Thursday, December 17, 2009

Monkey

Uh, yeah, so Alexander can now climb almost anything.  I say "almost" because he hasn't tried to climb out of his crib yet (he likes it in there, believe it or not) and he really hasn't put a lot of effort into seriously trying to climb over the baby gates.  It's only time...

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

Alexander has gotten so big in such a short period of time.  It's unbelieveable.  He is now on the cusp of being a little boy.  It's amazing. 
It snowed here yestereday, so I took him out for a little bit and he really loved it.  He usually wants to touch all the trees, bushes, flowers, and cars when we're outside...except in the snow, all he wanted to do was catch the snowflakes.  Very cool.  Plus, he loves his new skull and crossbones boots that my mother bought him.
He is also desperately trying to figure out how to undress himself.  This is how I found him recently after an afternoon nap.  I guess he was trying to devise a way to get the shirt off and gave up and went to sleep.    Note the unhappy face.     He also has figure out how to get around the child safety thing on our entertainment cabinet. Unbelieveable.  and this isn't all, folks.  He's discoverd that he can pull himself up onto our dining room chairs and has figured out how to turn aroud and sit on it like a big kid.
He has also learned the joys of drawing.  God bless the Crayola people and their ingenious marketing ways.  I love the first crayons that I got him.  Granted it says 18+ months on the package, but he's 16 months and I don't leave him unattended with the crayons.   I think my mom probably had me using regular jumbo crayons at 16 months, and I turned out fine.  No wax issues what-so-ever.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Life has been just a litte crazy...

Well, my title might be a tad mis leading...not so much crazy as just busy, busy, busy now that Alexander is hell bent on running.  He is trying to be as active as possible, which is fine by me because he sleeps like a champ.  Hardly a peep out of him once I put him in his crib (after milk, brushing teeth, at least 2 books, and some rocking and singing) and show him who's waiting for him (one of the puppy brothers, a stuffed bear, and a blankie).  In fact, he's in there now listening to his fisherprice musicbox/aquarium thing.

If you look at the water in the bath shot, you can see it's moving quite a bit.  He's active in the tub, too, trying to splash and kick as much as he can.  It's pretty dang entertaining.

As for me, things are a-okay.  Even though we have tons of leftover Halloween candy, and I've been helping myself to some everyday, I'm still slowly, ever so slowly, losing weight.  And that's fine.  Since I stopped WW, I've actually been thinking less about food, and I think as a result, less goes into my mouth.  I'm eating things that I would "indulge" in when I was on plan, and I would go overboard, but now I just have a little..I suppose because it's really not "bad" anymore.  It's just food.  Eh, who knows.  I'm just going to try to be aware, in a general kind of way, of what I'm eating and how often.  We'll see where is leads me. 
And while I'm here, maybe someone could tell me where the spellcheck button went?  It's making me just a little bit insane.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

What?

Okay, what happened to the blogger I was familiar with?  I feel like I using a spell-check-free doppelganger.  Weird.

Overdue update here

Things around here have been a tad hectic.  Alexander had a terrible couple of weeks.  First he had a virus that gave him 5 days of horrible diarrhea, followed by about 3 days of being well, only to get another stomach virus that was all about barfing.  This one only lasted 3 days, but he cut his last front tooth and 4 molars during those 3 days.  It was heinus.  Mark my words.  Heinus.  He's fine now, thank God. 
Aside from the teeth, Alexander has been learning to do some really cool things.  He can stack 3 and 4 blocks.  He can say "Touch", "touch that", "again", "dog", "cat", "uh-oh", "this", "that", "dada".  He can also sign for "more" and "please"  Of course, he doesn't say "moma".  Boo!  It'll come in time.

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

Ah, back to the blog. It's so comfy and nice here. I'm on break at work, so I'm allowed to be doing this, but I don't have much time so I'm going bullet style:
  • 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....

Um, so I got my first 5 pound star at WW this weekend, and then someone at work asked me when I was due. What a let down.

Eh, I'm fine. I'll be back soon!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

New school, new faces

I'm digging being back at my old campus. It's a little bit closer to home. It's a little bit closer to Alexander's sitter's house. I have other reading people as neighbors, which is nice. My office is in the school library, which is ever so conveinient.
The downside of being on the main campus is that there is the lunchroom. It's catered by the student chefs, and right now the food is okay, but in another month when they learn how to make chicken cordon bleu and it's delicious and it's super cheap it's hard to stick to a diet. I think I will have to look over the menu and choose one lunch a week to buy in there because otherwise I am dead.
In other news, look what I did to poor Alexander's hair. (The pic is from my phone, so excuse the poor quality)
The kid looks shocked, right? Stunned, even. When I was doing the deed, he started to wriggle and I panicked and made the cut above the fingers holding the hair instead of below. I don't think I will be making that mistake again. Yikes!

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Update on Me!

I know I put in the title that this is an update about me, but I couldn't resist putting a picture of Alexander walking. You see, I am having a bit of a problem separating my identity from my son's. I'm not sure if this is a new mom thing, because he's been so dependant on me until recently, or if I'm just in need of mental help, but I digress.

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

I have been slacking in the Amy's Weightloss Challenge for about 3 weeks, so I decided that I had to participate this week no matter what. Well, Friday rolled around and I still hadn't posted my food for a day. Friday *had* to be the day, despite the fact that it wasn't going to be a great day for diety kinds of food...but hey, at least I got 'er done.

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.
Alexander looks at the menu, but always orders the same thing...pieces of my sandwich and scone.

Snack: Banana

Friday night is take out night in my house...we don't usually get Greek, but Chris really wanted it, so I opted for mushroom barley soup and stuffed grape leaves. So yummy!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Alexander is One!

I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to get another post out here in blogland. I was incredibly busy with Alexander's birthday party and then the aftermath of gift opening and thank you cards. It takes time. Plus, with the 12 month mark comes new fun things, like really taking an interest in walking and eating things you find on the ground. Things that an adult would never notice in a million years.



Here is my big boy. I cannot believe that it's been a year since he was born. Amazing how time flies!
I'll be back to post about other things like work coming up, and other amazing Alexander stunts. See you then!

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Almost a Year

Can you believe that Alexander will be a year old on Tuesday? I sure as hell can't. Holy smoke!
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!

Hey all-

I'm still hanging in there with Amy's 15 week challenge. It's fin to have a little something to focus on for myself during those few odd fleeting moments I have to myself during the day.

Anywho...this week's main challenge was to create a dish using a whole grain. I immediately thought "Quinoa!" which is a grain that goes all the way back to the Incas. How cool is that? I made Quinoa, Black Bean, and Mango salad.

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!

I cannot believe that so much time has passed since my last post. Unbelievable. I'm sure if I think about it, I probably have a lot to say, but I'm only here for a brief visit. I'm here to post my long and short term goals for weight loss a la Amy.

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 Rewards

I 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

As part of Amy's 15 week Challenge, we could earn extra points by taking our strength routines outside. Being that I am home alone all day with the baby and the dog with very little "me" time, I had to think of some way to keep the baby entertained, the dog happy, and not drive myself crazy. I came up with the following (pictures, I hope, to come soon):

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

As per usual, this will be a very random, rambling post. But hey, it's my blog and that's just the way my blogging brain works...
I have found something new to love. And do I love it. Let me present you with:
Yes, Nestle now makes a mini drumstick. Being the ice cream idiot that I am, I am so glad that I found and ice cream product that is pre-portioned and not huge. Each lil' cone has 140 calories and 7 grams of fat. Granted, I could find something that is frozen yogurt or reduced fat ice cream, but they just aren't the same.
Alexander has become attached to a toy these days. Although he is too young to sleep over night with his little toy, he does like to take it to bed with him and I later remove it once he's asleep. Let me introduce you to Blue Puppy:
There are actually 3 different Blue Puppies. Once I discovered that he preferred this little blue stuffed animal I bought 2 more so that I could wash one and still have another available...and if one gets lost, there are 2 more. Only 2 are in rotation right now. He really does love his Blue Puppy.

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

There is nothing I like better than spicy food. I love it, love it, love it! Amy challenged us to revamp a recipe to make it healthier and of course I want to do something yummy and spicy...chili! I've taken out a lot of fat by using ground turkey instead of beef, added extra vitamins and fiber by adding carrot. And I've added extra dimension to the flavor of the chili by adding cocoa powder.

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!

15 packed boxes later, I am totally on vacation. I had to pack my office this last week so the O&M crew can move my belongings into my new office for September. I cannot believe that I have 15 boxes worth of stuff. Well, I am a literacy specialist, so many of those boxes do contain books. I know I have 2 boxes dedicated to the Wilson Program...but that is another story for another day; perhaps one in which I am feeling particularly geeky.

Today is my first day of vacation. I had lunch with Darth Bruce, my BFF, at the Silver Tips Tea Room which is still my favorite place to go. They even have a blog now. Awesome! The owner has not only made the best tea room in my part of NY, but it's 100% green powered. And better yet, they are expanding to the shop next door because they are doing so well and that says a lot in today's economy.

I'm figuring that I'm going to lounge about as much as possible today and tomorrow. Well, as much as Alexander lets me and then Sunday I have to get to work on finally losing the baby weight. Alexander is down to 2-3 nursings a day and he'll be a year in August and will probably be weaned by then, so there will be no more excises. Chris and I agreed that we both need to start running again. It'll be good for us, good for Reu who will probably do a couple of laps around the neighborhood with me as I warm up, and good for Alexander to grow up in a house where exercise is a priority.

I also joined a challenge at Amy's Quest for Skinny. It has come at the perfect time for me.

Okay, now is the time for gratuitous Alexander pics....Chris doesn't want him to be a drummer or anything...

Sunday, June 07, 2009

And three weeks later....

Ian is now out in San Diego doing his Coast Guard thing. He's quite happy. He has a little seniority over the other guys he's bunking with because of his college degree. He works from 7am until 1pm, with guard duty on some nights. And did I mention he is in San Diego? Where is it gorgeous most of the time? We do miss him quite a bit, though.



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.
On the fat front, I am just that. Fat with a capital F. I have to get my eating under control. I'm at the point where I'm only nursing 2-3 times a day, so I don't need as many calories as I did, but I'm so used to having them that I want them. And I crave carbs All. The. Time. Like never before. Plus, things are stressful at work. State testing is coming up for our high school kids. For those of you who didn't grow up in NY or California (for a period of time) and have never experience a Regents exam, particularly the English Regents, you should check it out here. It's a really hard test...especially day two, part B. Yes, it's a 2 day exam. Lucky NYS 11th graders. Plus, I'm trying to pack my cluttered office so it can get moved over the summer. When I say cluttered, I mean it. I have a frightening amount of materials. Sigh.
Hope all of you are fairing well so far this June.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Jeezie Creezie What a Day!

I have had a crazy 24 hours. It all began this morning with Alexander being awake at 5:45 when I went into his room to rock and nurse him. Usually I wake him a little, nurse and rock him and put him back into his crib where he will sleep until Chris wakes him up around 8:20 to get him dressed for the day.
So Alexander is already awake, I have him in the rocker and he's nursing and I'm rocking and he's not dozing off. Reuben is running in and out of the room being supremely annoying, especially since Alexander really wants to watch the dog. Reuben finally leaves for a few minutes, and I start to relax. That's when Alexander bit me. On my right nipple. Ugh! I suppose there is a first time for everything.

Reuben comes running back into the room and he's frantic. Two feet away from the rocking chair he squats as if to pee on the baby's rug. I stand up, put Alexander back in his crib- he starts crying, I'm trying to explain to him what's going on, Chris gets up to see what the commotion is all about. I take Reuben outside and he urinates for a full 65 seconds. That's a lot of tinkle. I don't think I've ever EVER seen a dog pee so much before in my life. Well, maybe a great dane, but not a weim-sized dog.
Back in the house, Chris is patting Alexander's behind. I pick Alexander back up to nurse him, and he bites me again. Finally it's 6:30 in the morning and if I don't start to get dressed I'm going to be late to work. I give Alexander some stacking cups that he loves to run across the bars of his crib like a hardened criminal. He fusses, but I have to get dressed. He's still awake when I leave.
As I'm driving I realize I'm exhausted. Great. Being exhausted at my job is like having an open wound in shark infested water. My students smell any kind of weakness. I start sharing with people at work that I am being moved to the other campus for next year, and I get a lot of "whys", which I can't answer because I don't actually know why. I know the sugary coating I got to make me feel good about the move, but I really don't know the real reason. Whatever it is, I'm just glad to have a job that I enjoy and being at the other campus won't change that.
My reading appointments go well enough, but A, G, and P smell my fatigue and decide to fight me every step of the way. Students who aren't mine also smell the fatigue and try unsuccessfully to wreak havoc in my classroom and office. Not happening.
Finally, the students go home. I walk out to my car, put my work bag in and take my breast pump out. I walk back to my office, like I do everyday and when I get to my office door the English teacher is there. She's 7 months pregnant and needs her afternoon snack. She grabs her snack, and tells me she's locking my door so I don't have to get up. I proceed to set up and I start to pump. Five minutes in, the dean walks into my room to tell me that if I get to the meeting early, we can start early and leave early. I tell him I'll be there in a few minutes. Not one minute later the male social worker walks in to tell me something. Thank God my office is set up so that my back is to the door. Neither knew what was going on, but it was a tad unsettling.
So, there is my day. Probably the most interesting one I've had in quite a while. I'm hoping for a long series of bland until the school year!


Thursday, May 07, 2009

Ian Graduates!

My baby brother, Ian, graduated from Coast Guard basic training on May 1st!


Ian shaking the hand of his commanding officer.











Ian coming out of Healy Hall with all of his gear, ready to come home for a short leave.















All my little brothers, and Alexander. My brother Brendan is holding Alexander, my brother Ian, obviously, is in the middle, and the suited fellow on the end is my brother Patrick. A good looking crew...but I'm biased.


Monday, April 27, 2009

I've gotta get better at this...

I have become so awful about blogging, and I feel terrible about it, especially since when my favorite blogs don't post for a while I get a little pissy. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't be tossing stones around in this here glass house.


House update: My dishwasher is now hooked up. No more dishpan hands for me, no sirree! Now if I could us get my washer and drier hooked up we'd be in business.


Work Update: We thought we'd be looking at tons of cutbacks, but our districts keep sending us kids and it seems that they will be with us next year, so our budget gap is slowly closing. There will be layoffs, but our supervisor believes that he will be able to hire everyone back before the summer is over. I have seniority over 4 people, so I'm fairly sure that I will not be affected. The other major work related change is that they are taking the 4 high school programs (emotionally disturbed, psych fragile, aspergers, low IQ) and creating one large program. Over the past few years the lines of the programs have blurred so they decided to merge the programs. Should be interesting.


Alexander Update: Alexander is almost 9 months old and is awesome. His 2 bottom teeth are halfway in, and one of his top teeth is just about to break through. He can crawl, get into a sitting position on his own, and get up on his knees when he's in his crib. He is a fabulous little guy!
Hopefully I will be back soon with another post...I will try to be better!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Eeee Gads!

I've really got to get better about
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!

I kid, but it's true that I haven't been feeling like myself lately. All I want to do is overload on sugary carbs. Yum and yuck all rolled into one. At least now that I am conscious of it, I can try to manage it. I've got to start tracking, you know, like I should be doing because I'm paying for Weight Watchers. At this rate, I'll never lose the baby fat and I don't even want to think about the fat from before Alexander came. Yowzers!

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

I am trying to be smarter these days about food and money. As I'm sure you all know, both are so hard to be smart about. I am taking good steps forward. Now that we're mostly unpacked, Chris and I have been cooking dinner at home, and bringing lunch most days. We even stopped buying cookies. Instead, if we want cookies we bake them ourselves, but not the whole batch. We freeze at least half the dough so we can't binge eat cookies. So food is getting better in that sense...and so is money as a result.

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!