift, around 1am we got a call for a 6 year old boy with trouble breathing. We got to his house and there he was sitting on the couch with an oxygen mask on from the first ambulance that arrived. He obviously was having some trouble breathing, but nothing life-threatening. So while my partner was talking to his mom, I did a little bit of an assessment. He was quiet; soft spoken. I listened to his lungs and he was wheezy so we decided to give him a nebulizer treatment. (A "mist" of medicine thats delivered through a face mask.) I put the medicine in the mask, which looks like a dinosaur--just for kids, and told him I was going to put the mask on him and he'd have to breath the medicine down deep in his lungs. He said okay but was still real quiet. I plugged the mask into the oxygen tubing, which then created the mist. He went nuts. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him being he just sat there for almost 5 minutes with the regular oxygen mask on. He started screaming, climbing up the couch telling us to get away, we were trying to poison him and he wasn't going to let us touch him.

With kids, we try to mimic what we're about to do on us or their parent so I quickly took the mask and put it by my face and took a deep breath. He looked at me and said, "You aren't poisoned?" I said no. He said, "you're still awake." I said yes. He said, seriously, "Ok, I'll take it. I thought you were trying to put me asleep for surgery," grabbed the mask, put it on himself and wanted to know why weren't walking him out to the ambulance. We all just stood there, looked at each other, I'm sure dumbfounded, and laughed. A nice change from the normal 1am calls.

Although, I don't think that beats last year when Brian and I took the kids to Hershey Park for Candy Lane. We were leaving the park and serious as can be, Brandon (talking about the walking Hershey bar mascot)...."does he poop out Hershey kisses?" This year when we reminded him of it, he got all embarrassed and denied it. I thought it was cute.

New family member?

We're considering a new member to the family....a new kitty. We're not trading Baxter in or anything. Brian and I talked about getting an additional cat for quite a few months and now for some reason we're doing it a little more seriously. It would give him someone else for him to play with, especially when he's home alone for 24 hrs and someone else for us to cuddle with (even though Brian swears he doesn't touch them). Tonight we went to PetSmart's Adoption Center to be nosy and found a cute gray kitty that was super frisky. His/her personality reminded us a lot of Baxter. I think they'd have fun together.

We're going to wait til after the holiday to make our decision. We'll be out of town for a few days so we its not fair to bring in a new cat and then just leave him here. Plus, we have to find the the perfect cat to compliment us and Baxter. Baxter and I are visiting the vet tomorrow---maybe they know of a free one which would be even better :)

I was half good today.

The lasagna was okay. Nothing I'd write home about...it was a little spicier than I really care for. I packed myself a wonderfully nutritious cooler for the day. And the day started off great. Ended just okay. See, my Capt at work bought us Ledo's pizza as an Xmas gift for supper. It was good. And although I'm sure I ate more than I should have, it was less than normal. So I feel okay with that. I'm not over stuffed...plus I blotted off as much grease as I could. That made me feel better although I'm sure its still saturated with artery clogging fat. Our ice machine at work is broke so I'm having a problem getting the water in. We just went to CVS and I bought some fancy water. Ugh! Its gross. Its like its too soft or something. I don't know how to describe it. Its not like real water or something. I thought I was just being dumb, but my partner agreed. I'm trying to force it.

I'm at work. I think I said that already. But I have no real good stories to write about. Been a fairly easy day, plus I get to work with my old partner Mike who I really miss. But all that means is we'll probably get our behinds kicked tonight. And I have to go to the gynecologist tomorrow AM (sorry for any boy readers that are icked out by that) and I'm not looking forward to that, especially right after coming home from work. I don't know really who does, though. I am looking forward to getting my female issues finally straight. Stupid ovaries. Either it gets fixed or I'm buying stock in tampons. TMI, I know. Sorry! Night night!!

The Weigh-In

The outcome was like I thought it would be. Up 2.6 lbs. No biggee. I just gotta work harder. I stayed for the meeting which I'm glad I did. Then I went to Giant, bought a bunch of fruit and veggies and some stuff for lunch and dinner at work tomorrow. I feel good overall. Glad I read that girls blog and glad it got me off my butt and to my meeting. The leader gave a good advice. Actually she didn't because she didn't feel good, but I somehow had to incorporate the word "leader" into the post for Brian's sake. :)

I cooked supper tonight, which I haven't done in about 2 weeks. Huh, amazing when I stop cooking, the scale reads higher. I have no self-control when I eat out. I love junk!! Anywho, on tonight's menu is Slow Cooker Lasagna. I read some good reviews on it, so I'm hopeful it will be yummy!

WW and blogging

I wasn't sure just how much I'd like this blogging thing. But the more I post and read others posts, it reminds me very much of the emails I type, or try to type, daily to my friends Tim and Laura. They're like mini-vents with a twist of humor. I finally found the search portion of the blogger and came across so many people like me. Not saying I'm going to turn into one of these people who are addicted to online friends and all, but there are people who have the same struggles like me. Especially with the WW stuff, which, lets be serious was the reason I started this whole blog thing to begin with.

I found one, Diet Coke and Zingers, by chance today, and her blog made me do something I didn't want to do today. I'm going to weigh in at WW tonight, even though I 100% talked myself out of going. I didn't want to go because last week I didn't weigh in since I was at work. This week, well, I was unaccountable for everything that went in my mouth. So I'm pretty confident the scales going up. And hearing that you gained, at a weight loss center, is like getting kicked in the gut and saying you failed miserably. I don't really like that feeling much, so its easier to find an excuse not to go and avoid it all together. But I read her post about a binge with cinnamon rolls, which I've had a very similar run in with lately (my new found love of Cinnabon). Long story short....she's going to WI even though the scale might go up. I realize I should do the same. Thats the only way this process is going to work. I was spoiled the first time I lost 70+ pounds. I never had a WI where I gained. Not so much this time around. But anyway, thanks to this new blogging hobby, I have found some new motivators (fellow bloggers). I'm hoping its going to keep me on track, remind me I'm human and falling off the wagon every once in a while isn't the end of the world. Its just a bump in the road and everyone does it.

Now, Cinnabon has to help by creating a fat free, lo-cal, but equally yummy cinnamon roll!! (Stop it! I can hear you laughing!!)

My psuedo nephews....

In the usual Radinsky/Bluefeld fashion, a "pair" of babies have arrived. Brian's sister Amy and her husband, Chris, had baby Carter in November. Ryan, Brian's brother Rick and his wife Holly's baby, arrived in December. Both are absolutely adorable and just in time for the holidays!!

Ryan Robert Radinsky

Carter Dale Anderson

Ever have one of those days?

Ever have one of those days? The one where you think you would have been better off calling in sick or staying in bed? I'm not a fan of stress. Well, certain types of stress. I'm one of those people that when you tell me I can't do something, I'll prove you wrong. Some people caught on to that early in life----coaches, teachers, instructors, etc. They saw my potential, knew my motivators and used them to their (my?) advantage. Work presents a whole different kind of stress. Co-workers, policies (or lack thereof), ungrateful patients/families, calls where you somehow got yourself in a situation you really shouldn't be in, or the ones where you know its only a matter of minutes til the person in front of you is going to die, even though they are alive and talking to you. I don't always like it, but I can handle all of that. It may not always be handled as well as I'd like to but for the most part I do well under pressure. Which, lets be serious....pressure is a fancy word for stress.

But then there's that whole other kinda stress. The kind you can do nothing about, or so it seems. The kind that keeps you up at night thinking. "How can I make this better?" "Why can't that person change the way the think/act?" "How don't they understand what I'm telling them?" "Why do I feel like I'm getting no support?" I don't do well with this. I'm very successful at replacing sleep with thinking. The downfall is with all that thinking I do, I don't accomplish too much. I rarely come up with any answers to alleviate the stressor. All I do is end up with darker circles under my eyes.

Some of the stressors I know I should just accept and move on. There are things I can't change. But that's much easier said than done. When I had an issue a few years back, a lady told me I had two options: quit or deal with it. I don't quit, usually. I quit on stupid things like going to the gym and eating fruit. But not with school and work and most relationships, although some people view my divorce as the opposite. Sometimes quitting seems like the much easier answer. It would be so easy to just give up on everything, pick up and start over. But the more I review my fairly short adult life, I realize historically, there hasn't been a time that has been stress free. So, my guess is, if I "quit," its only a matter of time til that stress will come from another source.

I have to deal. Its not easy. Especially, when there's a bunch of different stuff to deal with all at once, none of which pertain to another. Don't get me wrong....I'm not naive and won't be taken advantage of. If something is not working and I put forth a reasonable effort to try to make it work, I will have no problems saying its time to move on. Some stressors, just aren't worth making you insane. But, on the other hand, I have to accept there are things I can't change. I have to adapt---make changes and deal, as I was told.

I still think, staying in bed is a much better option I think. My only stress then wondering if Baxter share the bed and pray I don't have to leave my house suddenly in the middle of the night. I get some pretty serious cases of bed head.

Time.

This one is kinda philosophical. Maybe its not because I've never taken a philosophy class so I'm not sure what is really philosophical talk. But I think this is what they talk about in philosophy classes, so I'm saying this post is slightly philosophical. That and I just typed philosophy or some derivative of that word 4 or 5 times and each time I've spelled it different so I hope the spell check is working on this thing....

Anyway, I've been sitting here thinking about time. Its kinda crazy if you think about it. When I'm at work 24 hours feels like an eternity. A minute couldn't go by any slower if it tried. When I'm in the back of a medic unit treating someone and they aren't getting better those minutes feel like years and we can't get to the hospital any sooner. After I give that patient to the ER staff, I have to write my report. And once everything is timestamped I realize those year long minutes were really a quick 1 1/2 hours.

This weekend I celebrated my 3rd anniversary at work. On one hand, three years has flown by. On the other, I can't imagine spending 17 more here. I try to look back and figure out why it seems those three years have flown by and why I don't look to the future with the same attitude.

Besides work, my life has changed tremendously in three years. With change usually brings stress and following shortly behind stress is that feeling that "its never going to end." I was married when I got hired by the fire department. We were rocky to start with then, but we put on a good front. I had no idea how much my work would add to that rockiness. Throw in some mental stress of a few of the worst calls I've ever run/seen, the stress from selling a house and buying a new one, longer commutes, an eventual separation, lots of family issues, transfers at work, rumors, moving back to MD an eventual divorce....lets just say that two years or so of work was horrible, or so it seemed at the time. (I don't want you to think work itself was bad---I'm just using it as a timestamp. Work and the people there with me was probably the only reason I didn't go nuts.) Each one of those events felt like an eternity. I swore to my friends I'd never come out of it sane. (Maybe I didn't! :) ).

But out of all that bad, came good. I learned a lot about myself. I learned I'm stronger than I ever thought I was. Yeah, I still second guess myself way more than I should. I still try to please people that I may never really please, and to be honest, I'm not sure why I stress myself out trying. I've learned people believe what they want to believe, and most of the time its not the truth. When I was learning to be a medic, someone told me, "just make a decision. Right or wrong, make it and stick with it. Chances are you'll be right, and if you're wrong you'll immediately know to fix it or never to do it again. " Now granted, that was really geared to treating sick patients, but its really true in life. After living through those two years, I learned I could make decisions about me all by myself. I didn't need to consult someone else or be "told" what I had to do. And with that came a lot of grief. I know people think my decisions may not have been "right" but that's through their eyes. Through my eyes, I can tell you although none were easy, they were right for me.

Reviewing the last year, I can sit here now and say (type) I'm happy. Honestly happy. I have a cute little townhouse which is finally starting to feel like a home, a cost-effective commuter car and a gas guzzling SUV. There's my cat Baxter, who's nickname is Bastard. I really think God or fate brought us together so he could be more of my therapist then my pet. (I pray he never learns to talk or I'm doomed). I date someone with lots of drama and I love him more than I thought I ever could. Its very different then before----I can't even describe it. Sometimes I sit back and say I've got to be crazy. But its working even when it seems like its not, so I have decided to stop second-guessing it and let it go. (See, I told you I had to work on the 2nd guessing....). Speaking of time, I can devote an entire blog about him and time, but I'll spare all of you.

Anyway, I've been told the way my life has played out over the past few years were results of bad, non thought out decisions. "You're going to get hurt"...."you're have ulterior motives"..."you'll never afford it"..."you're friends are making you do this"..."you'll never find someone who will treat you well"...."you're too good for him"...."gas is too expensive"....and then there's my favorite of "you're impulsive." Ha! No decision of mine....not even where are we going to order pizza....has been impulsive. I research the pros and cons of everything before making a decision---including the best pizza place around (if you're interested in knowing the better pizza places in the greater Nottingham area send me a message....).

So anyway, back to time. Sometimes its my best friend and sometimes I despise it. There are times where it feels like its never going to end, but when I look back on it, years seem like days or weeks and all that turmoil is a distant memory. I'm finding out the good times fly and the bad times drag. And while I'm on the learning curve, I have determined that in order to get to the good times, you gotta let the bad times drag. I just hope all the sacrifice is worth it in the long run. Some of these hours just don't seem worth it.

Editors note: I'm a bad speller of philosophy. Spell checker found 4 errors. :( Never mind, make that 5.

Our part-time jobs....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1466998067

Its 338am and my nose won't let me lay down.

Its 338am, I'm up because I can't lay down. And it sucks. Colds suck. Whoever invented them, I'd love to have a chat with and let them know how I really feel. I just read Sukey Bird's blog about her cold last month and I totally can relate to the breathing through your mouth and chapped lips and just overall suckiness to a cold. I'm at work. And I want to be in my bed at home, but the bed in the freezing cold smelly bunk room would work at this point. I guess I can't complain too much. I did snooze for about 30-45 minutes early. That was until we got put on the call for the man that can't breath. The same man that was stabbed multiple times in the past, had chest tubes and maybe was intubated during that time, IVs, tattoos and tells me he spent some time in jail....yeah....he all but cried when my partner went to stick him for his IV. I don't get it. This is the part of my job I absolutely love. There's no denying I work in some pretty ghetto areas. I have met some of the scariest people you would never want to come across in a dark alley. But once they're done talking all their game and they are in the comfort of my nice cozy medic unit, I've heard them beg me not to stick them with a needle, honestly cry crocodile (or is it alligator? I always get that saying confused) tears for their mommy's, bargain with me not to do something medical----everything they'd never want their "boys" to see. And for the most part I treat them exactly the same way I would treat my grandmother. But I love sitting back knowing their insecurities and deep down they probably aren't all that "bad." Don't get me wrong....I still don't want to run into them in that alleyway. I'm not very trusting of a whole lot of people in this world. But this job has definitely given me some insight into different types of personalities, how people react/respond to stress and in a way makes me want to get into the psychology field and ask the question "why" to a variety of people, just to see why they are the way they are.

And with that, we're approaching 4am. I still had 3 hours til I get off so I'm thinking maybe I'll try to sleep a bit. Hopefully my nose will cooperate.

Wait...one more rant? Where the hell is the snow/ice/wintry mix we've heard about all damn week? Um, yea. Its raining. Yucky rain. But not snowing. Or icing. Or wintry mixing. Just raining. I'm not complaining about the lack of storms, because especially being at work, I'm okay with just rain. But, all the hype....for rain?! I understand predicting the future is probably a bit hard for weatherman, but lordy....I was hoping for a flake at least. Maybe another day. When I don't have to be at work.

OK. That's it. Bedtime, hopefully.

She's not lost anymore!!!

Yea!! My poor green trash can has been located. I found her sitting on the corner of Farmside and Open Gate Ct. Poor girl had to do something to make a living after getting whipped up in the windstorm last week and ripped from the only home she ever had. Its unfortunate, she lost her lid, but I think she'll do fine without it. She's just so happy to be back living in the backyard next to Mr. Browncan. I'm sure he'll snuggle up and keep her warm with this weekends upcoming storm.

Ughh! I'm so not looking forward to that. I have to work at 3pm on Saturday thru Sunday at 7am. Prime storm hours. I'm glad I have the 4x4 truck now, not that it will do me much good on ice. I don't like cold and I don't like wet and I really don't like either when I'm at work. There's nothing worse than having cold wet feet. Plus, I have a real cold now and I don't see myself being overly pleasant out in that mess with a runny nose. I hope the cold either miraculously goes away, or I get sick enough where I don't feel bad about calling out.

Brian and I bought our Xmas tree today. Kinda short and stumpy, but he'll work. I'm sure Bastard cat will find a nice nesting spot inside. Why a nice fuzzy cat would think laying on sappy pine needles is comfy, I'll never know. We went shopping today for the rest of the kids stuff. We were 85% successful. Just one more thing each for Bella and Taylor and I think we're done.

Brian's outside decorating (call him Brian Griswald) so I guess I better get upstairs and start decorating the inside a bit. Maybe I'll put pictures on if we ever get done. I don't see that happening tonight, but you never know.

A little bit about a lot.

My WW update.....yeah, well, week 2 went as usual. Crappy. Actually, I don't know that for sure. I worked Tuesday, my weigh-in day, so I didn't get to weigh in this week. I have no idea if I gained or lost. But I do know I ate LOTS of pizza this week. Way more than I ever should have. Then Tuesday I got to work with my lunch bag pack intent on doing well and that went to hell quickly. At lunchtime we got put on this call that took an hour and after sitting there forever, I was way past hungry. Our medical director was on the medic unit doing a ride-along with us and offered to buy lunch from this fabulous hole in the wall Italian deli. I couldn't turn it down! So, in a way I'm glad I didn't weigh in because I'd probably be upset. But on the flip side, I've been very diligent on doing my workout DVDs. I'm hoping that makes up for the extra pizza! :) I'm back to cooking this week instead of eating out so much, so things look like they're getting back on track. We'll see how if my efforts work, next Tuesday. I have to keep doing those workout DVDs---the only problem is I got sick last night with an earache and sore throat. I'm feeling a little better today---just some congestion and a twinge of a scratchy throat, but I'm hoping it doesn't escalate to much more than that. Once I get sick and miss 2 days of a workout, it takes about 2 months for me to get back into it. (Not because I'm sick that long...because I'm lazy.)

Other than that, things have been quiet. Brian and I are slowly, but surely doing projects on the house. After living here for a year, I've started to figure out what things work and what do not. My kitchen needed some rearranging (inside cabinets) for practicality reasons, and I've finally figured out a layout for the pantry/coat closet on the first floor that will work. My bedroom is starting to finally get an upgrade---some furniture will be moving out, nice closet organizers will be going in, and wooden blinds are already purchased for installation. The basement needs a little work---organizing Brian's workshop stuff---initially I offered the unfinished part of the basement as storage for his stuff but it looks like he's not going anywhere, so its time to organize it and make it livable. The finished part of the basement needs a little work---paint and reorganization (organization is the theme today). The major project will be a deck. My patio is pretty much unsafe at this point---the slate tile is very uneven. So, the plan is to put a low deck on----I'm hoping I can find someone fairly cheap for this project. I had a company come out last summer and they quoted me some ungodly high price. Little by little we'll get these projects done. I'm hoping it doesn't drain my pocketbook---I know some projects will be pricey, but others we can do which saves a lot.

I'm actually interviewing tomorrow for a part-time/as needed medic position at Oak Crest Village by my house. Its the same corporation that Brian works for, but much closer to my house. I don't really want to get another job, but I do like having some extra money come in every once in a while. Although the OT at PG is nice, sometimes its just not worth the drive and hassle of working down there.

The Sweetest Place on Earth.....except when its cold.

It was Honey's lucky weekend. He got to spend the whole thing with us. Who's Honey, you may ask? Honey is the cuddly adorable teddy bear that Bella is bearsitting from school. She got to take him home on Friday and he goes back to school with her on Monday. During that time she had to document what they did, including pictures, in Honey's journal. A really cute idea if you ask me. I'm hopeful she gets her portion of her Honey weekend back at the end of the year. It will be cute for her to look back on this 15 years from now. Anyway, Honey showed up with his luggage (yes, he had a Honey bag) packed with his journal, his PJ's, and a snazzy little Santa outfit. Very appropriate for a trip to Hershey Park Candy Lane if you ask me.

Yeppers, we trekked north to Hershey Park. The tradition started last year with Brian and I taking Bella and Brandon up there. Unfortunately, both years Taylor has had "other commiments" as I think she told us, so she didn't go with us. So anyway, the kids (and Honey I'm sure if he could talk) were super excited about going.

We got there and holy coldness! Thankfully the kids and I were bundled up like the kid on A Christmas Story, but Brian in his infinate wisdom wasn't so bundled up---I guess thought there was going to be his own little tropical island following him around, which never showed up, so he was chilly to say the least.

We caught the tram and headed to the Chocolate Factory. That never seems to get old.....I particularly like the singing cows and of course the oven because its warm. But anyway...
After a little supper and of course a delicious dessert it was off to Freezing Candy Lane. It really is cute. Tons of lights, rides for the kids, but the benches need butt warmers! The kids rode a few rides, we all rode the Carousel, and then it was hot cocoa time.

If you're reading this and are sitting there thinking, I'd like to go to Candy Lane and maybe even ride through Sweet Lights (their 1 million light Xmas light display)---my
suggestion is go for Candy Lane, but skip the lights. So not worth the money! A lot of the lights weren't even twinkling and it took almost an hour to drive thru because of all the traffic. The kids fell asleep about half way thru after complaining they wanted us to leave.

Besides the lights, the rest of the trip was good. The kids said they had fun, and the best part of it all, was they slept in late this morning!!

My new favorite snack

I got so sidetracked with my bashing of people unable to drive in snow (or no snow for that matter) that I forgot to mention my newest favorite snack. Quakers Multigrain Minis---honey graham and cinnamon sugar. 1 point for 9 cakes....makes a perfect lunchtime dessert which I'm indulging in now.

Its snowing.

Just a warning, I'm probably going end up on a little rant on this one....

I woke up to snow this morning. It was beautiful. There was a little bit of sunlight and these beautiful fluffy snowflakes just floating down. Gorgeous, I tell you. It was sticking to the grass but no place else. (Enter rant now) So tell me, why in the hell it turns disasterous outside? The roads are wet. Theres nothing to shovel, but you'd swear driving around theres at least a foot of snow. Now, I know I'm a little bias. Growing up in the sticks of PA we got our share of snow. It was nothing to get an unpredicted 6" of snow overnight and still have a full day of school. And if you're reading this from Colorado or Alaska or somewhere that has snow all the time I'm sure you'd be making fun of me for how us Pennsylvanians (or former Pennsylvanians) handle the snow, but really, a full fledged freak out over a dusting? Come on. I love alot of things about MD, but the way the world stops over a dusting of snow is ridiculous. OK, rant over. Back to enjoying the beautiful fluffy white flakes floating down....

Yeah for week 1!!

I'm down 3.6 pounds. Now if that will continue thru week 2, we'll see.

I'm giving in....

So, it looks like I'm officially on the blogger bandwagon. I like being nosy looking into everyone else's lives (well, those that obviously want me to be nosy) so I figure I'll put some of my business out there for others to snoop around. I keep thinking I don't have an interesting enough life to do this blog thing and I don't even know how people find blogs but hell, its something new to try. Maybe I'll be the only one to read it. :)

What to write....

About me, I guess. 27 female, living in Baltimore. I'm divorced and now dating a guy who honestly makes my life nothing less than stressful, but for some reason it really works....and the even stranger thing is that I really want it to work. He has three great kids, 2 girls and a boy who are obviously now a big part of my life. Its amazing how much a year can change your life. Just over a year ago I was happy being me. Now my thoughts are more about a family. I can honestly say I'm very happy---theres been a lot of struggles along the way, but I regret nothing and hope it only gets better from here.

I don't think I lead a very interesting life. I feel like I have no hobbies---I say I like to do a lot but it only lasts a week or so. Like, working out, or painting my house or whatever. My newest kick is to get back on the WeightWatchers regimine. It worked wonders for me years ago---after a bad accident I ballooned---I went from a nice athletic body to 240 lbs. I lost about 70+ pounds doing WW and I've kept it off. It just seemed so much easier then. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to eat. And it usually tends to be junk....not all junk, but lets just say I don't usually indulge in a bowlful of veggies when I can be eating some yummy appetizers or pizza. Last week I gave in (again) and went to a WW meeting (again). I swear this time I'm going to do it (again). Noticing a theme? I start and stop once every 3 weeks I think. But, I feel I have a little more motivation. I saw a picture of my backside from this weekend....now its not hideous by any means....but its NOT what I want. I know I should be a bit lighter and fitter--I have a physical job and need to make it for the next 17 years. I'm hoping this picture is more of a motivation for me. I really just wish I could get back on program like I was years ago. I wish I could remember what made it so easy then....I know I need to get to the gym. Which leads me to my next topic....

Who the hell decided it could get this cold and windy out without asking my permission first? This is absolute ridiculousness. My poor green garbage can is lost in no mans land now.....the wreath on my door found a new house to live at and worse than that, I end up with some serious sticky-uppy hair once I make it inside....

Thats all for now. My official first post is complete. Hopefully this will turn into more than just one of my kicks----ha, it will probably be the new excuse why I can't go to the gym to workout.