Day 44: October 10th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven. ~Tryon Edwards"

Today's been a busy day, I've been trying all day long to get my homework done, and I still have a little bit left to do, but not too much. Cody was after me that we are out of milk and therefore there is NOTHING to eat. So it was off to the store for just a little bit of stuff. Which, I'm sure that Ron will love to hear ALL about. So here we go....


Here we are at the only grocery store in town, United. Ron's usually the one who does all the grocery shopping in our family because he's better at finding deals and saving money, so I'm sure that he will recognize this place. It really isn't much different than any other grocery store, but it's all we have. It's been here forever!

But of course, the school pride is great around here, and you can tell that everyone supports our team, even the big chain grocery stores. Ron, you aren't really missing out on too much in the sports department since we never go to any of the games, anyways. But look, they've got a wheelchair waiting for you at United for your shopping ease, old man! ;) hehehe

Here we are at MY favorite part of the store... the produce section! YUM!!! All the fruits... the vegetables... the ready-made salads... the party trays... I can spend a ton of money in this section. Even more than on meats, which Ron loves. EVERY MEAL, EVERY TIME, NO EXCEPTIONS. He'll end up having a major heart attack by the time he's 40 if he keeps it up. You hear that, Ron? You need to stop with the meat, already! How about some fish once in a while? I hear it's great for ya! ;)
Even Cody agrees that it's fun to go to the grocery store. You can tell that by how many different things he asked for in the twenty minutes we were in the store. I lost count after saying no for like the 30th time. (Okay, it was only six or seven, but still) And I made it through the whole store without buying ANY junk food at all. No chips, no crackers, no cookies... nothing fun at all. Sigh. I just keep telling myself that it will be worth it when I'm done. And if I wake up tomorrow morning and haven't gained any weight after today (I had a homemade pizza with enough cheese to clog even the largest of arteries) then maybe I'll treat myself to a small bag of chips or something. Plus, I can always go and buy some light popcorn or something. Just can't add salt to it.

Other than the shopping trip, there hasn't been anything happening around here. Same old, same old, blah blah blah. Oh, yeah - I did spend a little time this morning looking at clothes to pick Ron up in at the airport... SKINNY CLOTHES! I CAN'T WAIT! :)

Day 43: October 9th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm. - J.H Vincent"

Things are rolling right along. I made it through class and clinicals without gaining weight, which is a first since I first started keeping track. It's quite amazing, actually... I'm sticking with it for once. And I'm doing good, too. I've been watching what I eat and have walked in three days almost what I walked all of last week. If I can keep walking 4 miles a day, I will hit my target weight in no time, and then it will be just maintain and eat healthy. The no soda part of it has been the hardest for me, but my weight literally quit with the ups and downs when i quit drinking it, so I know that it really affects how much water I retain. Must be the sodium content in the carbonation.

Sweet little sleepy Tiny man

Look, Dad, he DOES know how to do dishes!

Damien came home today and actually did the dishes. He has been a little up and down lately, with all the problems he's been having with getting hours at work. He just doesn't know what to do about it, and I think he just doesn't have it in him to confront his managers. He says that he is trying hard to find a new job, but we'll see. I just hope that something happens soon, because something's got to give so that he can take care of his bills. Otherwise, he's just getting nowhere. Fast. And he needs to stay home a little more, too. That room could use some cleaning!

Cody busy being angry with me.
Cody and I have had it out today big time, if you can't tell by the picture. He has been trying to manipulate me for the past couple of weeks, and I have finally had enough. The whole time he has been trying to do what he wants to do whenever he wants without asking me, he's been calling for rides all the time, and he tries to tell me that he told me this morning he was going to go hang out with his girlfriend after school. When I specifically told him this morning that he was supposed to come right home after school. He tried to tell me that he DID tell me he wasn't coming right home. He SAYS that he had his music playing and didn't hear me tell him to come home. THEN he started complaining nonstop about me grounding him all weekend on a three-day weekend. Oh, well. It's time he remembers who's the boss. I've caved in long enough, and things are going to change. Or he'll be spending ALL his time at home if he's not at school. AND I will start driving him to and from school every single day that I don't have class to make sure that he is at home. Like I told him, I have no problem with him going out and doing things after school, if he comes home first and does his chores. Why can't he get that? Why does he have to be so much like his Dad? Well, like his Dad USED to be, anyways. But there's no denying he's his father's child.

Day 42: October 8th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Love reckons hours for months, and days for years; and every little absence is an age. ~John Dryden"

I had clinicals today, so it has been go, go, go from the time I got up. I had a good enough day, I guess. I woke up to my eyes doing really strange things for like half an hour, so it took a while for me to get ready. Then, as I was getting out of the car to go into the hospital I realized that I had put on the wrong shoes, so I spent the entire day worrying about it. But I had a relatively easy day. The only bad thing that happened in MY book was that my instructor told me that I was too negative about myself and had to start talking and thinking more positively. Sound familiar to any of you? I've always been too hard on myself, and I know this, but I guess it really aggravates her. So I've REALLY got to watch it, especially around her.

I can't write very much tonight because we have some massive thunderstorms tonight. It has been thundering and lightning since around 4 this afternoon, and hasn't let up yet. So I can't keep my computer on. I'll have to make up for it on tomorrow's blog. So have a great day, and I'll write more soon!

Day 41: October 7th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "Thou art gone from my gaze like a beautiful dream.And I seek thee in vain by the meadow and stream.~George Linley"

TIGER TRYING TO INTIMIDATE MOCHA.. AND SUCCEEDING!

It's been an interesting day so far. School went as usual, except first thing upon getting there I smashed my finger in a door, and the very tip of my finger turned purple under the nail and on the pad both. It hurt like CRAZY!!! It was one of those throbbing, burning pains. I was miserable! UGH! I can be such a klutz sometimes! It's awful. But then again, my hubby is too, so I don't feel so bad. And if he denies it, there are several instances which I can easily name that would prove otherwise! ;) hehehe

THE RED HIBISCUS TREE

My hibiscus trees are finally starting to bloom again. I think they need to be put in the ground, myself, but I'm just not sure where to put them. And I'm not sure they'll make it - they supposedly are only cold hardy to 40 degrees. But there are a lot of other hibiscus around that are in the ground and they seem to be doing just fine. So I'm thinking of a place to put them. Any ideas???

CODY PLAYING HIS "DRUMS"

We had a little bit of excitement tonight, actually. Damien went on my walk with me, and we were just on our last little bit when we got to the corner of the street leading to our house and we witnessed some yahoo in a white truck rear-end another parked truck and then drive off. He must have slid on the wet roads or something, I'm not really sure what happened. I'm assuming it was a kid, because whoever it was had a little difficulty driving, and was driving like someone who was learning to drive a stick shift. And it was a guy wearing a baseball cap. But it was dark, so we couldn't tell you anything more. Except that we got the license plate number, so we knocked on the lady's door and gave her the license plate number and that it was a white truck, not sure what kind. I also left my name and address with her in case the police needed it. I didn't really see any damage on the truck, but it was dark out so I'm not sure if there was some that I may have just not been able to see. Who knows? Gave me something to talk about for a few minutes, though, didn't it?

Day 40: October 6th, 2009

Quote of the Day:
Your absence has gone through me

Like thread through a needle

Everything I do is stitched with its color.

~W.S. Merwin, "Separation"

POOR, POOR TIKI!

We lost a member of our “family” today. Please take a moment of silence for Kalamena Big-Tooth Tiki, who lost his head this morning at around 6:30 am in the pitch black. As you can see, when he blew his top there was no turning back. Sigh. Now we have to get Ron another Tiki, and I don’t think that Hobby Lobby is going to sell them anymore (from what they said, anyways) so we may be stuck having to order one off the internet. Not that “Fred” (as Ron calls him) can be replaced in our hearts (hahaha) but we can try! :)

MOCHA'S NOT SURE ABOUT THIS WET STUFF.

Today has been another rainy, icky day. Again. I had my dental appointment today for my teeth cleaning, and for the dentist to tell me his plan for my teeth. He gave me a referral to an oral surgeon up in Lawton to have my molar yanked out (too expensive for a root canal and crown), and then I have 5 cavities which need fillings. He says that I have to wait ‘til my tooth is out and healed before I can do the fillings. That really stinks! But oh, well. I’ll just have to do what I have to do. Right? Because I am DEFINITELY not willing to fork out a couple grand to have another filling put into a tooth that I can’t reach to brush, and don’t even use half of the surface of to chew on anyways. The x-rays proved that. So….. maybe I’ll be able to brush my teeth better with it out! One would hope, anyways.

I TRIED TO CATCH A PIC OF IT RAINING WITH THE SUN SHINING... YOU CAN BARELY SEE THE RAIN HITTING THE POOL, THOUGH, AND NONE IN THE SKY.

My scale this morning told me that I had lost 4.8lbs since last month. I’d like to think it’s true, but I think it’s going by my weight the night before I actually started recording my weight, because I only record my first thing in the morning weight. In which I come up with a loss of only 3.6lbs. Sigh. Just have to work harder, that’s all!!! I almost dread weighing in tomorrow, but this morning’s weight is another lowest-to-date, so maybe my body is finally giving up and saying “OK, I know you are serious now about losing weight, so I’ll help you out.” Gotta say, though, it really does feel like I’m getting somewhere, at least a little bit. We’ll see. I’ve taken measurements and will be making comparisons monthly.

Tomorrow I’ve got school, and I am really DREADING that long drive to get there and back. Especially after no sleep! UGH! Gonna go get that coffee going real quick and hit the sack. Morning is going to come SUPER early for me. ‘Night, all.

Day 39: October 5th, 2009

Quote of the Day:

"I walked a mile with Pleasure.
She chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.

I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she;
But oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me.
-Robert Browning Hamilton, "Along the Road"

Today I went out into the light rain to check on my pepper plants, knowing that it has been a while since I checked on the. I was afraid that Chloe might have gotten at them again, since the temporary fence that I put around them is pretty small. But to my surprise I found that I have about twenty peppers on one plant that are really getting big, and may be ready to harvest soon. So I’ve thought about it, and decided that I am going to freeze them until Ron comes home, so that he can enjoy them too. I found a website that details how to do it without damaging them, so I’m just going to do it and hope it works. If not, then I’m really not too worried about it… I’ll have the seeds, and next year Ron will be home and we can grow them together. And build a better fence, of course. I could do that now, if I really wanted to, but what’s the point? It’s already fall, and winter is just around the corner, so it doesn’t make much sense to do it now. If I wait, then we can get all the preparations done that need to be done to grow vegetables back there. Right now, I just have two little Rubbermaid tubs filled with dirt. Next spring, however, we’re going to be making actual planting beds that are elevated off the ground so that we can grow even more things. And, of course, the fence to keep veggie-dog out. That will definitely help! I may actually start on some of the preparation pretty soon, as far as getting the grass out of there and taking measurements, things like that. But if I do that it will turn into a mud bog back there…. Hmm. Maybe I should put up the fence after all… if anything, just to save my house from muddy pawprints. I’ll have to think about it and get back to you.
Mommy and ChloeMommy and Mocha

The Girls in the Yard
The sprinkler out back is STILL not fixed. I really need to get out there and just do it, but it’s hard to force myself to when it’s all cold and rainy. Playing in the mud: no problem. Playing in the mud in the cold: BIG problem. I have absolutely no tolerance to cold whatsoever. I don’t know if it’s a product of growing up in Arizona where you can wear T-shirts pretty much year-round, or if it’s a thyroid issue, or what. But I am positively miserable in the cold weather! UGH! That’s okay, though, I have lots of “warm” clothes now, so it should be fine. And I’ve got to keep reminding myself to buy some wood so that I can have fires this winter, it really will make the house more bearable without cranking up the heat and running up the electric bill. Lord knows it’s high enough as it is. Oh, and the yard guy just called me tonight to let me know that he is moving to Chickashea, Oklahoma and won't be doing the yard anymore... great timing, since it's nearly done growing for the season, right?

Sigh. There’s never a break in this stupid house! Maybe I’ll spend some of the extra money from Ron’s deployment and have a TON of blow-in insulation put up in the attic. THAT would be a very good idea, as I was up there with the A/C repair guy the other day and saw where some parts of it aren’t even 4 inches deep, while others are about two feet deep. Or so it seems, anyways. So I was thinking that if I called them out to suck out all the old insulation and put in new it would solve two problems: Our allergies would get better without all that dusty insulation sitting up there, and the house would be properly insulated. What do you all think? I’d get up there and rake the high parts down to the low ones, but I can’t tell where all the wiring is, and that’s one thing I DON’T want to mess with. It’s going to be hard enough finding all the trash the other residents have left up there and getting rid of it. Who leaves a rowing machine, anyways? I’ll have to look at it. If it’s not broken, maybe I can put it to some use. But that’s a big maybe, as well.

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"Okay, now remember, you go ten paces that way, and I go ten paces THIS way, and THEN you turn around...."

I’ve been having a hard time coming to grips with my exercise regiment lately… as in, I have lost NO WEIGHT in the last week. I weighed exactly the same today as I did last Monday. And I have been walking up a storm. I haven’t had any sodas. I have limited my junk food AND my sodium… for a month! What in the world do I have to do to lose weight???? Stop eating? I already barely eat anything. I’ve started eating breakfast, which they say you’re supposed to do to lose weight because it kick-starts your metabolism. I walk in the mornings. I walk in the evenings. I’m going to have to start walking every single day, I guess. It’s not bad, I really enjoy walking. But, still… I’d love to actually lose SOME weight, otherwise I’m NOT seeing any benefit from pushing myself so hard. For all I care, I can sit around all lumpy on the couch just like always if it’s not going to help me lose weight. Dangit!!!! Although, if I add up all the days in one week, and then divide them by seven, each weekly average shows a decrease, but only by ounces. Maybe THAT’S the way I should measure it. Or something.

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Something wicked this way comes.....

On a different note, I went ahead and pulled one of the peppers off the vine, thinking I’d give it a try. I’ve put a picture of it on here for you. I took just a tiny little bite of it, and thought “wait a minute, this tastes like a green bell pepper, did I get my seeds mixed up at planting?” But it looked like a pepper, not big and round like a bell pepper. So I took another tiny nibble, and…. Nothing. Was this pepper plant supposed to be a weak, mild pepper? Feeling braver, I took another small bite. AND THAT IS WHEN MY MOUTH EXPLODED INTO FIRE! OH, MY GOD, THE FIRES OF HELL COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE HOTTER THAN THIS STUPID PEPPER!!!!!!!!! It took an hour for my lips to get feeling back in them! So, being the nice person that I am, I think I’ll just give it to Chloe the veggie-dog, since she loves peppers. Wrong answer!!! Even SHE won’t touch it! She took it in her mouth and ran off with it, then suddenly spit it out and sat down in front of it, licking her mouth and staring at it. I’m assuming she was trying to get rid of the burn. I looked out the window and she was laying with it between her paws, guarding it, but she still hadn't eaten it. Have I cured the pepper-loving dog of her love for peppers? Only time will tell, right? I know that I cured MY curiosity about that particular plant. Ron, you will LOVE them!!!! They’re instant heartburn waiting to happen! Incidentally, I bet they’d be great in a Mexican Cornbread!

Day 38: October 4th, 2009

Quote of the Day: "No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth. ~Robert Southey"

I have been soooo cold all day today! The weather here's been really dark and moist all day long. When I got up this morning it was 61 degrees inside the house! UGH! Let's just say that I've been in sweats all day, and loving it! I got out and went for a really long ride this morning. The problem is, when I mapped out the route, I only accounted for distance. So, of course, I was shocked to find out that it was 5 and a half miles of mostly uphill! UGH! I was hurting sooo bad by the time I was done I thought my legs were going to fall off! But that's okay, a good burn never hurt anybody, right? And then after dinner tonight I went out and walked 1.75 miles, hoping that maybe it would help get rid of some of the kinks before bed and I won't be so sore in the morning. We'll see... I know that I worked myself a little too hard today. But I was bored to death of sitting in the house and studying, so it was worth it just to get out and about.

The blue morning glory has finally decided to bloom, so we now have red, white, and blue... but not all at the same time, unfortunately. I've got to see what I can come up with for here in the spring.

They're like an electric blue! Really pretty!

One of my Don Juan roses... isn't it pretty?

I can't remember this one's name, but I put it right next to my Don Juan so that they could intermingle. I can't wait until next spring to see how big they get.

What a really dreary day it has been!

I am excited for tomorrow, I can't wait to weigh in. It's the weekly weigh-in time... and this morning's weight was the lowest yet, so if tomorrow's is about the same I'll have lost a total of 4 pounds in a month. Not too bad. Wish it was more, but what can you do? I don't want to take the weight loss pills on account of my heart, so this is what I am stuck with. At least it's not been too difficult to cut out the sodas. Wish I could say the same for the chips, crackers, and Chex Mix, but I just keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end. Just to be a size (or hopefully more) smaller. We'll see if I can keep it up, and just how much I can get down to.

I'll let you know! :)