three

This marks my three hundredth post for this year. Now, I think I said some nonsense about how this year I would be posting a lot more than that. So either tomorrow will see me spending a entire day typing many, many posts, or readers will have to learn to be happy with having a little over three hundred for the year. Hmm, how is this going to play out?

shining

Don't be scared... this is the feel-good comedy version. Well, this clip is, anyway.

christmas

Our Christmas day was lovely. We got up around 9am and opened presents. My parents came over around 3pm and we talked, fixed food, and played cards and then had dinner. Played more canasta after dinner before pie, and then they left. Pat and Mollie stopped by - Rach was home sick with a migraine, worst Christmas present ever, poor thing - and we visited with them for a bit. It was really nice and we all had a very good day.





I still can't believe the holiday is over until next year. Don't get me wrong, it's still Christmas time to me, but there is sooooo much prep-work for the day itself and then it's over in what seems to be a heartbeat. Next year everything will be done earlier in a more timely fashion so I don't end up having a nervous breakdown for Christmas, because that's a lousy present, too... especially to give to yourself. Much rather stick to 'days off from work' type presents.

off

I have taken this week off of work as a present to myself and it's been awesome. Haven't done anything major, but it is so nice getting to relax and do my own thing after all the hullabaloo of the holidays and the pre-holiday insanity. Here is a small list of what I've done lately:

Watched 'the Sound of Music' with Jason and Jack
Took a 3hr nap today from 2:30 - 5:30pm, and it was glorious
Went out to lunch with Jason
Played new wii games with Jack
Have started wall-papering one of the walls in our bedroom.
Watched thirtysomething on dvd

A lot of relaxing and having fun. So needed and so enjoyable. So there.

sunday

Sunday was spent at my sister Kim's house with all of our families.

A brief history on the whole sister situation: Kim and I have the same birth-mother who gave us both up for adoption when we were infants. We found each other almost 5 years ago when I googled my birth-name - Sarah Jean Walters - and up popped a form that Kim had filled out at a looking-for-adoptive-relative-type website. She knew that I existed but I didn't know that she did. We met face to face on my 40th birthday. Her parents and my parents are good friends now and visit each other and go to things together. Ironically, both of our dads worked for Boeing and knew a lot of the same people. Both of our moms are chatterboxes and can talk your ears off, now in stereo. Kim and her husband Rich have 3 boys and we all get along great and it's very cool.

Yesterday, I met for the first time John, who is Kim's adopted brother that she grew up with and his daughter Katie, who he just found out about a few years ago. Also at the shindig were Katherine, who is Katie's mom, and her partner Diane, and they brought their adorable 3mo old pug puppy, who charmed and entertained us all. It was a great time and we all had a blast. It's a lot of fun getting together with this new part of our family.

Jason holding 16mo old Gabe.


Kim's mom and my mom in constant conversation. Boy, these two could gold medal in the Olympic Chatterbox Team.


Jack and my nephews Johnny and Mike, along with my new brother John. The boys get along very well and all had a good time together. Likewise, Jason and John seemed to enjoy each other, too, and definitely had a musical compatibility thing going on. Nice.


Kim's brother John, which kinda makes him my brother, too, which is cool. As I told him, "I never had a brother before. Will you beat somebody up for me?" And he said he would. That is so cool. I didn't get his daughter Katie is in this picture which is too bad because, along with Jack, that would make three redheads on this side of the family. Awesome!


My long-lost sister and I together again.

tradition

Well, just like every Christmas for the past few years, I awoke on Dec 26th feeling sick and like I'm coming down with something. You know the drill: achy, sore throat, headache, exhausted, sinuses congested, and a nasty phlegm situation that I won't be elaborating on here. But seriously, this is one holiday tradition that I would love to not deal with anymore. This is the fourth year in a row that has seen me sick immediately after Christmas, and while I am grateful that it strikes post-holiday, I really would be much more delighted if it didn't happen at all. So for right now, it's back to being horizontal... going to lay in bed and watch thirtysomething on dvd, which isn't such a bad thing - if only I could do it without hacking up a lung.

humbug

Well, it's Christmas eve and I have a million things to do. Yes, a million. I will get in here later and write more, because right now I am decorating the tree, cooking stuffing, vacuuming, putting things away, making candy, trying to get the Christmas tree to stand up straight and not be crooked, scrubbing the downstairs bath, wrapping presents, tidying up the house because my parents are coming over tomorrow, and I don't feel like doing any of it. Jason and Brittany are at work, so it's just Jack and me, and I don't feel very Christmas-y. I feel tired and cranky and really fed up with the holiday, which is not how I want to be on Christmas. I truly love this holiday but haven't been able to enjoy it one bit, and that just adds to my stress. I don't have visions of sugarplums dancing in my head... I have visions of us blowing off all the stress and craziness of Christmas and going on a tropical vacation instead where I can lay on the beach drinking something with rum and a little umbrella in it.

snow

summer

This video was taken at the end of this past summer and features two of my favorite people in the whole world: Jack, my son, and Mollie, my first cousin once removed (I think... she's my cousin Patrick's daughter, you figure it out). It's just a little reminder to me that summer will once again be here. Not soon enough, but it will, one day.

snow

Jason stayed at his work on Saturday night which was good since the snow was coming down like mad all day. I took a couple pics but my camera battery died, so I will stop and get a new one on my way to work today. I have three days this week to get all my work stuff in order and done since I will be off until the 4th of the new year. So looking forward to having some down time to relax, to organize and clean the house, to breathe. I am operating on very little sleep and the remedy for that doesn't seem to be in my near future. Got a lot done around the house over the weekend, but not all that I had planned on, mostly because a good chunk of yesterday involved shoveling the front walk, sidewalk, Jason's parking space, and digging my car out. It was exhausting and back-breaking, but fortunately the kids helped a lot. Why is it that Jason always manages to get snowed in at work and not at home? Could it be so the kids and I get to shovel out everything? Hmm, could be. But I was just relieved that he wasn't going to be driving in it in the middle of the night. You know, my opinion of snow greatly changes depending on where I am. From inside, I love it. It's so pretty. When I'm out in it and freezing and can't feel my toes and fingers, and when the car slides on the road or another car/truck comes sliding at you, and when you finally get your car dug out but then the snowplow comes along and voila! you are snowed in again, and when you shovel and shovel and shovel and your back is screaming at you and your knee says, "hello? weren't we supposed to be babying me?!" and you're thinking, "is this heart attack snow cause I don't know if my chest and arms should be hurting so much", then I don't like it so much. Just so we're all clear on that.

rollers

Sometimes you just need to hear some happy music with killer harmonies and a sexy bass player to make everything a little bit better...

frost

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost - 1923

I've never been one who got into poetry, but Frost speaks volumes to me. I love him.

three

It's 3am and I am awake. This is because I fell asleep on the couch in the front room around nine and awoke to the sound of the snow plow pushing snow in front of my car at 2am. Jason is staying over at work (the Temperance House is also an Inn), and he's scheduled to work tomorrow because it's that busy time of year with banquets and holiday parties, etc... so that is better than him trying to drive home and then have to turn around just to go back to work. But that also means that I don't get to see him, which sucks more. Tomorrow, or later today when I officially get up, I will need to shovel out my car as well as Jason's parking space. See, this is the part where the snow gets ugly. Sure, it's all pretty falling and looks great when you see it out your window while you do some finishing touches on the Christmas decorating, but then you have to actually go out in it, and then it's a big pile of yuck. Since the little movie was shot below, we've had about an extra foot dumped on us, so it's very deep. Madison is a nut running around the back yard in it. She is so funny.

snow

chickens

Most of Thursday, I helped Richard winterize the chicken coop. The structure itself has four walls made out of a thicker gauge chicken-wire, with a very low-pitched roof. We cut plywood and screwed it in all the way around, leaving only the door open. Their nesting boxes are chock full of straw, and I think they will do much better out there now. Usually they roost when they go to bed, but if it gets cold enough they will go in the nesting box, and the wood sides all the way around the coop have completely cut down on the wind factor. I feel better knowing they're warmer.

I am up at the crack of dawn on Saturday because Brittany was scheduled to work at 6am and I didn't want her walking because it is below freezing and we're supposed to have a major snow storm happening. Of course, there's no snow as of yet, but according to the Accuweather news crew, a huge Nor'easter is on it's way, and it could be one of the biggest snowstorms to hit the Philly area in a December. We'll see. They love to talk up these things a lot.

I'm really hankering for some breakfast, but since I am waiting for Deb to pick me up for Weight Watchers, well, breakfast will have to wait. However, one thing that I am looking forward to in my near future is getting into her Mini-Cooper with it's heated car seats. Oh, let me tell you, heated car seats are the best invention for a car. Forget your rack and pinion steering, anti-lock brakes, v-8 engines... ha! That stuff is for amateurs! Because there is nothing sweeter than parking your tush on a hot car seat. It's like a little spa treatment for your back and bottom. I love it.

I don't know how I will have done this week. It is getting increasingly more difficult as the holidays get closer and the weather gets colder and I continue to not exercise because I am still babying my knee, which, by the way, is feeling better but not completely better. I am off my cane, and can walk almost relatively normally, but by the end of the day, I am more aware of it. I have to be careful of how I turn or twist it, too. But it's getting there. Maybe Santa will bring me a new knee.

The chickens at the farm have stopped laying eggs. I don't know if they aren't laying because it's so cold, or if they are laying somewhere else and we just haven't found the clutch. We'll know if we can't find one of the hens. If that happens, that means she's in 'incubating' mode and will pretty much stay on top of the eggs until they hatch. We don't want that happening in winter, and so far all four birds come back to the coop every night and are seen throughout the day wandering around together, so I am hoping they have some sort of chicken sense to not lay during the cold. But I am missing making those eggs into yummy omelets or soft-boiled eggs. I tell you, free-range farm-fresh eggs is the only way to go. The yolks are dark yellow and the eggs taste amazing. And it's the humane way to go. Well, for the chicken who layed it, not so much for the chick inside the egg. But the chickens who get to wander around the farm all day and be a chicken, not cooped up (no pun intended) in cages in horrible situations. When the warm weather rolls around and eggs are in abundance again, I will be buying from a local humane farmer, when I can't get any eggs from the chickens at work, that is.

I think I've talked myself into a egg breakfast when I get back from my meeting.

update: I gained .6 of a pound this week... bah humbug!

dream

The other night I was feeling extremely stressed out about a variety of things, namely Jack's schooling situation, trying to get the house decorating finished (yes, still), things at work, and of course shopping that I don't have the time, money, or inclination for. And often, when I am stressed, I don't sleep well, and that night I didn't. I had a very weird dream and I awoke feeling rather unsettled...

In my dream, I discovered that my grandmother is alive. I am so happy and thrilled that Mimi is here, and then she shows me a bite wound on her leg and I instantly recognize it as being from zombie. So now I have to shoot my grandmother before she completely turns into a zombie, and let me tell you, that is really stressful on an emotional level, even in a dream.

In part two of my dream, I am trying to get Stanley from "The Office" into my car because I am trying to save him from the zombies. I already have Bam Bam, the goat from the farm, in the backseat.

Stanley, get in the car. We don't have time to go get a coffee.
I'm not gettin' in no car with a goat in it.
You don't need to worry about the goat. You need to worry about the zombies.

Which I thought was pretty funny dialogue for a dream. And that is pretty much all that I remember. Which was enough.

The "finding out that a deceased loved one is actually still alive" theme is very recurring in my dreams, although it usually involves my grandfather Poppie, and one of my many childhood pets. Often, they are in the garage of my house in California, and I am always so happy to find that Poppie, or my parakeet Kelly, or a myriad of hamsters have survived down there. Then I awaken and am disappointed all over again.

laugh

late

I am up at almost 12:30am unpacking Christmas things, because I feel like if I don't get this done, I'm never going to get the house decorated. There is so much to do and so little time. I spent over an hour in traffic tonight trying to get to one of the local high schools where they were doing the H1N1 vaccinations. There was that much of a crowd-scene trying to get there, which I didn't realize at the time. I just figured it was a traffic accident up ahead, but when we crossed the intersection and were positioned on top of a slight hill, we could see the miles of brake-lighted cars ahead of us and that's when I said 'nope, I'm done.' Not a big fan of flu vaccines anyway, but everyone at work needs to get them because we can't risk getting sick and then contaminating the pigs, as they get hit a lot harder with it than humans do. So for them I will get a shot, but we gotta be able to get to the place first. I called Susan and told her and Richard to not even bother trying to come down, it was too swamped and there was no way they would have been seen before they shut down at nine. I traveled about a mile in an hour's time. I'm hoping Susan's dr can come to the farm and give us the shot because trying to battle thousands of people to just even get to the facility is a bit ridiculous.

spotlight

Jack at the Christmas concert this past Thursday. I love how he stands out in this pic.

I've been swamped and not able to write lately. Hopefully that will change soon and I can get back in here on a regular basis. Also, just to keep you up to date, I lost 2.2 pounds as of yesterday, making my total 34.8... slowly but surely inching my way there. Wherever there may be.

knee

So my knee gave out on me at work on Friday. Long story short, I came home from work late Friday afternoon, went to my bedroom, and did not emerge until yesterday morning when I came downstairs to go to Mollie's 12th b-day party at Pat & Rach's house. Just sat around upstairs, watching dvds, resting my knee. I did get most of my Christmas cards addressed and filled out, so I feel like I accomplished something, but there is still so much to do. Mollie's party was so much fun. It's always the best time when we get together with Pat and Rachel. I used my cane and pretty much sat a lot. Had a great time and it was good seeing everyone. My knee is feeling better but I am going to baby it all week. Hopefully I'll be able to get out of work early today so I can come home and rest before I tackle trying to get everything done around here (cleaning, laundry, decorating...).

freezing

We're expecting a high today of 39*... which, in my opinion, isn't high at all. I should really already be at work as I need to leave early today for Jack's dr appt., but I can't get myself moving. Didn't get enough sleep last night and as you know, that doesn't bode well with me. Oh well, I better get my day started... sigh.

game

Brittany and I have invented a new game for when watching our limited number of television channels is just not an option, as in, there's nothing good on. Here's how to play:

Go to Home Shopping Network or QVC or any of those types of channels.
Before they show the next item they're selling, close your eyes so you don't see it.
Now, just listening to the mindless drones that hawk this stuff, picture in your head what they are selling. This works really well with their jewelry selections and some of their clothing lines.
After listening for a bit and conjuring up what you feel will be an adequate image, open your eyes and check out what it is.
Chances are, it will be way more hideous then you could have ever imagined.

That's pretty much it. It works because when they are describing the jewelry, for example, you'd think it was the most beautiful and classy stuff out there, but au contraire, mon ami, it's gaudy and cheap-looking and unless their target audience are drag queens, then really simply unsellable.

grandparents

This is a picture of my grandparents, taken on Poppie's 75th birthday, which was on February 25, 1977, also the birthday of George Harrison and Stuart Wood, I might add. This is a very good picture of both of them, as Mimi didn't smile much for pictures so this is actually quite good of her. She smiled a lot in life, though, and I really miss her. Poppie, too. They moved in with us in August of 1975, when I was 10. My grandfather passed away in 1984 when I was 19 and my grandmother passed away in 1996, when I was 31, just after we moved back to Pennsylvania. She was 90 years old. I was glad she got to meet Jack (who was 9 mos at the time of her death) and we have some good pictures of her feeding him ice cream. I feel very fortunate and blessed getting to grow up with my grandparents in the same house.

apparently

Went to Weight Watchers this morning where I lost only a half a pound, but since Thanksgiving was 2 days ago, I'm okay with that. Hobbled around Newtown as my knee was killing me, then hit the farmer's market. Dropped off Deb, came home and did a quick change as my Dad picked up Jack and me and we headed out to the Three Stooges museum (linked in the previous post). It was so awesome! We all really enjoyed it and ended up staying over 2 hours. The best part was watching some of the movies and laughing out loud with my dad, mostly at Curly's antics. Jack loved it and wants to go again next month when it's open. I'm thinking that's a distinct possibility. We went out to lunch at Friendly's where I had a chicken Caesar salad and ice tea. Came home, hung out with Jason for a bit and watched Hannibal. I was laying on our bed as my knee was still killing me, and apparently I fell asleep shortly after he left for work, which was around 5:30pm, and slept until 11pm. That's a big nap. And that explains why I am pretty much wide awake at 2am... sigh.

crazy

You know all those crazy people who get up at 3:30am to get to Wal-Mart by 4am so they can wait in line to buy the heavily marked-down advertised merchandise? Yeah, that was Brittany and I this morning, after getting 3 hours of sleep. But we got quite a few things which I can't mention here due to the fact that certain nosy people read this blog :) So instead, I'll just give you a rundown of my morning:

Woke up early and hit Walmart. Craziness ensued.
Drove to Giant where I picked up my free turkey - had enough customer points to get a freebie... which had a very tired Brittany and I shouting "Freebird!" in the nearly empty market.
Hit the Red Lion diner for breakfast... feta and tomato omelet with one pancake (no butter or syrup). Excellent eggs (well, egg beaters, actually).
Hit the bank and put my paycheck in.
Found a new AC Moore and got some supplies to make Christmas candy, as well as some wrapping supplies and a present or two. Also got myself a great l/s tee... a staple of my farm winter wardrobe when worn over long underwear.
Drove to Target and picked up more awesome things.
Discovered a new thrift store and found a few cool things there.
Stopped by the Catholic thrift store by Deb's house and found some more cool stuff. By this time, we were so tired. Very giddy and laughing at everything. We had a lot of fun.

Then came home, dumped all my stuff in my room, and took Madison to the park and met Deb and Roller for a long walk. My knee was killing me, but I'm glad I went. When I got home around 4pm, I laid on the couch and napped off and on until about 7:30pm. And now I've just been doing some puttering, tidying, laundry-ing, and things like that. Tomorrow will be a bigger cleaning day and will hopefully have the chance to get some Christmas decorations out and about.

Now, though, I must get to bed as I've got Weight Watchers in the morning, to be followed with Jack and I taking my dad to the Three Stooges museum tomorrow. Can't wait! Gonna wear my stooge shirt and everything! Woo hoo!!!!

thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was low-key and quiet, which was perfect. Unfortunately, Jason had to work, so that wasn't perfect, but the rest of the day was. We went to my parents' house and hung out for a bit. The five of us played Mexican Train (dominoes), and then got dinner going. Everything was delish and I did well with my diet (went a little bit over, but I'm okay with that). My dad and I had a couple shots of Jägermeister which wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. After dinner, my mom and I went through some pics while my dad and Jack watched some tv and Brittany napped on the couch (she was up at 4am to get to work by 5am, so she was justifiably tired). Later on we had dessert and then hung out for a bit more before coming home. Here are some highlights:


The face of Jägermeister shots.



Brittany having some turkey.



My mom in mid-conversation, which is the norm for her.



Around the table... Jack protecting himself from any aliens trying to read his brain.


Me in the kitchen before we left for my parents... making sure I've got it all together: sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, Britt's pumpkin pie, my sweet potato and pumpkin mousse, and, of course, you can't forget the Cool Whip.

pressure

Jack came to the farm with me today since he's off this whole week for Thanksgiving. He was also with me on Monday. He did some work for me, shredding paper to make packing material, attaching stickers to envelopes and mailing labels, feeding the pigs, stuff like that. He really enjoyed hanging out with Bam the goat. Likewise, Bam the goat stuck to Jack like glue. Very sweet.

Swung by the Kmart and the Giant on my way home from the farm to pick up a few things. While I was at Kmart, I checked my blood pressure:

Good to know that even though I'm under pressure, my blood pressure is still under control.

Right now, it's Thanksgiving eve, and I am finishing up loading some music on my iPod. Yes, I have an iPod. How modern and cutting edge am I? Right now it's the Mamas and the Papas uploading, while I listen to Johnny Cash, who is one of the few country singers I really love. Jack likes Johnny Cash, too, and I love that. That kid has some great and diverse musical taste.

Tomorrow morning I'll be making the candied sweet potatoes, and making my version of pumpkin pie (basically, it's some canned pumpkin, fat-free vanilla pudding mix, a little milk, some light cool whip, all whipped up and voila - it's like a pumpkin mousse... healthy and low cal.). I will also be eating some turkey tomorrow and I am bringing my own sweet potato which I will top with apple butter (as opposed to having the ones with the brown sugar and marshmallows and butter). I'll have some cranberry sauce, too, and that's pretty much my T day menu.

Time for bed...

stuff

Here's a post about random stuff.

I just got back from my exercise class and my abs are already hurting, which is a good thing but wow. My crunchy abs are singing Ave Maria right about now. Also, in other "oh yeah, I'm a jock" news, I clocked myself in my head with an 8lb weight tonight, too.

Yesterday I saw some people I have seen in a while, Belinda and Leroy (awesome pig people who come to the farm a lot and volunteer so much of their time), and Leroy said when he saw me "Oh my gosh, Jen, you look fantastic! You've lost so much weight!" That was the first time I've seen someone that I haven't seen in a while and they said something like that, so that felt great.

There is a lot of stressful stuff going on in my life right now, but there are a lot of positive things and wonderful stuff, too. Naturally, it is easier to focus on the negative, mainly because it's really bad, but Thanksgiving this week reminds me that there are so main things to be grateful for. I am blessed, and want to focus on those blessings and not the bad stuff.

Oh, and a final thought for those of you who have any insight into dreams and their meanings, here is a doozy:

I am in the driver seat of my car. I set it for 'automatic pilot' so I can climb in the backseat and practice kissing a life-size doll that looks just like Robin Zander of Cheap Trick.

Anyone? Anyone? Some insight, please? My thoughts are that it symbolizes that I am not in control of where I am going in my life, but I don't care cause all I want to do is make out with rock stars.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before my 4 day weekend. Thanksgiving will be spent at my parents' house, just me and the kids. Jason has to work and my aunt & uncle are doing their own thing with my cousins, so it will be a little lackluster. But that's okay, I guess. We'll play cards and dominoes and have fun. And for that I am thankful.

funny

sleep

Shh... the backgarden is sleeping and won't be awake til Spring.

feet

Jack's feet are bigger than mine. Soon, he'll be taller than me, too. My baby is growing up. Not sure how I feel about that.

blah

I woke up this morning feeling blah with my back hurting, so I didn't go to my WW meeting. I don't think I did well this past week so it will give me more time to lose weight, which should be easy what with Thanksgiving coming up this week, right? Ugh. I have a few recipes up my sleeve so hopefully that will hold me through.


The other night Jason and I went and saw "2012" (plot: so so; special effects: awesome!) and I was messing around with my camera on the ride home. I like how this pic screams C A N D Y !!!! Well, it's screaming that at me, anyway.


This is Karabelle, the silver pig, and her daughter Kanda stopping by the office for a visit. Word is out about the pig cookies I keep at my desk. Aren't they sweet?


This was the begining of the sunset one day this past week. I love the pink with the light blue. Kinda like baby colors. Very pretty.

I'm not having a great day today. I think I need to get busy with stuff around here. I may be back later. I might not.

summer

Oh summer, how I miss you. I can't wait for you to be here again. Until then, though, I've got great memories from the pool to hold me through.

I don't think it's going to be enough.

exhausted

Sometimes the best thing about a day is when you can crawl into bed and end it. So that is what I am going to right now.

more

More pics from Sunday morning, pretty self-explanatory so I will let them speak for themselves...

walk

Early Sunday morning, Deb and I went for a long walk (six miles around the lake!!!) at Peace Valley Park at Lake Galena. It was a good workout and a very scenic walk.

Deb and Roller up ahead, walking by the beautiful autumnal leaves.


Rollie and Mad, walking buddies.


Here we have Madison rolling around in goose poop or some other disgusting like thing. I couldn't resist taking a picture.


A lone fisherman on the lake in the early morning. So peaceful, so pretty.


Deb's dog, Roller... a 13 year old shepherd mix. He's an awesome dog.

party

Happy Birthday to my Mom. We celebrate the November birthdays last night with a group party: my Dad, Jack, and my Mom; total, they turned 170 years old... that's a lot of candles!

moving

This picture was taken in August 1994, while we were unpacking our stuff as we moved into our first apartment in Flagstaff. We had been married for 2 1/2 months and we moved out of state to start our life together on our own. We went ahead, got the apartment set up, and then my parents drove out with Brittany. It was so long ago... look how young we look!! Flagstaff will always be special to us as it's where our little family got it's start. Sometimes it was hard to be there alone without all our friends and family we left in Southern California, but it was an adventure, it was good, and it was ours.

telly

We no longer have cable television and I'm actually enjoying it. I find myself watching less mindless tv, and the kids are watching tv, which is good. I am reading more, getting more sleep, and having more time to exercise, which I am doing every day now, for about 2 hours each day (which, by the way, has helped me to lose 32.2 pounds to date, having lost an additional 1.8 this week). These are all vastly better than watching the boob tube. However, sometimes, it's nice to have the telly on, and for that, I am grateful for the copious amounts of dvds we have. Between all the ones we have, and all the ones Brittany has, we're like a Blockbuster.

We get twenty channels on our televisions, and the channel break down is like so:

The main channels of ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX.
A local community bulletin board, with announcements and info.
C-Span
Two Telemundo channels... que bueno!
Two shopping channels, QVC & HSN.
PBS
The weather channel
Two Christian channels
A public access info channel from the school district.
ION
The CW and the WB
A weird channel that sometimes is all infomercials, sometimes sports.
A channel from the Scranton area.
Some other random one that resembles a PBS channel.

That's it. It's been interesting limiting ourselves to this. The kids don't seem too terribly upset by the lack of choices and neither do Jason or I. I mean, I can remember when we had over a hundred channels... half the time, there wasn't too much to watch then, either. There are drawbacks, of course. I miss the accessibility of Law & Order. Today, there were five channels all with football games on. That's 25% of my channels! But it was okay. I turned off the telly, grabbed the dog leash, and took Madison for a long walk. Then came home and read my current book. And that was better than anything on tv.

ouch

Last night, Deb and I went to our "Body Sculpting" class and it kicked our butts. It's a basic exercise class that uses hand-weights, a yoga mat and ball, a step, and us doing all sorts of moves that work every part of your body. Upper body, abs (which are killing me today), legs, butt.... everything. When I first heard it's only 45 minutes long, I thought 'well that's not very much', but last night at 7:15pm, I was all 'thank God this is over'. It is really a good workout. We're doing this Tuesdays and Thursdays until January 7th when the session ends. Then we'll take another class or two. Along with our walking 5 days a week and doing this twice weekly, I really feel good! Can't wait til Memorial Day 2010 weekend, which is kinda my long distance goal. I may not be at my goal weight then, but I will be close and in much better shape. And why then, you ask? Well, that is technically the start of summer, it's when the pool opens, and when my Aunt and Uncle have their annual "kick off the summer bbq", so it's a good date for a long term goal. Also, it's close to Jason's and my 16th anniversary, and I want to do something special for that.

lost

Lost 2.6 pounds this past week, making my total 30.4! Yay me!

pigs

Here are two pics of Mr T and one of Zach, taken this past week while we had some nice weather. They are in the barn now, as they didn't like it in the Lodge. In the barn, they are much warmer and have more room to move around indoors, which is really good with winter coming. They get let out twice a day into the big yard to roam around, or lay in the sun. Sometimes I find an empty pen and let Zach stay outside all day, which he seems to love. I keep him in a pen as he tends to fight with others and get into trouble if he's out all day like that. I get to spend more time with them and I think all three of us are happy with that. I know I am.

plum

Jack as Professor Plum, before he located his candlestick. The kid looks good in purple.

w

Exhausting day filled with work, walking, and Walmart.

Work was alright, but I really need to manage a shorter day on Friday somehow. It would be good for me to have more time for myself.

Deb and I hit the park with the dogs and did what is becoming our norm, the 3.6 mile walk. We exercised 6 days out of seven since our last Weight Watcher meeting, so hopefully that will reflect in the numbers tomorrow.

When I came home from our walk, I changed and the kids and I went to a new Walmart that opened up. Had dinner at the Subway there, where I had a grilled chicken salad. Did some shopping, came home, and the kids and I played Mario Kart on the wii.

Fun night, but I am tired. Going to bed as I need to get up early tomorrow. Will post more over the weekend.

so

So I haven't been blogging lately, which doesn't really need stating as you can already tell that. And I don't really have a great reason for it except to say that I've been busy. But it's been a good kind of busy, so let me tell you about it.

I realize that each of the three sentences in the above paragraph started with words that technically aren't best suited for sentence starting. I know it. I wanted you to know it. I did it anyway. Yeah, feeling a little rebellious... I may even end a sentence with a preposition. (pause) No, can't quite bring myself to do that horrible deed.

Since my memory is not what it used to be, which wasn't much to begin with, I will be bringing up topics haphazardly and randomly. How about that for the element of surprise?

Here is my buddy Deb, representing her veterinary office at a Pet Fair that Jack and I stopped at yesterday. Isn't she beautiful? There was a Halloween-inspired parade of costumed dogs, and a lot of rescues and other groups had tables set up.

I like how they didn't go with the obvious and make this dog a 'hot dog'. He looks adorable as a fire-fighter. Besides, he's a natural, what with the attraction dogs have to fire hydrants.

Yesterday morning, Deb and I went to Weight Watchers. I lost another 2.8, making my total 27.8, which I am very pleased with and excited about. Deb did really well, too. We attribute this to exercising 5 of out 7 days the week prior. We walk about 3+/- miles every time we go out, and I am starting to exercise at home in addition to that. We are also looking into taking a 'body sculpting' class that is offered by the township. I would be so nervous doing something like that by myself... so glad Deb is my buddy!

Friday night, Patty's boyfriend Carl and his band "Papa Mojo" played at the Buck Hotel, which is about 15 mins from here. So a bunch of us from the farm, Susan and Harry and Maureen and Brenda, along with Deb and myself, and quite a few other friends of theirs, went out to see them play. We had such a blast. Deb and I kept each other in check so we didn't over drink, especially since we had to go to WW the following morning. We only had two white wines each, and we danced sooooo much, it was like another aerobic workout. Strange thing though: I was definitely feeling tipsy with only two white wines in me. Weird. But oh, what fun we had.


Pat and Rachel got their pics back from the wedding photographer, and here is our table at the reception. We were the fun table.

I need to get moving as I am needing to go to Produce Junction to get some produce (of all things!). Will also be making a stop at the market for some other necessities. Still need to post about Halloween and a few other things... but it's always good to leave you wanting more.

neutering

Jonathan the vet came to the farm yesterday and I got to take some pics when we neutered a young boar. His name is Tot, and his sister's name is Tater, and they are about 8 weeks old. They are rescues from Florida. Tot is doing extremely well post-surgery, and you would have never known seeing him today that he was operated on just the day before. Both Tater and Tot are a little shy and will need some socializing, but they are sweet little pigs who will make wonderful family members to some lucky human.

dogs

Growing Old With Dogs

When I am old I will wear soft gray sweatshirts
and a bandana over my silver hair, and I will spend
my social security checks on wine and my dogs. I
will sit in my house on my well-worn chair and listen
to my dogs' breathing.

I will sneak out in the middle of a warm summer night
and take my dogs for a run, if my old bones will allow.
When people come to call, I will smile and nod as I
show them my dogs and talk of them and about them...
the ones so beloved of the past and the ones so
beloved of today.

I will still work hard cleaning after them, mopping
and feeding them and whispering their names in a
soft loving way. I will wear the gleaming sweat on my
throat, like a jewel and I will be an embarrassment to
all, especially my family, who have not yet found the
peace in being free to have dogs as your best friends.

These friends who always wait, at any hour, for your
footfall, and eagerly jump to their feet out of a sound
sleep to greet you as if you are a God, with warm eyes
full of adoring love and hope that you will always stay.
I'll hug their big strong necks...I'll kiss their dear sweet
heads...and whisper in their very special company.

Although I look in the mirror and see I am getting old,
this is the kind of person I am and have always been.
Loving dogs is easy...they are part of me, and accept
me for who I am.

My dogs appreciate and love my presence in their lives.
When I am old this will be important to me.

You will understand when you are old...
if you have dogs to love, too.

~Author Unknown

things

Things are getting better, but I don't really wish to talk about all that right now. Would much rather talk about other things. Things like:

Today at Weight Watchers I lost another pound, making my total 25. I'm thoroughly pleased about that. Still a ways to go but I feel good about it. Deb and I walked around Newtown after the meeting before the farmer's market opened, and before the rain started up, which was good. We went 2.5 miles, which is pretty much the same distance we go when we walk with the dogs at the dog park.

Most of the days lately have been warmer, and I'm a big fan of that.

Jason got a new job here, which will greatly help out with our finances. The other restaurant just wasn't busy enough and had on way too many bartenders at a time. The Temperance House is a community favorite and has been around forever with a lot of regulars. He gave his 2 week notice yesterday, and is already at the new place tonight training and learning the ropes there. I'm very proud of him.

Check out Jack's new school picture:

How handsome is that?

Right now, I'm about to play some Mario Kart on the wii with Jack, so more will follow later...