On with life

Just a picture....

2008-08-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

Been Awhile.

2008-08-07T23:20:00.005-04:00

So summer has been in full swing. We've had festivals, swimming lessons, family reunions, carnivals, water parks, visiting family members, summer colds,zoo trips, museum trips.
Busy but not completly out of hand.
Actually going to a concert on Sunday. G. Love. Should be fun. We are going with 2 other couples at at High Falls Brewery---guess they have an outdoor concert venue there.
Not really digging the writing thing but just wanted you all to know I'm still around!

If I was married in the 30's

2008-06-28T09:42:00.000-04:00

As a 1930s wife, I am
Poor

Take the test!

Here I am...

2008-06-27T21:24:00.007-04:00

Ok, so it has been awhile. Birthdays, school ending.....And although all this craziness and business is going on I don't feel like I have a whole lot to say. Grace turned 3, which is just crazy. She doesn't go to preschool or anything so she doesn't have friends yet. So we didn't really have a party for her. We let her open presents on her birthday, and then a week later my mom and dad came and we celebrated again. It was sweet though, she wanted a party so bad and was asking when her friends were coming. Poor thing. Here she is on her actual birthday....

On other news....it has been about a year since I started this BLOG and since I started weight watchers. I have lost 46 pounds but the last 5 have been a bitch. I lose half a pound then gain 2, then stay the same then lose a pound and so on and so on. I'm happy though, don't get me wrong. I feel fantastic.
Here I am June 17 last year

And here I am just today:

They are different kinds of pictures but you get the idea. Mike has lost 45 pounds as well and looks fantastic. I will have to get a current photo of the 2 of us together. We are going to a family reunion on the 5th so I will definatly get some shots then.

Dalton finished preschool. Amazing huh. 5 years old, and kindergarten right around the corner---boggles the mind at how fast the years fly by.

Summer is here, all kinds of fun stuff ahead, I'll try to update more as things happen.
I hope everyone has a fantastic summer.

Hugs and kisses to all my friends :)

Dalton is 5 Today.

2008-05-20T09:47:00.002-04:00

It is crazy to think that 5 years ago today, Mike and I became parents. Dalton was born 4 weeks early and nearly 10 pounds....yes the dates were correct! He was a sick little guy though(broken clavical, low blood sugar-stayed in the NICU for a week), but such a good baby. We celebrated his birthday on Saturday with a bunch of his friends from school and some family. He had a blast. Mike and my brother in law and our friend David set up a jungle gym for the kids that is pretty cool. We had been wanting to get one for awhile and saved a couple hundred dollars of christmas money the kids had and the great timing of the stimulus check and voila! Now I need to take some pictures of the kids playing on it!
So anyway today Dalton is 5. Where does the time go? (this also means that on Thursday I will be 33, I remember when that was just so old!
Happy Birthday Dalton!

4 Things

2008-05-02T20:18:00.002-04:00

I got tagged by Nancy though I won't be tagging anyone else....feel free to repost this with your own answers though if you are feeling as bored as I am right now.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1.Waitress
2.Music Store Clerk
3.Health Care Assistant
4. Food Prep

Four movies I've watched more than once:
1. Pulp Fiction
2. The Jerk
3.Forrest Gump
4. The Incredibles

Four T.V. Shows that I watch:
1. Scrubs
2. The Office
3. ER
4. 48 Hours Mystery

Four places I have been:
1. The Bahamas
2. Toronto, Canada
3. Seattle
4. Key West

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Erika
2. Corinne
3. Heather G.
4. Emma

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Chinese
3. Cake
4.My moms mac and cheese

Four Places I would like to visit:
1. Australia
2. Spain
3.India
4. Hawaii

Things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1.Hitting my goal weight
2. Doing something/going somewhere for vacation
3. Dalton Starting Kindergarten
4. Spending more time with my mom and dad this summer hopefully

Happy Spring....

2008-04-23T10:10:00.003-04:00

Just a quick hi. I hope everyone is having beautiful weather like we are here in Western NY. Nothing too exciting these days. Mike is working a ton....I am ready to pull my hair out on a daily basis....but other than that things are good. Lost 1.5 pounds this week!!! Puts me in the 150's which is exciting. I weighed in early since the kids and I are heading to Norwich this afternoon. Grandma is being buried on Friday....not a fun thing, but it will be nice to close that chapter. Oh yeah, last week I got to hang out with a couple old friends. Went to the zoo and museum with my dear friend Tracy and met up with an old classmate and went to the mall and a quick trip to a park with all our rugrats. It was nice catching up!

Oh yeah...for the few of you who may not have seen this... here is a photo of Mike and I from our big night out!

Today is April the 10th

2008-04-10T10:10:00.002-04:00

Ok, so lately I am just feeling completely behind in everything. I am usually on top of the bills and that type of stuff, I usually order prints of my photos soon after uploading them to the computer. But lately I just can't get it together. I actually paid a late fee on a credit card....haven't done that in years! It makes me so mad. I have probably 2 months worth of pictures I need to order prints of, not like its a big deal since I haven't put any photos in photo albums in probably 2 years anyway.
I've been in a rut the last couple weeks with my weight. 2 weeks ago I gained 2 pounds and then last week I stayed there. I weighed in today since we are going out tomorrow night to dinner and to see Jesus Christ Superstar, and finally I am back to where I was 2 weeks ago. I am hoping that by next week I will be in the 150's! I don't think I have been in that weight range since I met Mike, and the only reason I weighed that little when I met him was because of medications I was taking that made me want to vomit at the thought of food.
But all in all, things are pretty good. Mike has started the month of hell at work a.k.a Outage. He works at a Nuke Power Plant and every 18 months they shut down and empty and refill tanks and a bunch of stuff I have no understanding of. All I know is that for a month, Mike will be going into work Sunday-Friday, and leaving the house at 4:30-5pm and coming home at around 7am the next morning. I will for the most part be a single parent for a month. This schedule will go until about mothers day, just in time to get a swingset/gym built in the back yard before Dalton's 5th birthday party! Fun times.
So word is, my Grandmothers burial is supposed to be April 25....kinda sad, but it will bring closure to my aunt and my dad and mom---I really think that chapter needs an ending, especially for my mom. She was simply sucked of her emotion and energy the last year or so taking care of grandma.
So I guess that is all for now.
I hope everyone is enjoying the Early days of Spring! It's finally here!

Thursday.....

2008-03-27T08:09:00.002-04:00

Ok so today is Thursday. My folks are coming into town this afternoon, so I really should be cleaning house right now instead of typing on here but as usual I really do Not feel like cleaning. Do I ever? So what is new? As of last Saturday I have lost 41 pounds since June! Huge milestone, makes me feel good-accomplished you know. Tomorrow Dalton doesn't have school so I am taking him in for his screening for Kindergarten. Crazy to even think he is going to be 5 in May. Some days he just seems so big to me and then just as easily it seems just like yesterday that I was pregnant with him. I have to say though, I don't think I will be one of those teary weepy parents when he starts school. The main reason being, he has been going for 5 days a week for 2 years now, and the Kindergarten here is for only 2.5 hours a day which is what he does now, so it really isn't going to be that much different than it is now. I think on Friday my parents and I are going to take the kids to the museum too since my folks haven't been there yet.
And Saturday, Mike and I will be going out with a couple friends. Been a long time since I've hung out in a bar so that was my one request- that we go to BARS! I can't wait.
Oh, and in April Mike and I are going to see Jesus Christ Superstar, which should be fun. Mike has always been a fan of this musical and he has seen it performed once---I have never been to a big production like this so I am kind of excited too! And Corey Glover- of Living Colour fame-is Judas in it so it's kind of cool to know that someone I am familar with is in the production.
So that is my life for the moment.
Oh yeah, Dalton finished up Karate this week and got his white belt. We are signing him up for 8 more weeks since he enjoyed it so much!

Have a good one!

I got tagged by Missy!

2008-03-18T22:32:00.002-04:00

1. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions for themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags some people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was still living in Texas and had no children.

5 things on my to do list for Thursday:

1.Take Dalton to School

2.Pick up a few groceries if I didn't do it already Wed.

3.Go to the Gym

4.Fold clothes...ongoing chore for me.

5.Pick Dalton up from School.

Things I Would Do If I Were Suddenly Made A Billionaire:

1.Pay off all Debts.

2.Set my folks and my in laws up.

3.TRAVEL

4.Open a Bar

3 of my bad habits:

1.Stressing about daily stuff.

2.Smoking...although it is not nearly as bad as I used to be.

3.Biting my nails...this comes and goes every few months

Places I have lived:

New York State (raised and current residence)

Pennsylvania

Texas

Washington State

Jobs I have had:

Candy Striper at the hospital--my very first job

Food Prep/Line Service

Waitress

Assistant in residental setting for handicapped people

Shop assistant/cashier in flower shop, pet store and 2 music stores

Things most people don't know about me: I don't keep much from people really....

*I was born on my great grandmothers Birthday and that is why my middle name is IVY (her first name)

*I had a brother from my Dads first marriage that I never knew...he died when I was 2 or 3.

I tag Nancy, Melanie and Julie!

Today is Saturday

2008-03-15T10:38:00.002-04:00

With a few minutes to kill waiting to head out the door I thought I'd jump on here for a bit. Things are going pretty good. Today is going to be fun hopefully. I weighed in this morning...stayed the same from last week, better than gaining at least. It just irritates me though because I've lost 39.5 pounds....I just wanted that half pound today-oh well.

Dalton and I are going to a birthday party today-he is SO excited. It is for his classmate Nora and it is at Chuck E. Cheeses, one of his favorite places so it should be fun. Grace is equally excited since she is going to my sisters while we are at the party. She LOVES my sister and is so thrilled be be going over there to play.

Monday is St.Patty's day. So Dalton has a little party at school for that plus it is my volunteer day at school so that should be fun too.

Oh, Dalton started Karate last week too. He is liking it. I haven't been there with him yet since Mike just happens to have those days off---he goes 2 days a week, 6 classes total. But he has a little uniform, which I still need to get a photo of him in it....

Anyway, just a little update. Have a great day.

MARCH FIRST

2008-03-01T10:04:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone. Been awhile since I posted. So anyway, gained a pound this week. I'm almost positive it has to do with "that time of month", at least I'm hoping so. I'm also not beating myself up over it. The last month my weight has been a little mixed up. Between working out with a little more regularity and my new cravings for salty nuts and snack mixes and then throw in my period twice in one month...frickin February! Anyway....I will get out of this rut!

Nothing else has really been going on. I am in desperate for attention right now though. Really needing some adult time, away from the kids again. I really felt like a lunatic half the time this week. Walking on eggshells around Mike because we were arguing about everything. Again, most of this can be chalked up to my period, toss in Mikes work schedule this week of 6pm-6am, which meant waking up at 2, leaving for work at 5:30....always stressful. At any rate, I really want my mom to come for a weekend and hang with the kids so Mike and I can go out alone.

My house is a wreck as usual. That is really what I should be taking care of right now. I went to the gym at 7am before weight watchers this morning, so now Mike is at the gym and took the kids with him. Prime cleaning time, but I would much rather just enjoy the silence after the miserable week I have had. I don't know....maybe I'll shower first and then take it from there.

Weather has been cold...snowy...blowy...wintery.

I am ready for spring.

So I guess that is it for now.

Down 2 More....Valentines Day

2008-02-17T11:09:00.003-05:00

Well, Hope you all had a good valentines day.

This is what I made Mike:

Eat your heart out Julie :)

Well, I've already posted the Tattoo news. I guess the only other new stuff is that I am down 2 more pounds. I now weigh what I did on my wedding day in 2002 :) Feels good. But it will feel better when I hit the 150's, I haven't been there in MANY MANY years.

Dalton is on break from school this week. I was hoping to let the kids stay with my parents for a couple days so Mike and I could have some down time, but they are going to start cleaning out grandma's house and meeting with lawyers and all that fun stuff this week. Oh well. God that would have been nice though. Grace has been making me insane lately....I think I feel the gray hairs starting to sprout!

Anyway, nothing much new other than what I have already said.

Our Tattoos.....

2008-02-15T10:17:00.003-05:00

Here is Mikes Tattoo:

And here is mine:

Got Bored...

2008-02-14T06:18:00.003-05:00

Ok, I hardly ever post update photos anymore. Here is one of me last week. I am hoping that one day, my thighs magically become half thier size!

A little news....

2008-02-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

So for valentines day this year Mike and I are going to get tattoos. I got one when I was 18 and have wanted a second one since that day. Mike doesn't have any yet so this will be his first.

I will definatly post pictures after we get them. This is the guys portfolio who will be doing them:

Dylan Tate-White Tiger Tattoo-Rochester, Ny

He seemed pretty nice, and was working on someone while we were there. Mike gets his done on Tues. and I will go in on Wednesday. I can't wait!

Lets see, well last week I GAINED 3 pound. Ugh. I was so pissed, but I know it can be fixed. I have went to the Gym 3 days this week. Taking a break today, and will go tomorrow to get one more workout in before I weigh in on Saturday.

The family is doing well since Grandma left. My parents seem ok. The services were very nice. She looked good. I mean, I know that is something everyone says as funerals..."oh, she looks so peaceful", "She looks so nice", "they did a good job".....but all those things were really true. The last time I visited my grandma in the nursing home, her hair was a mess...she had a bib on with food on herself, her teeth weren't in (that absolutly broke my heart because that was something my grandma NEVER did when she was well)so seeing her laying there in the casket with nice hair and lipstick...made me kind of happy. She is gone now....I miss her, and think of her just about everyday.

So we are moving on.....I will post again soon.

I love this photo.

2008-02-03T14:01:00.000-05:00

With Grandma's passing still in the front of my mind I thought I would post this photo. I have always LOVED this picture. It has my granddad and his 3 favorite things....

His Lincoln

His Woman

His Gun

It makes me smile to look at this photo. It was taken probably in 1981 or 1982, he died in 1983. This was up at the farm we lived on in North Norwich.

They must be so happy to be back together again.

My Grandma....

2008-01-28T11:04:00.001-05:00

Well, last night the phone rang...at a time that just didn't seem right. Sure enough, it was that dreaded phone call that nobody wants to get.....

Caryn, Grandma's gone. I don't know if the news itself was so sad or just the sound of my mom crying.

I am sad. But Grandma has been sick to different degrees since I was pregnant with Dalton. In the last year it has gotten progressivly worse, her dementia especially. Though she was still living on her own until November when collectively the family decided a nursing home was the safest place for her to be.

I am happy too. She is with my Grandpa now. She is in a place where youth prevails and her brothers and sisters, and my brother(my brother from my dads first marriage-I never knew him) and cousin are with her again.

My parents were with her around 4 or 5 o'clock yesterday and she said she was playing with all her grandchildren, and was singing the song "Together Again" word for word. So I think in her soul, she knew it was her last day. She passed about 8:30 last night.

My grandma was a wonderful grandma.
I have missed the grandma I knew for awhile now....I just didn't realize how it would feel when it happend for real.

I love you grandma.

Have a giggle....On Me.

2008-01-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

Everybody Remembers this famous magazine cover.....

Here is my take on it.....

Mojo was sleeping next to me on the couch and Mike snapped a couple photos. When I looked at them later it cracked me up, then I realized it really did seem like that old magazine cover.

Saturday Night.....Feeling Alright

2008-01-12T22:59:00.000-05:00

Ok, well it is Saturday at 11pm exactly. Mike and the kids are fast asleep. I am on my second cocktail and feeling warm and calm. This is a first for me in many days. The kids have been insane. I swear I have been seconds from calling the doctor to get meds to help me out!

Its been cold but no snow. Feels more like late spring than winter. Can't complain about that. I'm not much of a winter person. Although I spent a lot of money getting Mike set up for snowboarding and he hasn't got to go yet. Monday. That is the day. He will fall most likely, a lot. Because it will probably be pretty icy but he will have fun I am sure.

Mike got me this camera for christmas, and that has been making me nuts too. I hate reading manuals so I've yet to pick that thing up and read it. Therefore I am taking tons of horrible pictures trying to figure out all the functions on my camera. I really do enjoy the close up features it has though and have gotten those down pretty good.

I would post more pictures but I have been having a horrible time uploading photos on this site. It either takes forever or doesn't happen at all. Anyone else? Maybe it is because this is a Safari browser or maybe because I am on a Mac. Who knows.

Anyway.....

Weight loss is still going good. I actually enjoy buying clothes now, which is just too weird for me.

Let's see I guess that is all I can think of right now. Hope everyone is well. It is at times like this I miss all my old friend so much. Growing up sucks sometimes!

How'd that happen?

2008-01-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I managed to lose 3.5 pounds this week! Pretty happy about that. I am almost at the weight I was when I got married in 2002, which was the lightest I had been for many years.

We are slowly getting decorations and such down. It will be awhile before we get the outside stuff taken down but tomorrow I will jump on the other stuff and get it totally out of the way hopefully.

We went to a party on NYE, and what a surprise. We showed up at a housefull of 20 somethings playing ROCKBAND. I mean, 3 guys showed up ready to rock with thier own mics and everything, pretty funny for a group of 30 somethings to witness. Made me feel old!

Oh so I put together a before and after picture. Some of you may have already seen this in your email but I wanted to put it on here anyway.

So the first photo is Jan. 2007, the second photo is Jan.2008

A quick update...

2007-12-30T16:48:00.001-05:00

So Christmas is over. We had a great day. I got a new camera which is a bit intimidating to me at the moment. It has tons of bells and whistles that my current camera doesn't have. I can't wait to use it more though.

I gained a pound over the holiday, which isn't bad considering "they" say the average person gains 5-7 pounds over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The kids have been crazy, and sick. Seems like we have all had a touch of something over the last 2 weeks ranging from an UTI to fevers and snotty noses.

New years eve is tomorrow. Mike and I are supposed to be going out, but still need to hear from our friends who went out of town for the holiday and won't be returning till tomorrow. Also my sister was sick so we don't know if we still have a sitter or not. Hopefully we still get to go out though.

Nothing else too exciting really.

I hope you all have a happy new year.

How To Make A Caryn

2007-12-23T22:12:00.000-05:00

How to make a Caryn

Ingredients:

5 parts mercy

3 parts brilliance

3 parts leadership

Method:
Blend at a low speed for 30 seconds. Top it off with a sprinkle of lustfulness and enjoy!

Personality cocktail
From Go-Quiz.com

Holiday Plans.....

2007-12-20T08:23:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow we head to my hometown to celebrate christmas with them. It should be fun. I don't think I mentioned before that my Grandma is now in a nursing home.

She initially got sick when I was pregnant with Dalton, at Christmas time-so that would be 2002. She spent a brief rehab period in a nursing home/hospital then returned home and has been living on her own since then. My parents helped her clean house, and took her medications to her, but it finally had to end. She has dementia and it was just getting to bad for her to be on her own. So it is going to be odd visiting her in a nursing home, but I know she HAS to be there. My Grandma, the Grandma I remember has been gone for a couple years now.....Wow, that is depressing, don't know why I ran off on that one.

Anyway........

I lost .5 pound this week....better than nothing I guess.

WINTER AND WEIGHT LOSS

2007-12-16T21:39:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I lost another 1.5 pounds putting me at.....drumroll please....

pounds lost!!!!!

On another note I have added more photos to the photo challenge page.

Today the "blizzard" came through. According to my snowman in the front yard we've gotten about 8 inches.

I just let the dogs outside and it is still snowing so I am guessing at this rate my snowman will be covered by morning. I am hoping for a snowday tomorrow, so is Dalton :)

What else is new....oh, I rejoined the gym. I have went twice, but I really want to try and get some sort of routine for myself. Now that I've lost this weight, I am pretty flabby and could stand to get some exercise.

On kind of a funny note, I cannot find the remote for our living room. So I have shut the TV off in there until Mike gets home tomorrow and can look for it....he was the last one to touch it. We have direct TV in 3 rooms, and two of them have interchangable remotes, but since the living room has Tivo on it as well, we can only use that certain remote. I think he accidentally put it in his bag when he was getting ready for work. If it ends up popping up someplace silly I will definatly update on that....I know, such exciting news.

So, I suppose that is it. The kids are very excited about Santa's arrival next week, and we are going to my parents on Friday to have christmas there so they will get to open some really fun gifts before Christmas actually gets here.

I'm sure I will post again before christmas......

Have a good week!

From me and my BIG FAT HEAD!

Ok Nancy, I'm joining in too!

2007-12-11T13:27:00.000-05:00

After reading Nancy's Blog I too am going to do the 50 photo challenge.
Here is the link to my page to see how I am doing:
CARYNS WINTER PHOTO CHALLENGE PAGE
You can also find the link to the challenge page if you'd like to do it as well.
Should be interesting!

Happy Holidays....

2007-12-08T12:11:00.000-05:00

So the holiday season is officially here. Our house is decked out in lights....giving the Griswalds a run for their money! I love it though. I don't let it stress me too much, I have enough non holiday stuff to stress me on a daily basis. The kids are SUPER excited and ask if Santa is coming tomorrow.....EVERYDAY!
All my cards have been mailed out.
My shopping is done for the most part. Just a couple stray gift cards to pick up, a couple boxes to pack and ship.

We picked up the tree the other day. This was our first year that all of us went to the tree farm and hiked out to get our tree. It was beautiful outside walking through all the trees while the snow was coming down.....Cold as hell though....well, hell is supposed to be hot, but you know what I mean.

November 25....feeling good!

2007-11-25T08:57:00.001-05:00

Alright, so Turkey Day is done.....next stop on the holiday front is Christmas. I am ready for it. I love christmas, I really do. And honestly, I think I enjoy the giving more than the receiving. I always have. In the past we always had lots of friends or co workers to exchange gifts with and it was always fun to me to try and put together something special. Even better is when you can find that perfect little "something", that the person just loves. So I am looking forward to that. I actually already found Mike a couple things he didn't request that I think he is going to love.

What else....So I lost another pound over the holiday-awesome. I'm doing good with the weight loss, and it makes me feel great. I think I am really going to do it for good this time.

Last night we went out with David and Lorri. God, how nice this is, to actually have friends again. And you know, I do think I can call them friends. I know I am a little hard to take in at first....I talk too much, and I am scatter brained at times, but if you can get past that I am OK :) We went out to dinner last night at Beale Street Cafe in Rochester and it was wonderful. Good food, good beer and good company-can't beat that. Afterwords we went to see Into The Wild---beautiful movie. I've been wanting to see this. I read the book a couple years ago and was totally taken aback at the way Chris McCallaster decided to to live his life, and the way he ultimatly died because of his decisions. The movie really was done beautifully. It made you want to hit the road and live like a tramp making your way however you can. At any rate, the movie was great!

So my weekend has been a good one! Hope yours was too!

Have a Happy Turkey Day!

2007-11-21T16:53:00.000-05:00

MySpace Animations

Hopefully Mike and I get another chance to get out on the town this weekend!

Today is Monday.

2007-11-19T10:36:00.000-05:00

So not much news to report. I gained .5 pound last week...which I'm not overly concerned about other than the fact Thanksgiving is this week and I weigh in AFTER that. But we are just doing T day with just the four of us, so I do not intend on eating a whole lot more than I normally would on any other day.
Friday night my sister and her husband and Mikes friend from work and his wife came over for a few hours. We had some drinks and snacks and played Pitch after the kids went to bed.
So when do you start calling new aquantices your friends? I mean, Dave is definatly Mikes friend....but I've only met him twice. Same for his wife. But they are really nice people and I like them, and I consider them friends I guess.Friends that I am still getting to know.....
So anyway, back to the weekly grind of school and such this week. Only 3 days so that is nice.
Nothing exciting to write about though.

Happy Autumn

2007-11-14T09:45:00.000-05:00

It is just beautiful outside.....

I used to be cool.....

2007-11-13T06:53:00.000-05:00

So yesterday I got thinking about what the week used to involve in the year before I had kids........
I was a waitress, that only worked lunch shifts.
I hung out at a biker bar.
I saw bands perform LIVE in concert.
I went to the movies at least once a month.
I had friends.

What I do now.....
I work watching 2 little rugrats scream and chase each other, and hug each other too!
I no longer have a hangout of any sort really.
Live performances are few and far between, but I am wanting to go to more.
I go to the movies about 1-2 a year!
I don't have many friends BUT, I learned those(mentioned above) friends were friends of convienance---most of them.

I think the last thing on my list was the hardest lesson to learn. I LOVED hanging out in the bars and partying. But once I got pregnant everything changed. I was no longer "cool" enough for most people. And my friends that still talked to us were afraid to invite us anyplace because I was pregnant I guess. Luckily I had a couple girls that were pregnant at the same time, so at least they kinda knew what I was feeling. My mom lived 3 hours away, so I had no family in town either.
After my son was born I tried to go back to the bar occasionally but that was the only time I had contact with those people, and visited my old coworkers to show off the baby every now and again. NoOne called me or anything like that.
By the time my daughter came along....I don't even know if any of my "friends" even visited her.
By the time we moved(just a few months later)------nobody even came to say goodbye.
Weird....pathetic maybe.
But I lived in the town I gave birth to my children in for 7 years. And although I started my family there, all I left with was a couple email addresses.

MY BABIES....

2007-11-11T21:45:00.001-05:00

So, I just thought this was a nice photo:

In other news.....

I added a playlist so if you are looking at this at work adjust your speakers :)

I lost another 1.5 pounds last week!!!!!

That puts me at 28 pounds lost!

YEAH.

Oh, and I also just realized that our goldfish-MR.GOLDFISH, is at least Three years old. I say at least because I don't know how old it was when I bought it....probably a few weeks or months or something... Anyway, have you ever heard of a damn goldfish living that long?

Some things...updates.....Tuesday & a survey

2007-11-06T06:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I am back from Canada, and Halloween is done. Everything went just great! The kids had an awesome Halloween, and really seemed to enjoy themselves.
My parents showed up on Thursday to stay with the kids while we went away. Oh by the way, I am down another half pound....I did that on Thursday too.
So Dane Cook and Toronto.....
Toronto was great, although very expensive. 15 bucks for 2 beers, though their beer is higher in alcohol percentage wise, 10 bucks for a pack of smokes! Crazy. We ate some good food and walked tons. Took the subway for a VERY short distance and one cab ride.
Dane Cook was funny BUT he did quite a bit of his old material. Which for this show being the opening show of his tour that was a little dissapointing. All the same, it was fun, and it was an experience neither of us had ever done-seeing a "famous" stand up comedian.

A large beer at the stadium was $9.50 and a medium was $7 I think. So when we complain here.......
Leaving Canada took forever. An hour and a half to get across the border, apparently everyone was leaving Canada at the same time.
I didn't really take many photos and I did them on a single use digital camera so I have to actually take it in to get the pictures back, so I will post a couple if they come out decent.
So anyway, the kids had a blast with my parents and I am TOTALLY at ease now about leaving them overnight if the chance comes up again.
On a side note, Grace has started crawling in bed with us at night now. I don't know if its because of us leaving or what, but I almost knocked her off the other night thinking the cat was laying on me!
Ok, that is it for now.
Have a good one.

NOW THE SURVEY:
first baby survey

1. were you married at the time? Yep

2. what were your reactions? I was very happy to be pregnant, but totally amazed at how quickly it happened

3. how old were you? 27

4. how did you find out you were pregnant? Oh my aching boobies! I had never experienced that before and heard that could be a "side effect" of pregnancy so I took a test.

5. who did you tell first? Mike

6. did you want to find out the sex? Nope!

7. did you deliver early or late? Early. Due Date was June 13 I think....He was born May 20---36 weeks

8. did you have morning sickness? No

9. what did you crave? Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches at 2 in the morning, Byrne Dairy Chocolate Milk that My mom had to bring from 3 hours away, and the chinese buffet

10. who irritated you the most? Poor Mike!

11. what was your first child's sex? Boy

12. how many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? Too much, 50 I think

13. did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Some....got food poisoning first, and then developed PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension)

14. where did you give birth? Bethlehem, PA

15. how many hours were you in labor? About 9.5 hours though most of that was PAIN FREE due to epidural

16. who drove you to the hospital? Mike

17. who watched? 2 Doctors, a few nurses, Mike and my mom

18. was it natural or c-section? Natural

19. did you take medicine to ease the pain? Epidural

20. how much did your child weigh? 9 pounds 14 ounces

21. did your child have any complications? Broken Clavical, Low Blood Sugar, Torticollis (the last one we found out a couple weeks after being home)

22. what did you name him/her? Dalton Harold

23. how old is your first born today? FOUR

MOMMY needs COFFE*E

2007-10-30T05:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, so my title of this post is from a children's song by Ralph's World.....he really isn't too bad for childrens music. Anyway, Grace decided to wake up at 4am this morning so I am up. This is going to be a LONG day. Mike usually gets up at 4:30 for work anyway so I at least got to see him off.
Tomorrow is halloween and the kids are excited, even though we did a daytime trick or treating thing on Saturday. Dalton's school is doing a little parade and then a party tomorrow, then we will go trick or treating. After trick or treating we are going to stop by this guys house that Mike works with to check out his Haunted GraveYard that he sets up in his front yard. I do not think Grace will enjoy that too much, but we'll see how it goes.
I am really starting to get excited about this weekend. I am anxious about leaving the kids but I know they are in good hands with my mom so I need to relax about that. They will have fun and probably won't even notice we are gone.
Ok so my brain isn't functioning too well right now so that is all I am going to write.
Here is a picture of the kids in costume from Saturday for those of you that haven't seen it yet. And HAPPY HALLOWEEN in case I don't update tomorrow!

***Grace is a Bat Princess and Dalton is Speed Racer***

I got Tagged!

2007-10-29T17:25:00.000-04:00

What I have to do is share 7 random things about myself and tag 7 more people.

1)I graduated in 1993...14 years ago, holy shit!
2)I'm gonna see Dane Cook in Toronto this weekend!
3) I wear size 12 now!
4)I hate cleaning.
5)I seldom go into a store without my coupon bag....yes bag!
6)Just found out another person I graduated with lives pretty close to me.
7)I talk to my mom AT LEAST once a week.

Now I tag Melanie, Julie, Charlie,Ginger, Brandy, Sherry and Nicole
(None of these guys have posted on thier blogs in ages(except Ginger) so if they are checking in on me, maybe this will give them something to do!)

25 Pounds Lighter!

2007-10-27T08:54:00.001-04:00

Well, actually 26!

I weighed in this morning and I lost another pound and a half and I am absolutly thrilled about it! I really didn't think I did as well as I could have-eating wise-this week. Oh it really does feel good. I really feel like I am on track this time around.
Thanks so much for all the encouragement!

I am halfway to my goal....It took me 4.5 months to get this far so we'll see if I can lose the next 25 by March!

just for fun

2007-10-25T00:02:00.000-04:00

PICTURE COMPARISON

2007-10-23T10:42:00.000-04:00

Ok haven't posted a photo in awhile so thought I'd do a comparison. I am wearing different clothes, but all the same, almost 25 pounds lighter, I just don't see a huge difference....but I know its there :)

JUNE:

OCTOBER:

1 am

2007-10-22T01:03:00.000-04:00

So here it is 1am and I am awake still. Had tons of laundry and just didn't want to deal with it tomorrow so that is what I have been doing for the last few hours. But it is done now and I am happy I have that off the list for tomorrow. I cannot believe this weather lately. It was so nice out today. Mike mowed the lawn and I pulled some weeds, the kids played. It's still very nice right now too. I just took some trash out and it is a beautiful night out, I just wish Mike wasn't in bed and had to get up in 3.5 hours for work so we could sit outside and talk.
Anyway, we went out and saw Yonder Mountain String Band the other night. They were great. I had forgotten what it was like to see a band for the first time. I totally enjoyed their music, but found myself wanting to leave before the end of the show because I couldn't sing along. It was fun though. We got to go out to dinner with Mikes friend and his wife---super nice people. My age, and seemed like we had enough in common to maybe be friends outside of work. Dinner was good, some Asian joint in Rochester. They all had Sushi and I had chinese....I'm boring what can I say. After dinner we went to the show. Good Times and I hope to hang out with them again.
Really looking forward to Toronto. Booked our hotel, now we just have to wait!
Hmmm, what else is new? I went to a craft fair with my sister and got some really great smelling homemade soap, isn't that the most exciting thing in the world....God I hope not!
So I am grasping at straws here to think of things to write about so I guess I will end this until the next time and hopefully I will have something a little more interesting to say!
Have a WONDERFUL week to anyone that is taking the time to check in on me!

Just a quickie!

2007-10-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

So I did my good deed today. I took a carload (literally, a carload,front seats all the way to the hatchback)of stuff down to the Cameron Community Ministries in the heart of Rochester. I feel good in a couple ways. One, that these totally useable pieces of clothing and tons of toys that we no longer need/use, are going to be used by people who don't have the money to even go to a thrift store to purchase used items (I've kinda given up on donating to thrift stores-they overprice the stuff and a lot goes in thier dumpsters too) and secondly, I have freed up a good chunk of my basement!!! Yippee! So I think we will be doing another Toy Sweep through the house before christmas too and clear out some more, our kids have way too much stuff! So I started my day off by doing good :)

Also I weighed in today since we are going out tomorrow. Lost ONE more pound. Feels good. I've lost 24.5 pounds so far!

Enjoy your day!

Went to Norwich

2007-10-14T21:44:00.000-04:00

So we went to my home town this weekend and it was a blast. The kids had SO much fun with Grandma and Grandpa. I got to see my grandma and my aunt and uncle--and their entire family.

Mike and I went to the Bohemian Moon to eat. Nice little place. 66 bucks for 2 appetizers,2 entrees and 4 beers, so not too bad. Needless to say, the rest of the bars in Norwich need a lot of help.

We started at Main Street Music Pub--I think that is the name. Nice Bar, and we were waiting to check out the band for the night. But after them running out of Amstel Light(I had 3 I think) and 9:30 coming around and no band we decide to leave.

So next we ventured to the Grill. Which is called something else now. But let me just say, this was the place you couldn't wait to turn 21 so you could go to it. Well HOLY SHIT, this place sucks now! We walk in and there is NO pool table, NO dart board. A "DJ" is set up with Dance lights going and all the sudden it is a Gangsta club. Who the hell knew this existed in Norwich. So needless to say, we had one beer and got the hell out.

It was fun though. I love going home to visit.

Today Is THURSDAY...

2007-10-11T09:19:00.000-04:00

Ok so the kids are keeping themselves busy in the other room and the wash cycle on the clothes is finishing up so I thought I would do a post on here while I have a little time....

I honestly don't know what is going on, the stars are aligned in my favor I guess because the next few weeks are going to be FUN FILLED for Mike and I. This is very rare for us. So let me start by saying I weighed in bright and early this morning only to find out I didn't lose any weight. That is ok though. I usually weigh in on Saturdays but since we are going out of town this weekend I weighed in today--this will be the case for the next couple weeks because of our schedule. So my goal for next week is to lose 1.5 pounds and that will put me at 25 pounds, so send some positive vibes my way for the next week.

So what exactly is going to be happening this month with us? Well, this weekend we are going to drive to my parents house. Mike hasn't been there since Christmas, and he really enjoys seeing Norwich and my family. Most likely we will get the chance to go out for dinner and/or a movie or drinks or something. The kids LOVE seeing thier cousins too so it is a win/win situation whenever we go back to the homestead. So that is this weekend.

Next weekend....Friday night the kids will be hanging out with their Aunt and Uncle while Mike and I go to the city (Rochester that is) and check out this band-YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND (check them out here:http://www.yondermountain.com/) with one of his friends from work,Dave and his wife. I have never heard this band nor have I met Dave yet. I jokenly call him Mikes boyfriend though because he seems to have more in common with him than with me. They like the same books and music and are always loaning things to one another. I am just happy he finally found someone to connect with at work. Hopefully we all hit it off as a group. I do know that they do not have children-which can sometimes cause problems in social aspects of friendships, BUT, they are our age so who knows. He sounds like a nice guy, so I am looking forward to meeting him, and most of all hanging out with some cool people who I can relate too. I will update on the show at a later time. What I have heard of them online, they sound pretty good.

So then the week after that I guess nothing exciting really. But then the last week in October....well, we have Halloween which is always a good thing. Dalton is super excited about that. Then that weekend-first weekend of Novemeber we are heading up to Canada, Toronto to be exact, to catch Dane Cook. I cannot wait. I still have to book a hotel room. This should be a blast even though I paid entirely TOO much for the tickets. But once upon a time the exchange rate was very much in our (americans)favor, that is no longer the case...not right now anyway and I paid, well lets just leave it at WAY TOO f'ing much!

All that being said, it is almost overwhelming to think that Mike and I will be participating in so much adult activity in the coming few weeks...so exciting!!!!!

SATURDAY

2007-10-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I can't believe it is October and 80 degrees outside....I'm not complaining though. So today I am doing yet one more last minute Garage Sale. I can't believe how much stuff we have. I was supposed to participate in a consignment sale but due to poor organization on their part, I dropped out of it. So now I have a ton of kids stuff to sell, so wish me luck. Hopefully Craigslist helps me out and gets people here.**UPDATE** Broke 100 bucks, that made me happy, and got rid of some clutter!

I have to weigh in today, so I will be back with an update later on that. **UPDATE** Lost one more pound! Very happy about that.

Mike and I are FINALLY getting out of dodge without the kids. I just purchased 2 tickets to see Dane Cook up in Toronto next month. I am an idiot though and should have checked the exchange rate. Oh well, it will be fun and Mike and I NEED THIS! We still have never been away overnight from the kids. Mike has independantly traveling for work etc...I never have other than when I was in the hospital with Grace. So I'm nervous but SO looking forward to it. Mike has never been to Canada, I have once for a concert back in 93 or 94 I think it was. Toronto is very nice.

So that is just a quickie. I will be back later to update this post with my weigh in results........

For your viewing pleasure:

(Mike brought his Fire gear home from work yesterday so Dalton has been loving the mask. He also takes pictures of himself on the computer all the time, and this is what I found on there this morning :) )

Beer is GOOD!

2007-09-27T10:32:00.000-04:00

Ok, I was bored and in the garage and was admiring our WALL of beer bottles and thought I'd take a picture....did I mention I was bored?

For my non NY friends....most of you that check in with me....there is a deposit on soda/beer cans and bottles so we return them. The bottles get taken very seldom so they pile up....by the time I take the bottles in I get some funny looks especially if I have the kids with me. I think most people think I am some party animal alki mom :)
Oh yeah, the Becks are all mine! For anyone doing Weight Watchers out there, Beck's Premier Light is the best! Only 1 point per bottle....64 calories, the lightest beer out there and it doesn't taste too bad for a light beer!!

A little History of me....and my biggest struggle

2007-09-21T21:00:00.000-04:00

MY WEIGHT.

Grace is in bed and Dalton is watching TV, so I thought I'd jot down the history of my struggles with my weight. This may be boring to some of you, interesting to some and possibly maybe inspiring to others. I'm hoping maybe someone out there relates to me and gets something out of this. Its mostly about the numbers I have reached, and left behind and found again.

So my first memories. I guess the first time I can recall having an issue with my weight was in 5th grade. This was back in the day when at the beginning of the school year you got weighed in gym class. At my school, (Sherburne NY) they actually called out your weight to the other teacher writing it down. I was 118 pounds. Much more than the other kids. Obviously this affected me because I still remember that number to this day. Now I never looked like an obese child or anything, because at that time I was tall for my age, who knew I'd stop growing taller a couple years later. But because of my height I guess, I never looked huge but was alway bigger than my friends. So that is the first thing.

I guess when it became an issue next was in high school. I still weighed more than my friends, but ate the same as them. I remember weighing 160 or 180 in 7th or 8th grade. And once in high school I started to try to lose weight. Never had a disorder or anything like that, just would do exercising etc. By my junior prom I weighed 138 and my prom dress was a size 8!!! I looked good, felt good, had boyfriends all that. Isn't it funny how when weight is a major problem with yourself, certain numbers stick out....this will continue until today.

Mt. Biking got big around this time so I was riding everyplace, even after getting a car. Kept my weight rather low until college, probably 150 or so. And then in college I got back up to 180. Now I was only at college for 3 semesters but lived in the town for 2 years. Got in a HORRIBLE relationship, was on Zoloft which left me with NO appetite. Left town, and moved across the country to live with my sister for awhile in Washington State. This is when I met Mike, 2 weeks after arriving.

By the time I met Mike I was in the 160's....that was in 1995. We lived in WA for 8 months, lived with our folks a couple months and then moved to Texas in August of 1996. Had a blast, drank a lot, ate a lot and gained a lot. When we moved to Pennsylvania in 1998 I was in the 190's.

So here we were in PA, still having fun. In 2000 I became vegetarian...kinda. I still ate seafood and dairy. And I ate anything fried I could get my hands on! By the time I joined Weight Watchers for the first time in late spring I think of 2001 I was 217 pounds!!!! What the hell Caryn. But hey it worked, and being vegetarian made it work much easier too since so much of the food I ate was out of a box---soy stuff---it was easy to do the math I needed to do for the program. So I was thrilled and was starting to look very good.

By the time Mike and I got married in June 2002 I lost over 50 pounds and was 164 pounds!!!!!! How short lived this would be...I stopped weight watchers and got pregnant in September. I was 180 pounds the day the doctor gave me the official news in October. By the time Dalton was born in May of 2003 I was 235...just crazy. Now the first 15 came off fast, and I started weight watchers again and got back down to the 180's for awhile.

Only to get pregnant again in Sept. 2004. I was 191 the day I got the news this time. And again was a cow by delivery June 2005...230 I think. Shortly after her birth, Mike got a job offer and the house went on the market and sold in the one week. I was staying at my parents while Mike trained and looked for a home.....ATe take out, moms cooking....just ate badly for awhile.

Jan 2 2006....What the hell have I done to myself. I'm not pregnant and I weigh 225 pounds. I was so upset with myself. Joined the gym, and weight watchers and by June 2006 I was 179.......only to be 201 pounds by June of 2007, which brings us to today.......

I have lost 20 pounds since then. And as of last saturday I am 181 pounds. I weigh in tomorrow, and I hope there is less of me. I never want to see the numbers 190 or 200 again in my life. So I struggle all the time. I am addicted to the scale and weigh myself at least once a day....can't stop.

So send me good vibes that I only continue forward. And if you are struggling with your weight, just know you are not alone.

Another Time Killer from Nancy

2007-09-20T20:23:00.000-04:00

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car), Puggy Forester

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie), Peanut Butter Cup Oreo

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name), C-SMI

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal), Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born), Ivy Norwich

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first), Smica

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink), The brown beer

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers), French Hubert

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy), Patuchouli Snickers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ), Mae Lee

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter), Brookings Branson

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower). Autumn Cala Lily

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Banana Shortsie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree), Omelette Magnolia

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”), The Garage Saling Sunshine Tour

SMILE!

2007-09-18T16:01:00.001-04:00

Here is a new photo of the kids and I, not often I am in front of the camera with them!

20 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-09-16T09:33:00.000-04:00

Well I am down 2 more pounds making my total weight loss 20 pounds!!!!!! YIPPEE!!!

IF YOU HAVE NETFLIX.....

2007-09-13T20:20:00.001-04:00

And I know you personally...or you are an online pal of mine please go to this link:
http://www.netflix.com/BeMyFriend/POqwXqHPOaa6Bw6bKSo7

Anybody Wanna Cruise?

2007-09-10T17:56:00.000-04:00

Ok, so most of you know...well people who know me that are reading this, that Mike and I went on a "specialty" cruise for our honeymoon. We did the rockboat cruise. It was a ton of fun, a Carvival cruise ship, but instead of the typical vegas style entertainment, it was all musicians---rock music and lots of alcohol!!

So anyway, we are thinking about going on another one. RockBoat is sold out this year, but John Mayer is doing one in February. There are still cabins left and for 2 people they start at about 750 per person and then 99 per person for taxes and transportation and hotel on top of that. Pricey but fun.

So what I would think would be awesome is if some of our friends went too. How much fun would that be? It is a short cruise-3-4 nights. If we go this will be our first time leaving the kids overnight...extended no less...with family.

So check out the site and let me know what you think.
Martin Sexton is one of the performers too, never seen him live but have several of his albums and he is wonderful!

http://www.mayercraftcarrier.com/

18 Pounds

2007-09-09T22:49:00.000-04:00

Well I am officially at 18 pounds lost!
Here is my full body shot:

And here is the face:

I really don't see too much difference even though I know the weight is gone, and I've went down 2 sizes. I guess one day I will just look different or skinny out of nowhere.

So other happenings:

Dalton went back to preschool this week and is LOVING IT!
Guess that is all the real excitement.....
God I suck at this....

Here are some pictures to look at:

My attack cat abby who just adores the children

Our beer loving lady Nico who is aging gracefully

Last but not least our loveable goofball Mojo

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Today is Tuesday

2007-09-04T12:51:00.000-04:00

Tuesday

The god Týr, identified with Mars, after whom Tuesday is named.

Tuesday is the second day of the week following Monday. The name comes from Middle English Twisday, from Old English Tiwes dæg, named after the Nordic god Tyr, who was the equivalent of the Roman war god Mars.

In Latin, it is called Martis dies which means "Mars Day". In Romance languages except Portuguese, the word for "Tuesday" is similar to the Latin name: mardi in French, martes in Spanish, martedì in Italian, and marţi in Romanian.

Portuguese uses numbers instead of pagan names and so their word for "Tuesday" is terça-feira.

The English and Scandinavian names are derived from the Nordic god Týr:

* Old English: Tiw, Tew, or Tiu
* Swedish: Tisdag
* Danish: Tirsdag
* Norwegian: Tirsdag or Tysdag
* Icelandic: Týsdagur
* Finnish: Tiistai (borrowed)

The German word Dienstag and the Dutch word Dinsdag seems to be derived from the god referred to by the Romans as Mars Thingsus, the god of the thing, which might also be Týr, or possibly some other Germanic god.

The Russian word for "Tuesday" is vtórnik, meaning "second"; that is, counting Tuesday as the second day of the week.

Quakers traditionally referred to Tuesday as "Third Day" eschewing the pagan origin of the English name "Tuesday".

In the Greek world, Tuesday (the day of the week of the Fall of Constantinople) is considered an unlucky day. The same is true in the Spanish-speaking world, where a proverb runs En martes, ni te cases ni te embarques (On Tuesday, neither get married nor begin a journey). For both Greeks and Spanish-speakers, the 13th of the month is considered unlucky if it falls on Tuesday, instead of Friday.

Tuesday is the usual day for elections in the United States. Federal elections take place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November; this date was established by a law of 1845 for presidential elections (specifically for the selection of the Electoral College), and was extended to elections for the House of Representatives in 1875 and for the Senate in 1914. Tuesday was the earliest day of the week which was practical for polling in the early nineteenth century: citizens might have to travel for a whole day to cast their vote, and would not wish to leave on Sunday which was a day of worship for the great majority of them.

In business, particularly office work, studies have shown that Tuesday is usually the most productive day of the week.[1]

In Thailand, the color associated with Tuesday is pink, see [1]

Tuesday in popular culture

* Tuesday Creative (tuesday.com) is a Los Angeles based interactive agency.
* Tuesday Morning is a chain of discount gift and home accessory stores.
* Tuesday Night Book Club was a short-lived show CBS reality TV series that aired on Tuesday evenings.
* Grim Tuesday is the name of a book by the childrens author, Garth Nix
* Actress Tuesday Weld
* Ruby Tuesday (restaurant)
* In Rejected Cartoons, "Tuesday's coming, did you bring your coat?"

Music

* The song "Tuesday (I'm Not Ordinary)" by The Most
* Last Tuesday (punk rock group)
* The Real Tuesday Weld (band)
* Til Tuesday (new wave group)
* Tuesday Night Music Club is the name of Sheryl Crow's 1993 debut album
* The song "Tuesday's Gone" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
* The song " Love You Till Tuesday" by David Bowie
* The song "Tuesday Heartbreak" by Stevie Wonder
* The song "Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)" by The Moody Blues
* The song "Tuesday Morning" by Michelle Branch, on her 2003 album Hotel Paper.
* The song "Tuesday's Dead" by Cat Stevens

A different song of the same name by Melissa Etheridge can be found on her 2004 album "Lucky"

* "Tuesday's Child" is a song by the band All About Eve sung by "Julianne Regan" on their album "Scarlet and Other Stories"
* The song "Ruby Tuesday" from the Rolling Stones

Astrology

In French, Tuesday is "Mardi", associating it with the planet Mars. Tuesday is also associated with the dwarf planet Pluto. This marries Tuesday with ideas of strife, battles to be won and pressing issues and jobs to get sorted. It is not a day to relax. This same meaning can be seen in the Spanish "Martes" and the English "Tuesday" ("Tyr's day.") In India, Tuesday is called "Mangalvar", for the Vedic planet Mangala or Mars.

Named days

* Black Tuesday, in the United States, refers to October 29, 1929, part of the great Stock Market Crash of 1929. This was the Tuesday after Black Thursday. The crash is said to have marked the start of the Great Depression.
* Patch Tuesday is the second Tuesday of every month when Microsoft releases patches for their products. Some system administrators call this day Black Tuesday.
* Shrove Tuesday (also called Mardi Gras - fat Tuesday) precedes the first day of Lent in the Western Christian calendar.
* Super Tuesday is the day many American states hold their presidential primary elections.

***Taken from Answers.com***

Sunday.....thought for the day.

2007-09-02T19:03:00.000-04:00

"NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS"

I don't understand the letters Nancy, but this is what they say I am....

2007-08-30T14:58:00.001-04:00

Well, I think this is pretty fitting for me.

You Are An ENFJ

The Giver

You strive to maintain harmony in relationships, and usually succeed.
Articulate and enthusiastic, you are good at making personal connections.
Sometimes you idealize relationships too much - and end up being let down.
You find the most energy and comfort in social situations ... where you shine.

In love, you are very protective and supporting.
However, you do need to "feel special" - and it's quite easy for you to get jealous.

At work, you are a natural leader. You can help people discover their greatest potential.
You would make a good writer, human resources director, or psychologist.

How you see yourself: Trusting, idealistic, and expressive

When other people don't get you, they see you as: Bossy, inappropriate, and loud

What's Your Personality Type?

What's new...

2007-08-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

Well, nothing really. I keep coming back to my Blog with nothing to write about. Hoping to read about all the excitment in everyone elses world....seem to be pretty slow with everyone lately. The kids and I went to Norwich and stayed with my parents for a few nights, that was fun. We went to some garage sales and visited with my grandma. There was a small carnival going on as well a few towns over so we took the kids there. Summer is definatly coming to a close.

I love Summer but I think I am ready for fall. When we moved back to NY that was one thing I was SO looking forward to. The autumn in the northeast is just beautiful. The colors are amazing and the weather so brisk, and the fresh air.....I can't wait. Dalton goes back to school next Wednesday. He is excited. I am happy but not looking forward to the hectic schedule again.
I've been trying to do some major cleaning up. So far I have taken 2-3 garbage bags of clothes to a local church as well as a full box of window treatments that don't fit our windows here but did at our old house. I took a carload of stuff to a thrift store, and put a kids table,our old kitchen sink and an infant carseat base curbside which all were promptly scooped up without having to go to the landfill so that made me happy. I plan on participating in a HUGE consignment event with the rest of the kids stuff I need to get rid of. Made some decent money at it in the spring. If you have kids you should see if anyone around you ever does this because you can get rid of SO much stuff and get more money back than you would at a traditional consignment shop. Google consignment event for your area and see if you can find one....definatly worth the time of dragging EVERYTHING out, because it will sell!
I will continue to jump around here....anyway check this guy out

I thought this was the most demonic looking goat I have ever seen! This guy lives at the Lolly Pop Farm humane society. This place is great, its a non kill shelter and has everything from cats and dogs to horses and goats. You can adopt or just visit.
Old age is finally creeping up on Nico.(This is our black dog for those of you not totally sure) I finally had to buy her some suppliments. She limps around a bit, so I started giving her glucosomine/chondriten and it seems to help a bit. I wish she wasn't getting old.
Well I suppose I have rambled enough. Dalton got a haircut today and the kids are getting photos taken tomorrow so I will post those when I get them. I hope everyone is doing well. Stay in touch.

SUGAR HIGH....

2007-08-22T19:15:00.000-04:00

THIS CRACKED ME UP. DALTON GOT THIS HUGE LOLLYPOP AT THE HOTEL/WATERPARK AND TOTALLY CRASHED WHILE EATING IT. JUST THOUGHT I'D SHARE A GIGGLE WITH YOU ALL.

It's Saturday...I am tired.....but still losing!

2007-08-18T08:07:00.000-04:00

Ok. Well in a few minutes I am off to get weighed. I have to take the kids with me today and we are taking the car. Usually I walk or ride my bike but we are all still groggy (it is just now 8:10am) and I have to pick up a few things from the grocery store anyway.

SO....

Not much new around here. Dalton has been invited to and went to a birthday celebration at the local amusement part and we had a big playdate yesterday with some of his friends from school---that was a lot of fun. BUT, I was a little dissappointed that nobody commented on my weight loss :( I really thought someone would notice. Oh well.

Ok, so after NOT losing or gaining anything last week, I lost another 3 pounds this week!!! bringing the new total to 17.5 pounds gone!!!!

I didn't make my goal of 20 pounds by the 18th, but I'm close so I am not upset about it.

Aug 9 pictures

2007-08-09T21:14:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I am a day early....dont see much of a difference from last month.....

Medical Confusion....

2007-08-09T17:05:00.000-04:00

Ok so this post is about my Parents. About a year ago the doctors told my dad he had an enlarged liver/fatty liver. But they never really did any further testing beyond that as far as I know. So this month he had an MRI done, actually just last week. And they "saw something", not really sure the whole reasoning, but they wanted to do a whole blood workup and another MRI. So now they tell him he has Hepatitis. When I asked my mom what kind she said the doctor told her A. The thing is, his liver has been enlarged for some time now and isn't HEP A something you contract in a relativly short period of time? I have thought that his liver issues have had to do with his medications, he has been on Darvacet for years which I've heard is horrible for your liver. In the meantime, my moms cholesteral is skyrocketing and she is on Lipitor. Since she's been on it her legs have swelled like balloons and when she talked to her doctor, the same one who has been treating my dads issues, she said, oh no that is NOT a Lipitor side affect. Well apparently it is for my mom.
Honestly I don't think my parents ask the right questions. And they already have said they will switch doctors now that me and my sisters keep telling them this lady doesn't know what she's doing. It is frustrating to me to be 3 hours away and not totally know what is going on except for the fact that my parents don't really know what is going on.
I personally think my dad should have another blood test done, and be taken off the Darvacet. And my mom's medication needs to be switched too. Oh and also, they never told my mom that there is a generic form of Lipitor which would save her over 80 bucks since she is retired and doesn't have insurance at the moment.
Why do we have to get old and sick? I mean, my parents are 62 and 69...my dad the older of the two, so I know these things happen. But when I KNOW they are going to incompitant doctors it frustrates the hell out of me. Besides that, I would like to know for sure if we have to worry about contact etc and my mom seems unsure that it really is HEP A and not C.
So anyway that is my rant. Thanks for "listening".

I've Been Simpsonized!

2007-08-06T13:21:00.000-04:00

Here I am as a SIMPSON...What do you think?

Saturday Morning

2007-08-04T08:59:00.000-04:00

Just got back from weigh in....down 1.2 which is a total of 3 pounds lost during vacation--NOT BAD. Also bringing my overall total to 14.5 pounds lost since June 9. So I think I'm doing ok. I told myself I would stay at the meeting this week since I don't get the chance to very often, but I promptly walked my ass back home. No air conditioning in the building...church and one little fan wasn't going to cut it for me. Besides that the regular group leader wasn't there....so maybe next week. So that is about it for my update.

PLEASE ADD YOUR PHOTO TO MY GUEST BOOK AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

Oh, if you have NETFLIX let me know....I'd love to add you to my friends list and if you would like to add us. We love to see what our friends and family watch and what thier opinions are of movies etc...
thanx.

Trip Pictures

2007-08-01T20:53:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we all survived....just barely at the end though.
So this was our trip...round trip over 2000 miles. First we went to an indoor waterpark/resort in Sandusky OH called The Great Wolf Lodge. It was fun and stressful all at the same time. I think it took us 6 hours to get there and the kids were excited but tired. Worth the money though and I would love to do it again in the winter. We stayed there overnight and then drove to Kentucky to see some of Mikes family, the kids had a blast playing with "cousins" and running around in the country--it really is beautiful out on his familys land. So after 2 nights there it was off to Mikes parents in Jonesboro AR. This was a pretty smooth part of the trip considering it was the longest. We got to visit with Mikes sister and her family for a couple days....went out to eat and did Chuck E Cheeses while they were in town. After they left Mikes folks and us and the kids all went to the Memphis zoo....very nice zoo though I do NOT advise going when it is 95 degrees outside. All the animals were asleep due to the heat so there wasn't much action.
The kids had an awesome time with their grandparents and cousins. They were spoiled rotten as were Mike and I. The drive back wasn't as fun....We drove to Indianapolis and spent the night and then went to Erie PA to Splash Lagoon...another indoor waterpark in which we had an AWESOME kid suite at the Holiday Inn Express which was connected. Today we only had to drive 3 hours which was much more bareable than most of the rest of the trip.
What we have learned:
Portable DVD players are awesome for little ones (we bought one after getting to Arkansas)
It is possible for an entire family to lose their minds after several days in a car together...age is NOT a factor here.
Grace is not a traveler!!
Dalton gains and loses his nerve on a semi daily basis.....will have to post about this another day.
Even if your house is spotless when you leave, 2 kids can mess it back up completely in less than an hour.

OH TO BE 4 AGAIN

GRACE AND MIKE ON THE CAROUSEL AT MEMPHIS ZOO

POLAR BEARS AT MEMPHIS ZOO

GRACE ON THE TRAIN AT MEMPHIS ZOO

IN THE CAR....IF ONLY IT HAD BEEN THIS PEACEFUL FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP

AT THE PARK IN ARKANSAS

I Survived!

2007-08-01T14:45:00.000-04:00

I will post more within the next couple days....but we all arrived home today all body parts still in tact. Wow what an adventure traveling over 2000 miles with a 2 and a 4 year old....and a crabby 37 year old! Will update later.

7/20/07

2007-07-20T10:04:00.000-04:00

Ok, so we have a busy day ahead of us today. Change the oil, drop off the dogs,clean and pack the car, clean the house up so it is nice to come back to. Mike just got off the overnight shift so I have to get him up around noon. This should be a fun trip.
Oh and Julie, I think my mom used the same strategy with us as well. We even took the dog with us on family vacations sometimes.....God I can't even imagine doing that now.
So anyway, if I can remember how to log in and remember the web address I may update from Arkansas but I don't know.
Happy EARLY birthday Julie!!! And thanks for the encouragement to everyone that has wished me well on my weightloss.
Have a great weekend!

50 Things

2007-07-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

50 Things..........
I got this from my friend NANCY......50 ODD Things about you!
Learn 50 Things about your friends, and let them learn 50 Things about you!

1. Do you like cheese? yes
2. Have you ever smoked heroin? Nope
3. Do you own a gun? NOPE, but my husband does.
4. Your favorite song? Still pay for what you get by Dave Matthews Band
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Depends on what I am going in for
6. What do you think of when you eat hot dogs? No clue
7. What's your favorite Christmas song? Can't say I have a fav
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? coffee
9. Can you do push ups? Not very well
10. Is your bathroom clean? Not really
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My engagement ring
12. Favorite Hobby? Garage Saling
13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite Sex? don't have one
15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? I hold grudges
16. Middle Name? Ivy
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment?
A) I just heard Dalton come downstairs
B) I should get off the computer
C ) What am I gonna do today
18. Name the last 3 things you have bought.
A) Iced Coffee
B) Donut for Dalton
C) Donut for Grace
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink.
A) coffee
B) Diet Soda
C) Water
20. Current worry right now? How are the kids going to be on the trip
21. Current hate? cleaning
22.Favorite place to be? hanging out with my mom
23. How did you bring in the New Year? Watched Dane Cook DVD with Mike
25. Name three people who will complete this and Return?
a)Brandy maybe
b)Nicole maybe
c)????
26. How many siblings do you have? 3
27. Do you own slippers? Yes
28. What shirt are you wearing? white tee
29. What shampoo do you use? whatever is cheap---right now PRO V
30. Favorite color?green
31. Would you like to be a pirate? no.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower? no singing in my shower
33. Favorite female name? Grace
34. Favorite male name? Dalton
35. What's in your pockets right now? No Pockets
36. Last thing that made you laugh? Dalton doing exercises last night
37. Best bed sheets as a child? don't know
38. Worst injury you've ever had? Stiches when I was 2 and 4
40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Five, only 3 with cable
41. Who is your loudest friend? Thom
42. Who is your most silent friend? Mike
43. Does someone have a crush on you? not that i know of
44. Do you wish on shooting stars? sometimes
45.What is your favorite book? Don't have one
46.What is your favorite age? 21 was a lot of fun---Beer Garden
47. What song do/did you want played at your wedding? ????
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? Something fun
49. What were you doing at 12 am this morning? Midnight?Umm, watching TV
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Wasn't sure what day it was.

Reached my first goal---next goal AUG. 18

2007-07-19T08:01:00.000-04:00

Ok so today I officially reached my first goal....10 pounds before vacation! I lost 2 more pounds putting me at 11.5 total, so YIPPEE! One small feat accomplished. NOW, my next goal is to reach my 10 percent-which is 20 pounds. Can't say I have a timeline really so I guess I will give myself another month. So lets say by AUGUST 18 (since I weigh in on Saturdays typically) I want to reach 20 pounds which is 10% of my original total body weight.
Packing is coming along very well, just have to get a few more items together and we will be just about set!

Countdown....

2007-07-18T10:40:00.000-04:00

So we leave on Saturday morning bright and early and I am slowly getting things squared away. Getting small things checked off the list. The main thing is packing clothes. I have the snack and cooler situation figured out. All the toiletries are packed and ready to go. I'm in the process of getting the waterpark stuff all in one piece of luggage (that is our first stop).
The dogs go to the kennel on Friday afternoon and I'm getting the car cleaned inside and out on Friday as well....God my car needs it so bad too. Gas tank is filled and should still be ok for takeoff on Sat. morning.
I'm weighing in tomorrow instead of Saturday since we are going to be on the road Saturday. I will be extremely PISSED if I don't lose any this week.
We had 2 (out of 3) toilet seats break in our house this week...what are the chances of that. So I would like to at least have new ones purchased before we go so they can be fixed when we get home.
So I will probably post again tomorrow after I get weighed if anyone is interested. And who knows maybe I will have another post before we go too......
Then we hit the highway!!!!

Dalton the future plumber!

Saturday Ramblings

2007-07-14T15:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I weighed in today and NO CHANGE! I am half a pound from the first goal I set for myself and today should have put me over that. UGHHHH. It makes me crazy. Although there are some "womanly" things going on right now that tend to affect my weight but still. I know I should be happy I didn't gain....
I have one more weigh in next week before we hit the road for vacation so hopefully I will see some change next week.

I decided to do a last minute yard sale today too without putting an ad in the paper or anything. I made 19 buck. I am RICH! But hey, its stuff that was clutter---quite a bit actually considering most the things I sold were 50 cents, 25 cents and a dime.

There has been a little finch in my garage for a couple days now. That silly bird cannot figure out how to get out. Abby (my cat) went out there and was just hoping it would swoop down by her (Abby is an excellent hunter dispite being inside and declawed)

Next week we head out to visit Mikes family. First stoping in Kentucky-outside of Louisville to see his Grandma. We haven't seen her since Dalton was 6-7 months old, and sadly this will most likely be the last time the kids see her again as her health seems to be declining rather steadily. After visiting there for a couple days we head to Jonesboro Arkansas to see Mikes folks for a week or so. This should be interesting. Did I mention we are driving with the kids? I will probably have as much hair as Mike when we return.
Or else I will look like this:

Still have NOT folded that laundry.....or vacummed....or swept.....God I am a loser!

So those are my ramblings for Saturday.

Picture Update

2007-07-13T08:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I said I would post a face and body picture on the 10th of every month....I'm a couple days late.
Anyway, can't say I see a big difference myself (look at old posts to find first pictures)

My Early Morning Face :)

Same Shorts but a different top from the 6/10 photo

Thursday.....

2007-07-12T10:52:00.000-04:00

Ok, so domestic goddess I am NOT. Though I made the decision, and have always known I wanted to stay home with my children, the "homemaker" part of the deal I have NEVER been good at. This is what I have accomplished today......

*Load of laundry washing
*Dishwasher loaded and running-sink wiped out
*Coffee made, drinking second cup
*Tagged a few things for garage sale in near future
*Fed myself and the two little ones
*Watered the dogs(Mike fed them before work)
*Went through medicine cabinet and tossed some old stuff

So not a whole lot to speak of really. As I look around, my carpets need vacuming desperatly, my floors need sweeping and mopping(swiffer wet jet is my mop), the dog/cat hair is out of control on these floors sometimes. I have 3 baskets of laundry folded but they need to be put away. And dinner tonight, NO CLUE.

Its mild and breezy outside and the last place I want to be is in this house. Garage Sales start on Thursdays around here, so maybe we'll go out for a little bit and look around. So anyway....

Today's Weigh In

2007-07-07T10:01:00.000-04:00

Ok so today the kids and I rode down to the church for weigh in again. Another 2 pounds down...bringing me to 9.5 pounds....feeling pretty good about it too. 40 more would be fantastic though! Patience I know. So that is my little update. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

movie survey

2007-07-06T14:40:00.000-04:00

I took this off my nieces MYSPACE page.....

I've seen at least 124, I'm sure I missed a few.

The story is that if you've seen 85 movies you don't have a life. So how many have you seen?

( x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
( x) Grease
(x ) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x ) Boondock Saints
(x ) Fight Club
(x ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(x ) Blazing Saddles
(x ) Airplane
Total:8

( x) The Princess Bride
(x ) AnchorMan
(x ) Napoleon Dynamite
(x ) Labyrinth
( x) Saw
( ) Saw II
(x ) White Noise
(x ) White Oleander
( x) Anger Management
( x) 50 First Dates
() The Princess Diaries
() The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 17

(x ) Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
(x ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x ) American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 20

( x) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x ) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( x) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 23

(x ) Finding Nemo
( x) Finding Neverland
(x ) Signs
(x ) The Grinch
(x ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
(x ) I, Robot
( x) Robots
Total so far: 30

( x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
(x ) KingPin
(x ) Never Been Kissed
(x ) Meet The Parents
(x ) Meet the Fockers
(x ) Eight Crazy Nights
(x ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 39

(x ) A Cinderella Story
(x ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumb & Dumberer
(x ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween H2O
( x) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far:44

( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
(x ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(x ) I Am Sam
(x ) The Whole Nine Yards
(x ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 49

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( x) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x ) Nightmare on Elm Street
( x) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
( x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 53

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
( x) Ocean's Eleven
( x) Ocean's Twelve
(x ) Bourne Identity
( x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star State of Mind
( ) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog [both versions]
( x) Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
(x ) Curious George
Total so far: 59

(x ) Independence Day
(x ) Cujo
(x ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x ) Christine
(x ) ET
(x ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss's Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(x ) War of the Worlds [both versions]
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 66

( ) Best Bet
(x ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
(x ) Calendar Girls
( x) Sideways
( x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x ) Ever After
( x) Wizard of Oz
( x) Forrest Gump
(x ) Big Trouble in Little China
( x) The Terminator
(x ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3

Total so far: 76

(x ) X-Men
( ) X2
( ) X-3
(x ) Spider-Man
(x ) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
( x) Catch Me If You Can
(x ) The Little Mermaid
( x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
( x) Shrek
() Shrek 2

Total so far: 84

(x ) Swimfan
( x) Miracle on 34th street
(x ) Old School
(x ) The Notebook
( x) K-Pax
(x ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( x) A Walk to Remember
( x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x ) The 40-year-old-virgin

Total so far: 93

(x ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x ) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
( x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 99

( ) Love & Basketball
( ) Hostel
(x ) Waiting for Guffman
(x ) House of 1000 Corpses
( x) Devil's Rejects
(x ) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x ) American History X
( ) Three

Total so far: 104

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
( x) Monsters inc.
(x ) Titanic
( x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x ) Shaun Of the Dead
(x ) Willard
Total so far: 109

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
(x ) Dawn Of the Dead
( x) Hook
(x ) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld

Total so far: 112

( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
(x ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
(x ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 114

( x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
( x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
( x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
( x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 120

(x ) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( x) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x ) Silence of the Lambs
(x ) Hannibal
Total so far: 124

July 5, 2007

2007-07-05T13:06:00.000-04:00

Ok, so yesterday was independance day. We took the kids to thier first parade. Dispite the rain they really enjoyed themselves, dancing and marching. It is still raining today too. Pretty much makes me want to do absolutly NOTHING! Ok, I thought maybe I had it in me to write something worthwhile but I guess I don't. Maybe something exciting will happen later.

Sorry Nancy, I'm a copycat

2007-07-05T09:53:00.000-04:00

You Are an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

On the surface, you're a little plain - but you have many subtle dimensions to your personality.
Sometimes you're down to earth and crunchy. Other times, you're sweet and a little gooey.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Down 2 more

2007-06-30T09:25:00.000-04:00

Baby steps.....
2 more pounds gone, hopefully for good this time.
Started the day off right by packing the kids in the bike trailer and riding to the weigh in. It's only .25-.5 mile down the road but it still felt good. I normally walk but since I had to take the kids with me the bike seemed more fun than pulling a wagon down the road.
They were rewarded for being so well behaved with a nice sprinkled donut from dunkin donuts. They really are good kids most days.....they just drive me nuts sometimes that is all.

I've Been Tagged....

2007-06-29T17:08:00.000-04:00

By Nancy.

I am supposed to post 7 random facts about myself. Then I am supposed to tag 7 people.
Here they are:
1-I've lived in 4 different states.
2- My middle fingers are crooked.
3- I don't leave the house without my coupons.
4- I brush my teeth in the shower.
5- I can make an awesome veggie lasagna!
6-I was born on my great grandmothers birthday.
7- I like to sneak a cigarette now and then.

I would tag 7 people if I had 7 seven people to tag :)

Ok Day.

2007-06-29T16:42:00.001-04:00

This is what it looks like when I'm feeling pretty good about myself.

2 more pounds

2007-06-25T17:05:00.001-04:00

God, I forgot how agonizing it was to get weighed every week. BUT, when you know SOMETHING was lost it is worth it. The thing I have always loved about weight watchers was you can eat your normal food, just reasonable portions. I know some people still go to everything fat free but I just can't do that. I still eat Pizza and drink beer, Just in moderation. It works, and I will continue to lose as long as I am accountable for my own actions. The first time I did weight watchers I was vegetarian except for dairy and seafood, and the program was so easy. Seemed like most things I ate worked well with the program-I was just eating too much of it before. Now I do eat more junk so I am trying to change habits. But anyway I am down 2 more pounds making a total of 5.5 pounds since starting weight watchers so my goal of 10 pounds by the end of July is well within my reach!

Our Anniversary

2007-06-20T15:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I am a day early but we have a TON of stuff going on tomorrow so I just wanted to post about us. Mike and I finally tied the knot on June 21, 2002 after being together since 1995. I've never had the typical fairy princess wedding dreams. Just wasn't me. I didn't want a performance, marriage was about 2 people coming together to show their love for one another. So we went to Myrtle Beach, SC and met up with our folks. Did the tourist thing for a day or two and went to the beach and got hitched! It was short and sweet. Afterwards we went to the house of Blues with our parents for lunch then we were off.
We drove up to Charlotte, NC to Dixies Tavern, I think it was an Oyster Festival. Anyway, I had contacted Paul Sanchez from Cowboy Mouth and told him we would be at the show, and that we were getting married that day. He would know who we were, I had made up a couple corney shirts-mine said I GOT MARRIED TODAY, and Mike's said ME TOO. So we drank TONS...too much really, and the band sang AMORE for us then we met them afterwards.
In true Fred form these are the lovely photos we got that night:

Not your typical wedding nite photos!
At any rate, we enjoyed our wedding. I was about 30 pounds lighter and felt great. 2 Kids and laziness gets you fat! But here it is 5 years later, and we are happy now and have a family. We have grown and are enjoying life. I love Mike and he Loves me-most days. I can be pretty bitchy and hard to deal with but he has managed to do it for 12 years!
So anyway, just thought I'd share our day from 5 years ago.....
I realize that there are 2 posts involving Cowboy Mouth close together, but just happened to be we saw them close to our anniversary.

Fun Weekend

2007-06-18T10:02:00.000-04:00

So as you saw from the pictures below Mike and I got to have some fun this weekend. It was much needed. Although, I guess I'm out of shape (like I really didn't know that) cause I am so sore from dancing and jumping around like an idiot. It was worth it though.
Before we went to the show, we spent the afternoon at the Seneca Park Zoo with the kids and my mom and dad, everyone had a good time. After that we did cake and icecream and presents for Grace's birthday. I have never seen so much Dora the Explorer stuff in my life.
Here is a picture of the kids on Saturday morning-totally ready to get the party started!

I just love Grace's expression and the fact it looks like she's gonna elbow Dalton in the gut.
Oh yeah, I lost 3.5 pounds for the first week of Weight Watchers.

Cowboy Mouth

2007-06-17T10:14:00.001-04:00

Well we FINALLY got to go to a live show....our first in 3 years! It was a lot of fun. Cowboy Mouth played a free show at the Rochester Jazz Fest last night. Since my parents were in town to celebrate Grace's birthday we took advantage of the free babysitters :) So we has a blast, drank a lot of beer, danced, sceamed, sang and said hi to Fred after the show.

Fred LeBlanc and I ---he always takes the time to say hi to fans after the show

This is Vance DeGeneres (yes Ellen's brother) and from the Daily Show. He recently replaced the Long time Rhythme Guitarist Paul Sanchez

Grace is 2

2007-06-14T13:36:00.000-04:00

You know I always remember telling me they couldn't believe how fast/much I'd grown when I was little. But it really is amazing as a parent when you look at your child on thier birthday, and can still picture them on the day they were born. Grace and I were up at 6:15 this morning, which is about when labor kicked in full force with her. It was funny because as we sat there watching Jay Jay the Jetplane I was recounting where I was each moment this day two years ago.
She has grown...a lot. Both my kids are big kids anyway, but she was so petite when she was born. Anyway just rambling....remembering.

Crazy

2007-06-12T07:55:00.000-04:00

My Crazy Kiddos

That is my life most mornings. I'm sitting here while my son is supposed to be putting his socks on-he is 4 so most days this is a MAJOR ordeal. I hear Grace screaming (not in pain or anything-just screaming because that is what she seems to like to do-she is 2). I've given up on trying to watch the morning show and my coffee cup is still 1/4 full. I now can hear my son running in circles, and Grace saying E I E I O (her favorite song). I swear, most days if anyone who didn't have children walked in here they would think this was a looney bin.
So now I hear crying,and dogs whining to go outside-guess I should stop typing
......just my everyday morning.

Getting Started/BEFORE photos

2007-06-10T10:57:00.001-04:00

Ok, so today I realized that most of my friends from Texas have a Blog. Since I haven't heard anything about them in AGES I thought maybe I should jump on here so I can stay somewhat up to date with what is going on with them-and if they are curious they can check in on me.
So this is my first post.
I turned 32 in May.
Dalton turned 4.
Grace will be 2 this week.

Missing the pre child life quite a bit these days, but don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change the life I have for anything right now.

I joined Weight Watchers yesterday, again. And I know again sounds like it doesn't work, but it is the only thing that works for me. I just always seems to screw up and gain weight back. So my goal this time around is to lose it, and keep it away. Since I have no intentions of making anymore babies in the near future hopefully this should be a goal I can attain.
So to keep myself honest my starting weight is officially 201.5. For all you skinny gals, yes this number is huge, and I am short(5'3") but I still wear regular clothes and don't shop in the large lady section. So even though by the doctors charts I am MORBIDLY OBESE....(mind you, I have been MUCH heavier than this)I am not! This so called chart just pisses me off. So anyway, this Blog will also be a place for me to post about my weight loss. I am hoping to lose AT LEAST 10 pounds by the time we head to Arkansas at the end of JULY, I should totally be able to accomplish this.

So here are my before pictures...lets say I will try and do these on the 10th of each month. I am using the camera on the Mac in our office so my head doesn't fit :) So I did a body shot and a head shot.

MY FACE June 10, 2007

MY BODY June 10, 2007

So lets see how this blogging thing goes....maybe I will stick with it for a little while.

On with life

Just a picture....

Been Awhile.

If I was married in the 30's

Here I am...

Dalton is 5 Today.

4 Things

Happy Spring....

Today is April the 10th

Thursday.....

I got tagged by Missy!

Today is Saturday

MARCH FIRST

Down 2 More....Valentines Day

Our Tattoos.....

Got Bored...

A little news....

I love this photo.

My Grandma....

Have a giggle....On Me.

Saturday Night.....Feeling Alright

How'd that happen?

A quick update...

How To Make A Caryn

Holiday Plans.....

WINTER AND WEIGHT LOSS

Ok Nancy, I'm joining in too!

Happy Holidays....

November 25....feeling good!

Have a Happy Turkey Day!

Today is Monday.

Happy Autumn

I used to be cool.....

MY BABIES....

Some things...updates.....Tuesday & a survey

M*O*M*M*Y needs C*O*F*F*E*E

I got Tagged!

25 Pounds Lighter!

just for fun

PICTURE COMPARISON

1 am

Just a quickie!

Went to Norwich

Today Is THURSDAY...

SATURDAY

Beer is GOOD!

A little History of me....and my biggest struggle

Another Time Killer from Nancy

SMILE!

20 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF YOU HAVE NETFLIX.....

Anybody Wanna Cruise?

18 Pounds

Today is Tuesday

Sunday.....thought for the day.

I don't understand the letters Nancy, but this is what they say I am....

What's new...

SUGAR HIGH....

It's Saturday...I am tired.....but still losing!

Aug 9 pictures

Medical Confusion....

I've Been Simpsonized!

Saturday Morning

Trip Pictures

I Survived!

7/20/07

50 Things

Reached my first goal---next goal AUG. 18

Countdown....

Saturday Ramblings

Picture Update

Thursday.....

Today's Weigh In

movie survey

July 5, 2007

Sorry Nancy, I'm a copycat

Down 2 more

I've Been Tagged....

Ok Day.

2 more pounds

MOMMY needs COFFE*E