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Oct
26
I am the cure
Filed Under susan g. komen, weight loss | 4 Comments
Last Sunday, I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. My friends and family donated money, and together, we raised $166 for the Komen foundation! I had grand ideas of running the 5k - which I feel is well within my capabilities, but I’ve been battling some kind of crazy flu/sinus disaster, and it just wasn’t happening. But with pocket full of cough drops and some bottled water, I walked it just fine.
This leads me to my real point. I feel like I’m never going to lose any weight. I am so unmotivated about it. I go to the gym basically so I can keep eating what I want. This is not the formula for weight loss. I care, but I don’t. I care enough to keep going to the gym. But I don’t care enough to not eat pumpkin pie. I LOVE pumpkin pie. I use Cool Whip light on top - that helps, right?
Anyway, my dad gave me some hoodia - weight loss pills. I think they are an appetite suppressant. But, I can’t take them because it says don’t take if you’re CONSIDERING getting pregnant. That’s ominous, right? I’ve also got some hydroxycut, but haven’t taken it for the same reason.
I do want to lose weight before I get pregnant again. But I love the pumpkin pie. And mashed potatoes. And ramen noodles. I mean, really.
Oct
26
Perfection
Filed Under hobbies, parenting, quilting, Crafts, parenting no-no's | Leave a Comment
I just got home from JoAnns fabric, where I had somewhat of a run in with this mean woman. I was at the register, trying to get the cashier to honor my 50% off coupon, while she was explaining that if I wanted to use it for cut fabric, I needed the fabric cutting ladies way in the back of the store to put it on my fabric slip. Blah blah blah, so while I’m discussing the fairness of this with her, my son is (for the most part) staying right next to me. He takes two steps into the aisle and almost gets mowed down by a woman pushing a shopping cart. I give a loud, sharp intake of breath as I grab my son’s arm and yank him towards me and safety. He starts to cry because I scared him.
I tell the cashier I’ll use the coupon another day and to just wrap things up. She apologizes and launches into a story about the JoAnns she worked at in Montana or whatever and meanwhile, my son is acting a little inconsolable. While I’m talking to him, trying to calm him down, I say how nice that lady was for stopping and what good reflexes she had and then I say how thankful we are to her. She’s within earshot. I then hear her say, “if you restrained him, that wouldn’t happen.”
What?
So I tell her, “wow, what a judgmental thing to say. You must be perfect in every way to make a pronouncement like that. Thank you so much for the helpful advice.”
Perhaps they should hand out trophies to all those helpful people at the JoAnns.
Sheesh.
Oct
24
Where’s my extinguisher?!
Filed Under southern california, wildfires | Leave a Comment
Man, fire is scary. So far, it hasn’t come knocking on our door, but say a prayer for my SoCal neighbors. And donate a little change to Red Cross, there’s a million displaced people here so far.
Useful Links:
Fire Map courtesy of KPBS
Red Cross Wildfire Safety site
Oct
19
NukeFree.org
Filed Under clean energy, congress, nuclear power, nukefree.org, politics, live green | 1 Comment
We have to be vigilant. Even if distrust of our politicians is pervasive, we’re not powerless. It’s easier than ever to write your Representatives and your Senators. Don’t wait.
How sad that anyone would allow a blank check for something as unproven as nuclear energy, when SCHIP fails again. Don’t let it happen.
Take Action:
- Sign the No Nukes petition by October 22!
- Contact your Representatives here. Urge them to “REMOVE THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY LOAN GUARANTEES FROM THE PENDING ENERGY BILL.”
- Contact your Senators here. Urge them to “REMOVE THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY LOAN GUARANTEES FROM THE PENDING ENERGY BILL.”
BTW, Bonnie Raitt wails. She’s freakin’ awesome.
Oct
19
The nicest compliment
Filed Under blessings, blogging | Leave a Comment
There is one blog that I love above all others. It’s called Breakdown in the Fastlane, and it’s hysterical, sad, thought-provoking, moving, and everything else that good writing can be. I read lots and lots of blogs, and there are many that I return to (like Deborah’s and Allison’s), but I read Lin’s the most regularly and with relish.
So when she left me this compliment the other day, I felt that I needed to take a little time to really savor it. I know she visits my blog, because she often leaves her little bits of wit for me. But to think she would go so far as to recommend my little blog to someone else. It’s the height of happiness for me.
Thanks for the kind words, Lin!
Oct
19
Credit Cards
Filed Under parenting no-no's, family drama | Leave a Comment
I know the rules. I see the problems. But I can’t seem to break the cycle. We pay them all off, we run them back up, we pay them off, etc. It sure is a slippery slope. Mostly because we’re not saving what we should. If we had less credit card payments, we could save more. Balance transfers and other tactics allow you to save on interest, if you do it right, but they’re just a band aid.
Clearly, spending is the big issue. My husband and I are both impulse buyers with very little use for delayed gratification.
If you’re looking to build credit, it pays to research your options. I like Suze Orman’s books. It also pays to look for best buy credit cards, or cards that offer the best deals. This might seem obvious, but I know lots of people with credit cards high APRs and annual fees. Why? Who knows?
I hope to break this trend with our son. I want him to know all about credit cards and the importance of saving long before he gets to college and everyone and their brother offer him a line of credit. We hope they won’t make the same mistakes we have, but I see that I’m in the same boat as my parents, so what gives?
Oct
19
My husband is always saying he needs a hobby. I’m not sure when he thinks he’ll do this hobby, because he’s always at work, driving to or from work, or sleeping. He enjoys golf, but doesn’t get to play as often as he’d like.
He likes to go to hobby shops and dream of having one of those kinds of hobbies. Making models, RC airplanes, or model trains. He takes our son (who is almost two) and then makes purchase for said son that are completely age-inappropriate.
He came home with a radio controlled helicopter once and was so excited to take it to the park near our house and play with it. Our son was very excited too. Well, the thing is that he bought an inexpensive, small helicopter. Good plan when you’re trying out a new hobby. Bad plan when you have Santa Ana winds to contend with.
On the helicopter’s inaugural flight, the wind captured it and carried it away, over the fence surrounding the park and into this scrub grass valley - a good 500 yards away. After scampering over the fence and down a huge dirt hill, trekking across the scrub grass, the helicopter was rescued. That afternoon, it was dismantled, resettled in its original packaging, and returned to the store.
My husband is still looking for a hobby. Any suggestions?
Oct
19
I am a lazy person. I do most things at about a 70% effort level. Maybe less. I rationalize everything, which probably lowers my effort level (except for the level of effort involved in creating the rationalization.) BUT, I accomplish a lot. This baffles me.
My husband seems to think I am a creative genius, and that eventually, I will pay off. He thinks I have some great talents that if I only applied them in the right areas, we’d be rich. I try to tell him that I’m just too lazy to realize any kind of real success, but he doesn’t listen. He also thinks we should put our son in commercials. My husband sees cash cows everywhere.
I don’t know where I’m going with this.
I guess my point is that I joined the quilting guild, and volunteered for a couple jobs: PR Chairperson and Newsletter Editor. These are positions for which I am trained and skilled. However, the guild people seem to think I have bitten off more than I can chew. Perhaps. I have been known to do that. But I am also decidedly less lazy when people are counting on me.
For example, I’m mostly unlazy when it comes to my son. I do not want to go to the park everyday and sit around on the concrete while he dumps piles of sand on his legs. But he loves it, so we go. (Although, we’re sick right now, so we’re not going, because I hate the look the other mothers give when he coughs. “How could you bring your sick child here within my healthy child’s airspace?!!)
So, we’ll see what happens. Maybe I’ll let them all down. Maybe they’re lazier than me (God forbid) and they can’t understand why I’d take on so much.
Oct
18
Street Safe
Filed Under self defense, street smart | Leave a Comment
My husband likes ninjas. He likes to shout “Krav Maga!” and pretend to hit things. It’s all a show. The only actual hand-to-hand combat training he’s had is the same training I’ve had. About three hours of instruction at basic training (I got to flip someone!). But its still fun to play like he’s a ninja. And he’s teaching our son these “moves”.
So we got this video from AAA-Safety First, a website that sells self defense products. The cover is a little deceiving. I thought it was going to be instructions on how to be street smart - like, “don’t talk to strangers.” I didn’t really know what to expect. It’s actually pretty cool.
The instructor, Steve Vunak, goes through eight simple moves to get you out of almost any dangerous situation. These moves are so simple that size, strength and training become non-issues. As a smallish (well, not skinny, but short) female, I feel like I could execute all of the moves to keep myself safe, regardless of my attacker’s size.
First he goes through the moves one by one, showing how to practice them in a mirror, with training equipment, and then with an actual training partner. After going through all the moves, he shows different combinations of the moves. Then, he shows real world situations where he uses those combinations. (I’m not going to spoil it by telling you the moves. You’ll have to get the video if you want to learn them :))
The video was made in the 1990s, so the clothes the people are wearing are a little dated, but the information is timeless.
Plus, the instructor does all these crazy hand movements while he’s talking that I really like. He kept my attention. I thought he was a little silly, but everything he’s teaching makes perfect sense and seems easy enough to do. You can bet I’ll be practicing my moves in front of the mirror. Who knows? Maybe I’ll move up to training on my husband. Krav Maga!
Oct
15
I found more coupons
Filed Under coupon codes, online coupons | 3 Comments
Okay, people. You know I’m a fan of the online coupon code. I like shopping online. Mostly because there is not a lot of the normal inconveniences of shopping. Namely, a squirmy almost-two-year old, his toys, his sippy cup, his shopping cart cover, wipies, and pacifier. Whew. Makes me tired just thinking about it. Not to mention how much he hates shopping in the places I love to shop - i.e., every fabric and book store in my county.
Anyway, so I shop online. And before I check out, I always check for coupon codes, because you never know when you’ll find a good one. Enter NCNatural.com, and excellent resource for online coupons. The site is so simple - online merchants are listed alphabetically, so you can scroll right to the store you want and check for current deals. Looking for Dell coupons? Check under “D”. Joann Fabric coupons - my favorite? Listed right under “J”. Too easy.
The site is updated daily, and I’ve never seen an expired code. Also, they’ve made deals with the different stores, so that if you go to the store from their site, the store pays them a little money. Benefit for us? No ads on their site.
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