Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monkey
He's also starting to throw mini-tantrums. I feel so bad for him, but seriously, I cannot condone climbing the swivel chair that's in front of the computer. It's just not safe and he's far too young to understand that. Oh well.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Too big for his britches
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Life has been just a litte crazy...
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
What?
Overdue update here
Other than that, we are rocking and rolling around here. I'm trying to get ahead on bills, like paying off my car a little early, and clearing up the house renovation stuff on my credit card (at 1.9% interest). I think that I'm going to have to cut 2 things out of my life that I haven't been committed to: Curves and Weight Watchers. I haven't had the time to go to Curves since the summer. That's $49 bucks a month. As for WW, I haven't been working the program, I haven't been attending meetings. My head just isn't in it. Strangely, I've been losing a bit of weight on my own, so I think I'm going to quit that at least for a little while. That's $39.95 a month. So, that's 88.95 I could be putting towards the principal on my car.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
October 1st Update
- I decided not to be upset by the "when are you due" question. I review what I was wearing and to be honest I was wearing a frumpy sweater that is starting to lose it's shape around the middle. I did wear it while I was pregnant with Alexander, so the stomach is a tad stretched out.
- Alexander, although is fine now, had a stomach virus for a week. That's lots of diarrhea, folks. The poor little guy. We were in and out of the doctor's office. He's as good as new now.
- Alexander has a newish game he likes to play. We call it doggie diving. Chris and I discourage it. I do have it on video and will have to post it later on when I have more time and I have my at home computer to post it with. It's basically played by Alexander walking (waddling?) up to a relaxed Reuben, crawls up one side of Reuben's back and rolls down the other. It's pretty funny, and Reuben doesn't seem to mind, but it's not fair tot he dog to let the little guy do it, so we're trying to get Alexander to use pillows and large stuffed animals instead.
- I've been knitting and knitting and knitting. I've become addicted to knitting socks. I love it! And then I have socks to wear when I'm done. Greatest hobby ever...except for my old sock monkey obsession...which reminds me, I have to set up my sewing machine...
That's it for now! I'm off to read blogs while I still have a little lunch time left.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Yeah, so....
Eh, I'm fine. I'll be back soon!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
New school, new faces
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Update on Me!
Work has started up once again, and as some of you remember, I had to pack up my office of 3 years and move to another campus. I spent the 2 conference days unpacking whenever I had a free moment. I'm not quite done yet, as I need a working filing cabinet. I was left with one that is in terrible condition. When you open the drawers, you hear tinkling metal, as if there are small metal mice scampering into little metal nests in the back of the cabinet. I've put in a request, and we'll see if it gets met. Otherwise, my files are staying inside the boxes I packed them in.
This school year also promises to be an interesting one. The place I work for had major budget cuts, as did our component districts, resulting in everyone getting shaken up and switching programs. We have teachers who have worked with emotionally disturbed kids for 8 years who will now be working with the multiply handicapped kids or autistic kids. Granted, they are trained and certified to work with those populations, it's just a major mental adjustment. All these changes are indirectly affecting me. I'm still teaching and consulting in the field of reading, but the people I thought I would be working with are in different departments. So even the "worst case scenario" I had in my head is out the window. The person I get to work with is more heinous than my worst case fears. I'm a professional, I'll get over it. Plus, I get to work on a special project with a woman who hates me more than any other person in the world, including her pervy brother-in-law. I'm that special. Like, I said, it's going to be an interesting year...on the upside, I am employed full time, in a job that doesn't make me want to harf on most days. And historically, most days are good days.
I also have to toot my horn a little bit and let ya'll know that I hit by first 5 pound star. Yeah, it only took a year...my theory is that because I was constantly hungry from nursing and pumping; I ate too much. Now that I'm not doing those things, I'm not so hungry and I'm losing weight slowly. So, if you want to get technical, I lost 5 pounds last month. Go me!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
A day of food in pictures
Breakfast: 1 cup of Banana Nut Cheerios
Lunch: Silver Tips Tea room- My mom, Alexander and I had Afternoon Tea for 2: 2 sandwiches (Mediterranean and Balzac) and 2 scones with creme fresche and jam.
And we split samosas. Yum!
Can't forget the iced chai tea.
Snack: Banana
Monday, August 24, 2009
Alexander is One!
Here is my big boy. I cannot believe that it's been a year since he was born. Amazing how time flies!
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Almost a Year
He's huge! And funny! And beautiful!
Reuben even has a new appreciation for Alexander, as Alexander now feeds Reuben from his highchair whenever possible (usually behind our backs). Reuben is so gentle and sweet when removing tiny bits of food from Alexander's hand, which makes him giggle in the cutest way.
As for me, I'm fine. We're not nursing at all any more (I'm not sure if I mentioned that in an earlier post) which makes me a little sad, but he's a big guy now and will be starting on cow's milk in a few days. I'm doing okay on Amy's challenge...I'm losing weight, albeit slowly, but that's fine.
Week Five challenge!
1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water- simmer until all the water is gone (or follow the direction on your quinoa package!)
1 can black beans, drained
2 mango, diced
3 chopped green onions (or 1/4th-1/2 red onion)
1 diced pepper (color of your choice)
juice of 1 lime
salt to taste.
This dish is incredibly easy to make, after the quinoa is done you just combine all the ingredients. I love this dish, it's easy, it's loved by my vegetarian and meat eating friends alike, and it's fairly balanced as quinoa has a lot of protein!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Jeez Louise!
Long Term Goals
For long term goals, I would like to be down to about 160 before next summer. Ultimately, I would like to weigh about 140, but 160 before I start trying for baby number 2 would be lovely. I would also, after baby number 2, to get myself involved in triathlon training and racing once again. I used to have a great time racing, even though I was always in the back of the pack.
Long Term Goal Rewards
Always with long term weight loss goals comes a new, fabulous wardrobe. I think a triathlon bike would be a fabulous reward as well.
Short Term Goals
Short term goals, I find, are the hardest to set. I tend to put time lines on mine and then if I don't achieve it, I get pissy. Eh, I'm honest, right? I think I would like to think of my weight loss in chunks of 10. Fairly manageable. And being a Weight Watchers girl, I would very much like to motivate myself somehow into tracking again.
Short Term RewardsI have put a moratorium on buying any more sock yarn. I have a ton, and I'm working diligently on a couple of project and I have spend too much on sock yarn this summer, and in no way will I be able to use it all up by Christmas...however, I think I will reward myself with a trip to a local yarn star each time I lose 10 pounds. I will, of course, set a budget which I will try very hard to stick to. As for tracking, perhaps for 2 week period that I track a minimum of 5 days I treat myself to a pedicure. Sounds good to me!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Amy's Outdoor Strength Challenge
Aquatic Baby Strength Training! A series of strength training moves in the pool using my 25 pound son as a weight. This workout included: baby squats, baby lunges, baby over the head presses, and baby jumping jacks. It was a workout that left me drained, but best of all....Alexander loved.
Monday, July 06, 2009
I think that's all for now, but I'm hoping to blog again very soon. It shouldn't be so hard because I'm on summer vacation! Woo-hoo!
Friday, July 03, 2009
Challenge Week One- Recipe Make-Over
Turkey Chili
1 Tbsp EV Olive Oil
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 clove garlic- minced (I use 2 or 3 because I looooove garlic)
1 medium red onion
1 can of red kidney beans
1 can of corn
1 medium to large carrot- shredded
1 jar salsa
1Tbsp chili powder
1Tbsp Cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
In a large non-stick skillet heat up the extra virgin olive oil using medium heat. Once heated, add garlic and onion to the pan. Once the onion starts to become translucent, add the turkey. Let the turkey brown slowly, as it browns sprinkle the chili , cumin, and cayenne powders over it. Once the turkey is cooked through add the cans of corn and kidney beans, liquid and all. Add the shredded carrot. Let the pan simmer for about 5-10 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add the jar of salsa. Allow the pan to simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the cocoa powder. Allow to simmer until it has thickened to your liking. Serve over brown rice or whole wheat pasta. For an extra kick sprinkle with fresh cilantro and 2% shredded cheese.
I will be making this tomorrow and I cannot wait!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Vacation!
Sunday, June 07, 2009
And three weeks later....
Alexander is now 10 months old. We've been putting him to bed awake most nights. Chris and I are unhappy that we didn't start doing that when he was 6 months old, but better late than when he can call us by name. He's gotten pretty good at going to sleep. He'll cry or fuss for a couple of minutes, but then goes right to sleep. When I went in to check on him last night, this is what I found:
Yeah, I think he was a little tired. Don't worry, I moved him so that he was more comfy. Poor little guy.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Jeezie Creezie What a Day!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Ian Graduates!
Ian shaking the hand of his commanding officer.
Monday, April 27, 2009
I've gotta get better at this...
Monday, March 23, 2009
Eeee Gads!
updating this blog. I thought that I hadn't written in a few weeks...but I realized it's been a couple of months! Holy frijoles!
Alexander is over twenty pounds and is in the 90th percentile for weight and the 70th for height. He's a big boy. He's now sleeping in his crib in his own room. I don't like it, but it's better for
him this way.
He's fascinated by drums. Whenever Chris uses his practice pads, Alexander will stop everything to watch. Or if Chris wants to watch an instructional drum DVD, Alexander wants to watch. Weird, right?
He also loves books, which I am so glad to report. He likes to lie in his playpen
and look at his cloth books, which is especially nice because then I can take the dog out to pee at the end of our driveway and not worry.
I'm doing well these days, but I'm having trouble even wrapping my head around WW. I'd like to blame all my carb and sugar cravings on nursing, but deep down I think it just might be an excuse.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
There is no Alanna, only Zuul!
On the upside of things, I did quit my big money gym and I joined Curves and am now paying less than half what I used to. I also have been going 3 times a week during my lunch break. It's a tight squeeze, but I don't have to do it in the afternoons when I prefer to spend my time with this little guy:
He's covered in green beans and bananas in this picture...but he's cute anyway, so who cares?
I also bought myself a new camera. My old camera was working fine, but the time between pictures was excruciatingly long for using with a baby, so my mom and I went to one of those big box stores...specifically the one that is going out of business and took a look at cameras. A nice man showed me a really cool camera that was on sale, but as it turns out they were out of them. I found the same camera online at Amazon for less. So I bought it and an 8 gig memory stick. I take tons and tons of pictures now. I'm loving it.
In other news, poor Reuben's OCD and separation anxiety was getting worse. When we would leave him alone in his doggy safe area in our new house, he would rub his nose on the door until it bled. When we put up a nice doggy gate, he bit into it and spent the hour trying to (and finally succeeding) jump over it. This is a familiar space to him... we spend time as a family in this space. We tried more exercise and spending more time in the doggy safe area to no avail. His vet decided to change his meds. My poor sweet doggie is now on Prozac. Real, human Prozac. He's been on it for almost 2 weeks and we see subtle differences: He jumps readily into the car, when before we had to cajole him a little bit. His turn and scratch OC behavior on his dog bed has lessened. What's even better is that he's the same silly dog that we all know and love.
This is all I can think of for now. Perhaps I will be back later!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Friday, January 09, 2009
Trying to be smarter
Money is a touchy subject for me. I feel as if things are out of control...they actually aren't, but with the move, the new house and Christmas gifts just purchased last credit card statement, things can seem overwhelming. I did quite my big fancy $102 a month gym (and that was with a discount) and joined Curves, which is much cheaper and I can go during my lunch...it's that close to work. I'm still doing Starbucks only once per work week...I will occasionally have some on the weekend if I'm meeting a friend for coffee or something, but that's still saving me cash.
I don't think I'm doing the resolution thing this year...I find that I never fulfill them and I find that depressing. I do want to set goals for myself. One goal for 2009 is to cut my non-mortgage debt down by a minimum of 20%. This included student loans, credit cards (with home construction stuff on it), personal loan and car loan. That is a lot of $$ and if I can make some of it disappear, I am going to do it!