No more candy bars!

I am so tired of being overweight. I'm not fat but I am maybe 30 lbs overweight. For pete's sake, I heard my right knee creaking as I go up the stairs at night. I NEVER thought I'd hear my knees creaking - I'm only 44!

I binged on 2 candy bars this afternoon. Yes, I was disappointed and depressed that we'd lost our battle trying to get our web site redesign up on schedule. I was kicking butt, as was everyone else, but we need more time. So time to slow down. I did eat peanut M&Ms and a peanut bar. They sure were good, but I'm done! No more!

I'm replacing my candy bars with water. I'm sorely lacking on drinking water. Praying for the strength to stay away from candy and drink water instead of Diet coke.

Is it too much to try and do several big things at once? Probably. But it's never too soon to stop eating candy bars! Tomorrow is day 1 without them!

I'd post before pictures of me but that would be too scary.

Be strong!

Jaymun is in Heaven today

I am very sad for Jaymun's parents as he passed away this morning after a tough battle with cancer. A tough and brave boy is with Jesus today.

Read his story at http://www.jaymun.com/.

Missing Samson

During recovery from surgery last Friday to remove a grapefruit sized tumor, Samson's poor body had had enough. They couldn't revive him last night.
Now he can run and play again with Pepper in heaven.
We will miss our big speed bump.

Our Challenge

This blog post at Building the Blocks.... spoke to my heart.

Bye Extended Basic Cable
Hello PB and honey sandwiches for lunch

Bye Muffins at work for breakfast
Hello cereal in a tupperware bowl

Bye old clothes I hoped to someday get back in and don't wear
Hello to consignment stores

Bye diet coke?
Hmmm, don't know if I'm ready for that....

I think I will have the girls will "adopt" someone from their own home country to meet and support through Compassion International.
My girls don't know what it's like to suffer. They are spoiled and need their eyes opened - to be compassionate and understanding. Recently Ginny refused to give away any of her toys to kids that don't have any. sigh.

Amy had this picture on her site.

Might need to ask Amy (at building blocks) for her recipe!

What else can I (we) do? Suggestions?

Juliana in surgery tomorrow

Juliana broke both bones in her forearm on the 25th and is sporting a beautiful green cast. We found out today that she will need to get rods put into the bones because the set didn't take. We will be at the ortho outpatient at 6:00 am for the 8:00am surgery. Great thing to happen right before school starts - 6th grade in middle school.

That skateboard is being thrown away or made into wall art.

30 Days of {Blank}

I was reading one of my favorite blogs Confessions of a Pioneer Woman in which she is talking about a very embarrassing moment. She links to another blog from the other woman's view at Mrs. Flinger Little Black Dress Edition when she mentions she is starting a 30 Days of {Blank}. At 704, it states that it takes 30 days for something to become a habit. Well, there are many habits I need to break, (e.g. diet coke, yelling at the kids, pets, my mom, junk food, etc.). So what will it be? I have until tomorrow to decide -- good time to start on August 1!

I'll let you know, plus next time I blog maybe I'll have some pictures of Juliana in her beautiful cast and tell you how she broke both bones in her forearm!

Water days

Juliana has acted like a fish ever since she figured out that I wasn't trying to kill her in the bath water. (Guess the orphanage didn't bathe the kids much.) She LOVES the water. She likes pools, sprinklers, the beach, and even muddy water under the swing set.


Ginny enjoys being in the water, but until recently, pitched a major fit if her face got wet. Heaven help me if her face got wet and there wasn't a towel around. Ever since we went to the beach in April, Ginny has decided that she loves water and isn't as upset if her face gets wet. In the tub last night she practiced putting her face in the water, blowing bubbles and not wiping her eyes with her hands when she came up.


Now if only I could get Ginny to go to sleep without me sitting on the bed beside her....

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It has not been over 7 weeks since my last blog post and almost 5 months since my last Not Me! Monday! post.

There has not been anything for me to confess in those 5 months (I saw those eye rolls!).

I do not still finish food that my daughter leaves in the car after I drop her off at daycare in the morning. Actually it does depend on what it is.

We did not get another dog, saying that it is "Juliana's dog" and therefore her responsibility. I do not get up with the dog in the early hours and laying on the couch so that she will stop barking and not wake everyone else in the house. Sassy, the new dog, is not starting training today that will last for 3 weeks and is $1,300. I am not thankful that Mr. Moorefield is coming to our house to train her every weekday for 3 weeks. (Actually I'm very thankful and excited to try and get some management of the dog going! It's been a rough few weeks.)

I am not melting under this extended, horrible 90+ degree heat in Atlanta and go from AC to AC swearing about the weather. Not me!

I think I will stop there with my confessions! I could go on and on after a 5 month hiatus.

Last night

I was very proud of myself last night. I woke up when Mom took Casey out at 2:30am, so I went to the bathroom too. Ginny woke me up at 3:45am needing to go the bathroom and decided she was thirsty and water wouldn't do. So I gently and calmly explained that she can't get anything but water in the middle of the night and asked her if she wanted to sleep with me (she was wide awake and I wanted to go back to sleep).

When she came into my room, we spent a little longer trying to calm her down and convince her I wasn't going to get her some milk. She finally calmed, laid down, and went to sleep.

I was so proud that I didn't lose my temper, kept calm, and won the battle. Whoo hoo!

I then had a dream about being in the hospital with my brother, Trey, and putting him into rehab. It was a very sad dream and the sadness had stayed with me all day. I wish we'd been able to help him.

Lunch with my friend Terry tomorrow. For some reason, I haven't seen her since the end of March. Juliana will be there so we don't be able to have a GOOD talk, but it will be a nice lunch with the 2 of them.

Thank the Lord for a 3 day weekend!

The Treadmill

Well, I'm into reading Lolcats and funny pictures these days. It's one of my favorite sites. This one speaks volumes - ours is in the family room.

CATapillah

One of my favorite sites is Lolcats and funny pictures. This was too cute to pass up.

Missing my family

I've been in Kansas City since Wednesday morning at a Web conference. I'm missing my family, my animal, my bed. Tired of sitting on this chair. Almost time to go to the airport and head home. We might be looking at beagles at our favorite Homeless Pets Foundation. Juliana is looking at Oscar or Felix - she LOVES beagles. I might have to beg mom for Lucky or Avery though. The Atlanta Humane Society has Zada, too - she's a beautiful blue/gray small dog.

Missing the beach.

10th Anniversary of trip to U.S.

April 28 is Juliana's legal adoption anniversary. We've been a family for 10 years last week. 10 years ago on Wednesday the 6th, Mom and I brought Juliana home to the U.S. and began our life together.

Juliana is such a joy - well, beginning the tween phase, so a joy most of the time. LOL. I've missed seeing the sparkle in her eyes that I saw when she was a toddler, but I finally saw it again in photos taken last month during our Sanibel Island trip.

10th Anniversary

April 28 is Juliana's legal adoption anniversary. We've been a family for 10 years last week. 10 years ago on Wednesday, mom and I brought Juliana home to the U.S. and began our life together.

Juliana is such a joy - well, beginning the tween phase, so a joy most of the time. LOL. I've missed seeing the sparkle in her eyes that I saw when she was a toddler, but I finally saw it again in photos taken last month during our Sanibel Island trip.

My goal is to be a more responsible and attentive mom for both of the girls. I've been lax, leaving a great deal of responsibility to my mom. Dealing with my debt, my perceived failure as a mom, my anger, my impatience, has been a detriment to my purpose of raising my girls. I am now refocusing. My mom has her doubts of this, but I am stubborn and strong. I can do what I set my mind to. Now if only I could persevere with the debt reduction. I realized last night that I can't have a garage sale. If I'm going to be working towards getting our own place back, I need some of the stuff in the basement. I do need to go through it and cull it out though. I'm a pack rat and some of that stuff is junk and unnecessary. It's on my to do list. Maybe after I get back from KC this weekend.

Susan Boyle is amazing!

Listening to her sing brings tears to my eyes every time. Absolutely beautiful and you can't beat the look of surprise on the judges faces. I needed to put this on my blog so that I can listen to it over and over again.

Susan Boyle singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from the musical "Les Miserables."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z0h1NNk1Ik

I found a link to this YouTube video from Erin Vey's site. Very cool and good music!

She's 12!

I'm so proud of the young lady that Juliana is becoming.

She's beautiful, a talented artist, and a lover of animals. And she turned 12 today.

Happy Birthday, Juliana!

Grape Picnic

A beautiful day for a grape picnic!

Pookie 1990-2009

Five Senses Friday

Abby is hosting Five Senses Friday. I've decided to play along. How about you?

Taste:
- good sweet tea;

- diet coke (which I am trying to cut back on);

- dark chocolate.

Sight:
- watching my youngest daughter in her first class performance sing "My country";

- watching both of my girls sleeping - so sweet and quiet;

- looking at the fluttering of the fuzzy fur of the 3 Easter chicks perched on the top of my work computer.

Touch:
- the keys of my keyboard and remembering high school typing classes on the manual typewriters (thankful for technology);

- the soft fur and aging body of our 19 year old cat, Pookie, such a remarkable contrast.

Smell:
- the smell of chicken boiling on the stove every Saturday (mom makes it for the senior finicky dogs);

- the blooming flowers of spring - daffodils, cherry trees;

- the smell of my daughter's clean hair after bath.

Hear:
- my favorite sound is a cat purring; all of my cats have their own unique sound that I love;

- my daughters laughter - Juliana in excitement about her sleepover with Nia and Ginny's laugh as she is tickled;

- the hum of air and computers at work and the peace of lunchtime when everyone is gone;

- like sight, listening to my youngest daughter sing "My country" in her first class performance.

Some of the "other children"

Pookie is 19 years old and still beats the dogs up and down the stairs. Of course the dogs are old or fat.

Casey is 14 years old. He's deaf and doesn't move very fast.

Samson is about 9 or 10 years old (we adopted him when he was 6). He's our 83lb basset hound. Noone warned me when he was adopted that bassets get overweight very easily. Virtually impossible to get it off him now, but we're trying.

Then there are the other 4 cats.

Barsik and Rosie


and Toni and Tori


Juliana also has 3 hermit crabs and a fish.

We are on a pet ban.

Snow!

It's nice to see snow every once in a while. Then you remember what a pain it is to keep the kids dry and warm. Sure is pretty watching it come down.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Then (January 2005)















Now (December 2008)

Flashback Friday

Since I have been reminicing about Juliana's adoption 10 years ago, one of my favorite photos is of Juliana, my mom, and me in Red Square. It was so cold and windy at the end of April. We'd even had snow flurries a few days before. We had no idea that we'd need heavier clothing than we'd brought.

Juliana was so petite for a 25 month old. I'd gotten her clothing for a 24 month old, but she really needed 12-18 month old clothes. She was active and curious in the apartment we rented in Moscow. We spent a lot of time saying "Nyet" when she was investigating the owners stereo system.

Not Me! Monday!

It's Not Me! Monday!

I did not stay up too late for the past few nights arranging old pictures of my oldest daughter. I do not have to start scanning adorable pics that I don't have electronically. I did not need a digital camera 10 years ago!

I did not get a candy bar to supplement my nonexistent diet every time I went to a store by myself this week. This is not a reoccurring theme. I do not need to bring one of my girls with me every where I go. After all I really do not want to buy them a candy bar, too!

I did not go back to bed on Saturday and Sunday mornings after settling my youngest daughter in front of the television with her milk at 7:30 and stay in bed until 9:30/10:00. I am not thankful we live with my mother who begrudgingly lovingly keeps the girls entertained until I re-surface.

I did not take over the living room with all of the old spring/summer clothes and old toys to sell at Kidsignments next week. I do not have a lot of work to do before drop off this Saturday. I am not looking forward to spending hours at the pre-sale on Monday evening. I do not enjoy looking for great clothes bargains! I do not enjoy spending 3 hours standing in the checkout line with my friend Kelly eating Chik-fil-a and looking in boxes of stuff as we slowly creep towards checkout. Bedding, books, toys, videos, oh my!

You can head over to MckMama's My Charming Kids to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

10 years of memories

On April 28 Juliana and I will be celebrating 10 years of being a family. Over the next couple of months, I will be doing some reminiscing with some pictures of Juliana then and now. She has grown up into such a beautiful and talented tween.

Taken in 1998, this is one of the first pictures I have of Juliana captured from a video. So serious.

Today, she is maturing into her own person with her own likes, dislikes, and opinions.

I am very blessed to have her as my daughter.

Wordless Wednesday

One Little Word - Freedom

... for 2009.

GitzenGirl said in her post she

decided to participate in Ali Edwards' One Little Word challenge ... to pick a word that you would use as your touch point for the year. A word that you would come back to in order to keep yourself in focus and moving forward. I liked that a lot... the idea of centering myself without creating unrealistic expectations.

What an excellent idea! To be focused for an entire year, not on a "resolution" I never keep, but on an inner goal. I have chosen "freedom." My goal for 2009 is to work on "freedom" - freedom from money worries, family worries, illness worries. I want to be happy and at peace with myself. Hopefully that peace coming from freedom will pass down to the family, too.

Freedom! I like that word! How about you? What is your word for 2009 going to be?

Not Me Monday!

Oh, no! It's that time again - actually it's a day early, but I won't have time tomorrow at work. If you want to read more confessions (I hear it's good for you), to to My Charming Kids. Without further ado, here is my Not Me Monday! confession.

I did not eat all but 2 slices of the soda cracker pie made for my birthday - including whipped topping! At least the whipped topping was lite!

I did not also have angel food cake given to me for my birthday. Looks like I won't be eating all that too. Yummy!

I did not put my 4 year old to bed a half an hour early 'cause she was driving me nuts! I can't get away with that with my 11 year old, darn it!

I did not sleep until 10:30 this morning and then take another nap for 2 hours this afternoon while my kids played. I need to make taking vitamins a new years resolution.

I have not walked even a tenth of a mile on my new treadmill that I've had for 3 weeks. I really haven't! Another new years resolution. :-)

Enough for tonight. Happy Not Me Monday!