Many Roles

A maze for you, I have today
You'll have to search and look;
The next clue that you need to find
is in your reading book.

Monday morning I stumbled out of my room, bleary-eyed, searching for clean underwear in my laundry basket. Then, I noticed something taped to my computer screen. I couldn't see what it was, so I hurried and got my glasses on. It was the above note, penned by Paul. So, there I was, scraggly haired and in a bathrobe, scurrying all over my house, the yard, and even down in the new basement, going from clue to clue. I won't put them all on here, but they were all done in rhyming, limerick style. Eventually, I found my surprise. Taped to the back side of the computer were tickets to an upcoming Broadway production at the Des Moines Civic Center, Mary Poppins.

I am so excited! They've been advertising this production for a couple of weeks now and I've always had the thought, "I wish..." I grew up reading and re-reading my Mary Poppins books. I didn't know it, but Paul had a Mary Poppins record he used to listen to as a little boy. So, he was interested as soon as he heard the ads too. He could have just given me the tickets, but instead he gave me this scavenger hunt. It was romantic and fun and a reminder of just how unromantic and un-fun I am to him. I need to work harder at that. But, anyway, it was also reminder to me of what a gift my husband is. As several of my Facebook friends when I posted about this, "He's a keeper!"

So, on Dec. 9th we get to get all dressed up and head downtown like a couple of high rollers. It will be fun!

I did buy my new food processor. I love it! It is such better quality than those cheap models I have been buying. The base is made out of stainless steel and every part is just heavier and sturdier than what I'm used to. I see a lot of chopping, dicing, and pureeing in my future!

Remember my post awhile back about that disruptive student at Ben's social skills class and my indecision about whether to leave or to stay during her meltdowns? Well, in the weeks since she has had a few outbursts, but they've been more mild and not a huge deal. Until yesterday. She was utterly out of control. For more than a half hour I listened to her cry, run down the halls, and scream and scream and scream. She's obviously on the spectrum somewhere, although from what I have observed, she does seem to be quite high functioning. But not in self control.

So, I sat there, just debating about what to do. At one point she did run out into the waiting room and frightened Sam. I knew if I insisted that it was time for Ben to leave, that would cause a disruption, too. But yet, I know from past experience, this girl's tantrums fascinate Ben. He has trouble, himself, from time to time, controlling his anger. But we've never let him get away with it, attempting to teach him self-control instead. I understand that the center has a "no touch" policy, which I assume means they won't put a student in a full body hold, which I know some places use to contain out-of-control children and adults. But that means that the girl remains in control. They remove her from the classroom, but since they can't touch her, she doesn't stay in any other room, and instead runs, screaming in anger all the while. Anyway, this is behavior I really do not want my children exposed to, particularly since it's not being controlled by the center.

So, I finally told one of the workers that I was leaving and taking Ben with me. They tried to talk me out of it and, of course, I doubted whether I was doing the right thing then. But I was adamant and we left. It was the right decision. I am ultimately the one in charge of my children. Obviously, I can't control all the influences that come into their lives. But I can do what I am able. So, that's what I did. We'll go back next week. But I'll be ready to leave again if we have to.

It's been a week where all my roles have come together: loved wife, sickly patient (fortunately, an infrequent role), and wise mother. Pretty soon here I'm going to have to don my chef's hat and take on yet another role. Such are my days!

Sick Octonigerians

No, I don't have a new ER visit to report! I took that this morning before Ben left for school. It's homecoming week, so the kids have different dress-up days. Today is "Fake Injury" day. Ben's having fun with the week. Tomorrow he is going to help paint the streets and sidewalks (apparently a Pville Homecoming tradition). Friday, there's a parade for the whole town and the football players and band, I presume, will be in it. So, we'll drive down for that.

I hope I'm feeling better by then! I've been fighting a bladder infection for the last week. It got so bad by Mon. afternoon that I decided it was finally time to see a dr. But I couldn't go then because I had to take the boys to Will's JV game (they lost - but it was only by 2 points, so it made for more excitement). I would have just skipped it and drove to Urgent Care, but we'd already promised to take the neighbor boy with us and I didn't want to disappoint him.

And it's just as well I waited because my throat started tickling Mon. night. Paul's had a head cold since Friday. By Tues. morning I had a cold deep in my chest - Paul shared his germs. So, yesterday I dropped Will and David off at 4-H and then dragged Sam and myself to Urgent Care. They told me I have a "monster" of a bladder infection (no news there - when your kidneys start to hurt, you know it's got to be pretty bad). So I got a shot and then an antibiotic to kill both the infection and the chest cold. Today I'm sneezing half the time and hacking the other half. You know, I haven't been sick since I started taking mega doses of Vit D more than a year ago. I guess I'd kind of developed the assumption that I had a super immune system and was incapable of getting truly sick. Guess not!

Something funny before I throw another load in the dryer: Monday on the way to Will's class, I was quizzing him on his vocabulary words (which he hates - "why do I have to learn words I'm never going to use in real life?" I just sigh because I LOVE learning new words). I asked him, "What is a person between the ages of 80 and 89?" The answer, of course, is octogenarian. Will replied, "An octo-nigerian." That cracked me up! I told him, "Only if you're African!"

Odds and Ends

Isn't this a nice picture? It has nothing at all to do with my post, but I like it. I took that at Lake Icaria on Labor Day weekend. I like Paul's pose - leaning over to show Sam something. He's such a good dad. That's niece, Kaylee, off to the side.

Here is the link to my friend, Kristi's new blog:http://www.neverkissatoaster.blogspot.com/ Her blog is called "Never Kiss a Toaster." Visit it - you'll enjoy it. Kristi is a fabulous writer, a pastor's wife, and mom of two kiddos on the Spectrum. My days with Ben can't even compare to her life. But throughout it all she keeps a cheerful outlook and teaches me much about what my own attitude should be.

Speaking of blogs, did you notice that I changed my tagline and profile info? My tagline, the part about "...and the occasional intelligent thought that pops into my mind" started to bother me. The truth is, I have many intelligent thoughts. Most just evaporate within nanoseconds of entering my mind. I expanded my profile info a bit. And no, the boys are not yet 16, 14, and 3.

But they all have birthdays coming up within the next 7 weeks, so I went ahead and changed it.

I wrote kind of a nice piece, I thought, for the most recent FW Challenge. Unfortunately, I liked it better than the judges did - bummer! It didn't do so well. I got 15th out of 28 in my category - not something to be proud of and 21st out of 107, overall. Again, nothing I'm too excited about. This is why it never pays to get a big head when I do well, because I'm just as likely to get shot down the next week! Back to being a bottom feeder, I guess...Actually, I did get one little bit of good news about FW. Apparently, every quarter, they operate on a "point" system and you get points based on how well your piece places. I don't think it counts for anything, other than pride, but I won that this quarter, coming out on top with 33 points. Kind of cool! Our new quarter starts next week and I am curious to see what the theme will be.

I went to Will's Varsity game last night. He played for about one minute in the second quarter. I'm such a good mom - sitting there, freezing, for the entire 4 quarters. And,no, they didn't win - of course not! Neither team has won a single game yet this season. They played a Christian school last night, which was interesting. They opened in prayer and you could see the players praying when they would huddle. Their band played Christian songs. I've never seen that at a football game before. This was Des Moines Christian. I know Pville also plays Pella Christian so I would like to attend one of their home Varsity games to see if they, too, do the same.

Ben was delighted to get there and find his teacher. He sat by him the entire game. Mr. K assured me that Ben was no trouble at all. We walked into the bleachers and I kept hearing, "Hi, Ben!" all over. One little (well, middle-school aged) girl came up to me and asked if I was Ben's mom and if Sam was Ben's little brother. She told me, "He looks just like Ben!" It's the hair. Curls get all the attention.

Sam was the chief entertainment during the game. He loves to hoot and holler and yell things like, "Get 'im, Get 'im!" and "Touchdown!" and "Tackle him!" He's not quiet about it, either. Of course, his first word was "touchdown," so I shouldn't be surprised. The people sitting around us thought it was hilarious. I guess he was more entertaining than what was happening on the field.

Paul didn't make it to the game. He's on call this week and was working. He's working today, too. I'm not complaining. Some better paychecks will be greatly appreciated!

My food processor broke this week. It's my second one to go in less than a year, so I decided I'm done with cheap ones. Well, they're not terribly cheap - I've bought a number of $40-50 models over the past few years. I just use it all the time! I did some querying on Facebook and some internet research and I think I'm going to go with a 12 cup Cuisinart. Younkers has them on sale right now and my old home ec teacher mailed me a 15% off coupon so I should be able to get this model for around $200. That still seems frightfully expensive. But if it lasts quite awhile, then it will be worth it.

It's a cool, rainy, cozy Saturday. The Hawkeyes are playing and being broadcast in the kitchen, I've got candles burning, and the house is slowly getting picked up. It's a good day!

Tidbits Typed While Avoiding a Grump

I just tried to register for the writing class I mentioned a couple of blogs back, and it won't let me - is this a sign? I discovered that Ben has his first choral concert that night at the Events Center in Des Moines. Now, Paul will be able to go in my place, I'm sure. But I've been wrestling with that ever since I discovered the conflict. It seems kind of selfish to miss my child's event to go do something for me. But, I really, really want to go to this class! Maybe I'll try again later...

Speaking of classes, both Will and David took their hunters' safety course last week - Thursday evening and part of Saturday. Prior to taking the class David was saying he didn't know if he would ever want to hunt someday - didn't know if he could stomach the thought of killing animals. But after the class, he seemed more willing to go kill a few deer! Both he and Will passed the course. Paul took them and enjoyed it so much he stuck around for half of Saturday's class.

Well, tomorrow is the day that I find out how my latest FW piece did. I'm hopeful - which is probably not a good thing! I've also gotten quite a few comments on it, which is strange. The ones that I've done better on, I never got that many comments on. So, I may be back down to the bottom of the heap again!

My friend, Kristi Peifer, whom I mentioned awhile back (she's the one who got me started in FW) is starting a blog. I'll direct you all to it as soon as she gets it set up. I'm excited - she's a very talented writer and funny, to boot. So you'll enjoy what she has to say.

On the subject of funny: I was changing Sam the other day. Apparently, I was too rough because he exclaimed, "Hey, don't hurt my weiner!" That cracked me up, especially because I never taught him that word! I bet we can thank his big brothers for that one. Of course, now I have reason to dread the next hot dog roast and what might come out of Sam's mouth at that point!

Well, Weiner Boy is being very impatient and trying to climb on me as I type. Better end this. He's been a royal grump since he got up this morning. I think it's time for an early nap. Maybe for me, too?

Those Boys of Mine

I'm a little behind on my blogging - I can tell by the list that has steadily grown over the last week of things that I wanted to mention. That's the way it goes, I guess.

It's been thunderstorming almost all day; well, since around lunch, anyway. I was finishing up my shopping today with Sam and by the time we left Target it was just torrentially pouring. I was surprised when I got to my van to see all these little birds fly out from underneath it with my approach. They were, apparently, taking refuge from the elements. I had needed to go to Hy-Vee, but skipped it. I wasn't about to go out in the deluge. I have a support group meeting tonight; maybe I can go afterwards. I had co-op pickup just an hour ago and it was pouring like crazy while we were unloading the truck. I'm glad I had my umbrella, but it didn't do all that much good. Oh well. I'll take the rain over the 110 degree temps my sister-in-law told me they are having right now in Phoenix!

The weather was good for Will's game last night. Unfortunately, the Trojans weren't good for the game - 30 to 0. Ouch! Neither Varsity or JV has won a single game yet. But Will did catch a pass and got to run for a short bit before getting tackled. Everyone in the stands was yelling, "Yay 7!" Will said there is a possibility he may end up playing quarterback before too long. His coach has been working with him on learning that position. I think that would be great! I'm going to try to make his Varsity game this Friday up at Des Moines Christian. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this time, it's the Christians that will be doing the slaughtering...

A week ago I popped some popcorn the old fashioned way for a recipe (which ended up being a really gross recipe - I wish I'd figure out these things before I buy the ingredients and go to the effort of trying new stuff). Will looked into the bowl and informed me that I had burned a good deal of it. I told him, no, those were the old maids. He looked again and replied seriously, "No, those are unpopped kernals!" I laughed and said, "Will, don't you know what an 'old maid' is?" He said, again totally seriously, "Sure, I do. They're old women that you can hire to clean your house!" How we went from popcorn to house cleaners, I'm not sure. But it cracked me up, anyway!

Oh, and last week David said something about "pickle plants." Unfortunately, he said that to Will, who can be a big tease. Will didn't let David hear the end of that one for awhile. I can see how David might think that. I am not domesticated enough to do any canning, so far all David knows, pickles DO come off plants before they're put in jars and we buy them!

I was so impressed with Ben last week. He commented, out of the blue, that he thought it would be good idea if we kept a bag in the upstairs bathroom trashcan. He said it would be easier to change the garbage. I said that sounded good to me. So, as soon as we got home, he went upstairs, emptied the garbage that was in the can outside in the big can, and then put a small bag in there. That just showed problem solving skills and initiative both, as well logical thinking because he knew he had to empty the can before putting his idea in place. I'm very impressed and I'm not so sure that would have happened before he started back to school a month ago.

Ben also mentioned to me that one day last week they looked at an onion under a microscope in a science lab. He then casually mentioned, "We never did labs in homeschool." Gad - he's making me sound like the worst home school teacher, ever! And just for the record, Will has done plenty of science experiments since he got into Jr. and Sr. High. They're part of his curriculum.

Well, I'll be back in a bit. I'd better go eat and then get ready for my meeting.

Writing Wow

I meant to comment about FW in my last post but forgot. What I was going to do was to moan about the new and final level I am in. Last week I entered at the Masters Level for the first time. As soon as all the pieces were up I read every single one in that category. While I didn't think mine was any worse than anyone else's, it sure wasn't any better. Masters is where the best writers end up. So I reminded myself of that repeatedly this last week and did my best to prepare myself for the reality that it would probably be weeks, if not months, before any of my pieces would place.

But at the clock edged closer and closer to 9 am today (the time and day they would post the weekly winners) I found myself getting antsier and antsier. I am SO pathetic when it comes to FaithWriters! But to my absolute surprise and delight, my story placed second! And then, when I checked the Editor's Picks I found that I placed second there, as well (out of 107 entries)! So, I'm getting published for the fourth time!

And I got another piece of encouragement (if that's the right word) today. I posted on Facebook about my win, although I hesitated. I am afraid of sounding like a braggart. I'm genuinely pleased, but there's a line that can easily be crossed where I could appear too pumped up on myself and my abilities. So I tried to word it carefully, and of course, I immediately got encouraging, congratulatory replies from my friends. I ended up getting into a discussion with one of the moms in my homeschool group about what "next." It was the same stuff I've expressed here before - knowing that the day is coming that I need to step outside of the comfort zone of FW, but not knowing exactly where and how to make that step. Well, she immediately sent me a link that she had been given. Evidently, the Des Moines school system offers numerous classes throughout the school year, on all kinds of topics - kind of a "continuing education" type thing (no credit hours, though). And one of the classes they are offering in late Oct. is about taking that next step in writing - how to submit your work, where to submit it, how to write a query letter and synopsis - practical know-how stuff. This sounds like exactly what I need!

It does cost $25 which is the only reason I hesitated at all to immediately sign up. Paul seems to think it's a good idea, so I'll probably do it.

I wonder what's going to happen down the road with my writing...

An Enouraging Word

Well, I think I ought to be able to finish catching up with this post. That's probably a good thing because Will is bringing home his best friend from a youth group overnighter and I need to do some cooking - teenage boys and all. Plus, I was so burnt out from all the cooking I did last week that this week I hardly did any at all. The kids are beginning to poke in the couch cushions for things to eat.

Sam has sort of dropped the "poopy" name calling. Well, kind of. It still pops out from time to time. But now he has a new insult. When somebody does something he doesn't like he calls them a "bad mommy." What am I supposed to think about that? I'm starting to develop a complex around this kid. I'm thinking he doesn't exactly appreciate all it took to bring him into the world!

I had a neat experience on Wed. I took Ben in to get his allergy shots. I stuffed two books in my purse and fully intended to read the time away. Well, Sam fell asleep on the way there and was so out that he didn't wake up when I carried him into the office. So, instead of reading, I just held him the entire time as he slept on my lap. I reminded myself that these days are fast and fleeting and I'll have the rest of my life to read.

So while I was there I ended up chatting with another mother in the room. She is going through a rough time. Her 14 yr old son had a dr's appt as a precursor to being checked into rehab. She told me how she adopted both her sons out of foster care - and both have brought untold misery onto themselves, and consequently, onto her. I told her about Ben. She was admiring David for his sensitivity while we sat there (I had him rummaging in my purse for a tissue for my ever-dripping nose). I tried to be an encouragement to this mom, reminding her that her reward would come later and to hang on through these rough waters. But she was an encouragement to me, telling me repeatedly how "blessed" I am. I don't think about that much. From the negative tone of a lot of my posts, it's pretty obvious that I tend to zero in on the nasty things in my life, taking the good for granted. So I needed to hear that too.

We exchanged email info and phone numbers. Who knows - maybe one of these days we'll get together. I gave her a hug before I left - almost a total stranger - and she hung onto me as though she were drowning, which I suppose she is, in a sense.

We're not islands. This was a good reminder to me to be aware of the hurting people around me. I'm not the only person with problems. I think maybe I need to read less often and be ready with that encouraging word - and hug - for those chance encounters, which maybe, aren't so "chance" after all.

David, David

My David - goofball, Mr. Sensitive, and so, so different from his brothers...or anyone else in the universe...

Recently, hearing an ad for the stage version of Mary Poppins that is coming to town: "Mom, is Mary Poppins dead?" I suppose it's a legitimate question for someone not all that familiar with the stories. However, I found myself dumbfounded for a moment because I am very, very familiar with Miss Poppins, having read her stories over and over again as a child.

Yesterday, while trying to help him with science: A definition was given and he needed to fill in the blank. The answer was "clouds." All he had to do was go back through his reading, find the terminology, and it would be obvious. He kept getting it wrong. So, I'd read the definition given, and then I'd flip back to where the answer was in the book and read what the page said, waiting for him to see that it said right there, in black and white, "clouds"! We must have done this four times and he still didn't get it, guessing everything from "water" to "vapor." I was about beating my head on the desk at this point. I finally put my finger underneath the word "clouds" right by the definition and David finally said, "Oh, clouds!" And then he says, "Well, I was going to say that before, but you didn't' give me a chance!" I said, "How did I not give you chance?" "Well, I was thinking it but I just didn't say it out loud." "Why didn't you say it out loud?" "Well, you kept saying, 'no, no, no'" to all my other answers so I figured you'd just say "no" to clouds, too."

Am I allowed to drive a stake through my eyeball now?

Today this industrious boy has been busy making a scratching post for the kitties. It's cockeyed, but he put so much of himself in it. He's just waiting for Paul to get home so he can put the carpet on it. He has run in periodically to give me updates on how many nails he pounded in and how he was concerned about it being "level."

Now, said boy has run upstairs and changed into his Iowa Hawkeye jersey and delightedly discovered that the Iowa Hawkeye vs Iowa State Cyclones game is being televised. He's running around the house squealing, "Go Hawkeyes!" If he wakes up sleeping Sam, I'm going to have his head...

David, David...the baby who brought the laughter back to our house and is still cracking me up, 11 years later...

Miss Negativity

What a long, long week this has been since I last posted!

Well, we went on our camping trip. It was one of the most miserable experiences of my entire lifetime. That was primarily because of my hay fever. It was just abominable. My nose literally ran non-stop for 72 hours. I couldn't breathe at all and I rubbed my nose totally raw. Twice, we had to run to town to buy more boxes of tissues - and I had brought 3 boxes with me! I have to have air conditioning in times like this. We have it in the camper, but it wasn't working the greatest this weekend - argh!

And then I about killed myself Sun. night. Paul's brother-in-law lives for his boat. He's out on it a lot and so this year he bought a large, special, inner tube that the boat tows behind it and then someone can ride on it. So, he persuaded me to go on it, along with David, and his 9 yr old daughter, Kaylee. The kids were fine - I about died. I had to lay on it on my stomach. Every time we'd hit a wave (every second and a half) the inner tube would fly up and then hit the water. Well, I'd go flying up and then down hard on my life jacket. My chest still hurts! And so do my shoulders. I felt like they'd been wrenched out of their sockets. So, anyway, a rotten weekend, all in all.

But Will enjoyed it. There he is holding his 15" bass that he caught. He was pretty pleased. His Aunt Kimberly taught him how to butcher (fillet?) it and then he ate it!

My allergies have bothered me all week long. We got back Mon. evening and then immediately the next day I had to do my bi-monthly shopping. I had to rush home from that to go to Will's JV game which was 45 min. away in Pella. And then the next morning I had to finish my shopping. So I didn't have a chance to breathe until Wed. evening, really.

Ben is home from school today because of his allergies. And David's pretty stuffed up, too. Cannot wait for the first frost!

Oh, and about that football game Tues night? We drove there, using directions off MapQuest. Mapquest was wrong and we drove all over Pella trying to find this Christian school they were playing against. We finally had to stop at Caseys and got directions. So, we pay $16 to get in (another rant, some other time) and find that Will is sitting on the bench, icing his foot! I told Paul, "Please tell me we did not just drive all over kingdom come and paid $16 to watch our kid not play football!" He did go in later, little good it did the Trojans. They got beat 46-0.

Will ended up going to see his team dr. the next day. He's a chiropractor with a practice in Pville. Will's got an inflamed Achilles tendon. So, he's had him in an ankle brace all week and coming in twice daily for treatments. But he's ok to play tonight for Varsity. Apparently, Will is a regular now on the Varsity team, which is a great honor. However, it is pouring out right now so I don't think I'm going to make the game.

Ok, that is almost ALL of my bad news, so the next post is bound to be more cheerful!

Still Waiting

Still waiting to go...But that's ok. I can caught up on this which will be one less thing to do when we get back next week.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we got the basement floor poured yesterday. Paul's folks drove up Thursday so I was busy all week with the cooking and cleaning for that. But his dad helped him quite a bit. Then yesterday we had some guys from church and our mayor come help us and we now have a basement floor! So I guess the next thing will be to get the floor laid for the new addition and then some steps down to the basement. Then we can move stuff down there! It's a huge, huge step of progress in this long, arduous process. If only we weren't poor - then we could just buy a place with the space we need (cue: "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof...)

Sam's latest thing is to call everyone "Poopy." I tried ignoring it, so the other night he was really amping it up, saying "poopy" many, many times. I steadfastly ignored him. Finally, he stopped and exclaimed, "Mom! I'm saying 'poopy'!" Yeah, he knows what he's doing. So now we're spanking for it. He's also been going around calling everyone, "Tower" and "Howard." I think he's trying to say "coward" but I'm not 100% positive on that.

Well, I think we're closer now to taking off. I'm ready for a nap, though! I'll be back late next week or so.

Winning and Losing

We're supposed to be leaving right now to go camping. But Paul is still getting the camper ready and I'm waiting for water to boil. I want to get these dishes done up before we go but I have no hot water. I have no hot water because Paul took out the hot water heater. He took out the water heater so we could get our basement floor poured yesterday. And now I am waiting for the water to boil for the second time. That's right. I waited forever for the first pot to boil and it finally did. I poured it over my dirty dishes - and it all swirled down the drain. I thought I had the drain stopped, but I guess it got moved. Grr...Maybe we'll make our campsite by sundown.

Well, some cheerful news: I'm getting published again! I was really pleasantly surprised. I wrote a piece about a mother who's "perfect" life is blindsided by the birth of a baby with Downs Syndrome. I thought it was pretty good. But as the week wore on I only got one comment on it. I read everybody else's work in my category and it seemed like most of them had multiple comments. So, I figured that I was alone in my appreciation of my story. Then, the day before judging I got one more comment - and it was critical! So I figured I had tapped out with "Loving Luke Good-bye" and it was all downhill from here now.

But when I checked Thursday morning I discovered that I placed FIRST in the Advanced division (again!)! And then when I checked Editor's Picks I got 5th, which means I'm getting published again. And, since this was my 3rd Editor's Pick win, I now advance to the Master Level. That's the top level. So now I'm there for life. And you'll probably hear me moaning soon about how I am so out of my league and I'll never place against these fabulous writers in this level and so on. Just ignore me when I do that. Again, if you want to read this story, let me know and I'll send you the link.

Oh, speaking of winning...we found out this week that Paul's great-aunt Betty won $100,000 in the Iowa Lottery. Too bad we don't know her better! Actually, that's awful, since gambling is a sin, but at the same time - wow. I've never known a lottery winner before.

And speaking of NOT winning...my weight is becoming an issue, with me anyway. When I weighed in at the ear, nose, and throat place a couple of weeks ago my weight registered 151. I could not believe it! I have never crossed into the 150s unless I had a human being growing inside me. Yesterday it was so cool that I pulled out my favorite jeans from last winter and they were SO tight to snap! And then I had the dreaded muffin top thing going on. I have GOT to get this worked off. I remember two summers ago I was so thin that I hated it - nothing fit and it hurt to sit because I had no padding on my butt. How did I go from that to this in just 24 months? I'm not going to weigh this much so I have got to take care of it - amping up the exercise (ok, starting to exercise!) and limiting the sweets more. I'm almost 40 and I've heard that once you get into that decade it can become almost impossible to lose the weight.

Well, my water is boiling, so I'll see if I can get some dishes cleaned up before I have to boil more. The things we take for granted!