Diet...sad news!

I'm smack dab in the middle of week 2 and things aren't going so well.  I have a voracious love of Taco Bueno Mucho Nachos!  Coco knows about this because she shares this love but she doesn't live near a Taco Bueno.  Unfortunately I have 4 in a 6 mile radius of my home!  Weight Watchers is based on points which are based on calories and fat and the Mucho Nacho are off the charts.  My daughter Courtnay also is dieting and she also loves these lovlies.  I went to the website to look up the nutritional information and what I found nearly gave me a heart attack but mostly it made me very, very sad. Court has a points calculator so we figured that the nachos in question have roughly 39 points...my daily allowance is 22!  But for you folks who are not doing Weight Watchers here is the breakdown...whether you are counting calories, or carbs this will blow your socks off!

Calories  1567

Fat           97 gms

Carbs     127 gms

Sodium  4105 mgs!!!!!!

Have a nice day!

Happy Birthday Jill!!!

Today is one of my best BFFs fortieth birthday! This year Jill and I will have been friends for 10 years! We met when I was 40 and pregnant. I was one of the PR department’s administrative assistants at Tandy Corporation (Now just RadioShack) and Jill was interviewing for a PR manager position. After 783 interviews they finally hired her! Really I think I saw her more when she was interviewing than after she was hired. I really liked her and thought they should hire her right away before someone else did. Only people in our circle at The Shack could even fathom the ridiculous decision making process that went on in our department. You could always hear the groans from HR when the Communications department put in a new hire requisition...in a word painful.

Sydney was born and 15 months later Jill gave birth to Griffin, the first of 3 beautiful boys!  That's really when our relationship went from professional to personal. You know that bond you instantly have with any other mother when you have a baby. Sydney and Griffin are 15 months apart and consider each other family and Jill, well she's like a sister to me and I love her and her family dearly. I feel like I have benefited the most from this friendship because since Griffin we have added 2 more boys to love and her husband is a jewel...(you may remember when baby Charlie arrived on the scene last July and I am happy to say he is a normal and healthy and happy 6 month old now) .

Beautiful family!

This is probably more information than anyone really wants to know about my best friend but it's my blog.

Hallelujah! And Amen!

Yes, the angels sang at Mama Sue's house yesterday because I FINALLY got rid of my sliding glass door.  It was not just any sliding glass door it was the worst one in the entire history of glass doors!  There was a glass door plus a glass storm door.  The original door from 1965 when the house was built.  I'm certain the storm door was added in the 70s during the energy crisis.  Some of you remember that we could only drive 55mph on the Interstate and salesmen terrorized neighborhoods tricking people into ugly aluminum storm doors. Well they are ugly but I'm sure I have the lowest energy bill on the block!  There is more about the old door...sometimes (most times) the door locked when you closed it...just ask my mom.  Then there was the storm door that didn't slide...just ask my mother in law.  I got so mad one day last summer that I removed the lock from the door and inserted a stick and dared anyone to close the non rolling storm door.  The day finally came!

Here are a few pics of the project  the one in the blue shirt is Jason our favorite friend and contractor and the other one is his grunt Rick (a.k.a. my hubby).

Ugly no?

Ta-da!

Folks, this is just the beginning!  Actually, last year Jason totally tore down our broken down and leaky patio cover and built a new one from scratch... I will post about that one day...it involves a lead footed Columbian and a chicken...Really!  There will be more amazing transformations happening here over the next year.

removing of paneling

remodel of kitchen

and much more!!

Also, I completed my first week of Weight Watchers and lost 5 lbs! 45 more to go!

circa 1985...

Last week my friend Sandy posted this photo on facebook! Sandy and her husband were one of our first "couple" friends after we got married. The photo was taken at their apartment and I know it's Christmas because I'm wearing red and there is a package on the sofa! Rick pretty much looks the same other than less hair and more gray and that moustache is history now a goatee and I like it better. When he is clean shaven I don't really recognize him. That was 25 years ago and 50 lbs ago.  I have been on Weight Watchers since Sunday and when I want to eat something bad for me, I look at this photo and others around here and remind myself that I used to be a size 2 and am now a size 16.  There I said it...it really hurts to think I have done this to myself. I found out when one of our daughters was a teen that I am an emotional eater...in a really big way!

My biggest fear now is that when I do lose the weight...and I will, that I will be super wrinkled and Rick will start calling me Baggy...he called me Tubby for my entire pregnancy but it did stop the day Sydney was born. He does this and there is no stopping him. As soon as he found out that nobody was allowed to call me Suzy, that was my name for a long time. My mom never allowed me to be called Suzy. She gave me my name and she really liked it. I understand that because I'm not crazy about Sydney being called Syd.  I don't hate it but I'm just not crazy about it.

By the way,  I really don't have any desire to be a size 2 again...that's just crazy. but I do want to look and feel healthy again and would love to avoid more surgery.  I have it in my mind that my weight was a contributing factor in my health woes. My next goal is to get moving again. I'm sure I will be posting again with my progress.  Since I am not going to WW meetings I thought I needed some accountability.

I was considereing another diet but at this time I will stick with this one...for now anyway until I get things under control. Also the other "diet" is heavy on nuts and seeds which I love but not so good for my diverticulitis...I will probably change to that diet once I figure out how to work out those details!  I would prefer to keep the rest of my colon thank you very much!

Another tooth gone!

Today Sydney had the second of two teeth pulled to make room for her big girl teeth.  They have been slow in coming out and the new ones so far have come in on top of one another. Nice. We have an amazing pediatric dentist in our area so it is as pleasant as possible and I do my best to make the day special!

First of all we had donuts at our favorite donut shop which happens to be right around the corner from the dentist. Sydney LOVES her some donuts!  We don't eat donuts very often anymore because I don't like the donut shop near our house and Krispy Kreme is gone:(

For Sydney it's only chocolate covered donut holes, a chocolate donut and a chocolate twist!  She always gets all three but doesn't eat it all at once!

After the dentist we came home and I made her a chocolate shake! Notice the vintage blender! Nice. I got it new! Vanilla ice cream, milk and chocolate syrup....

Voila! A chocolate shake for my little girl!

 Aren't my little canisters cute? I got them at Wal-Mart for $6.00 each and I love them!

We are going to have a quiet day today but it's back to the books tomorrow! Also notice that I went solo today...no hubby, no mom and I DID NOT faint or even come close. Last week I got all clammy just thinking about it.  I sat down and read a good article about Jillian Michaels in the Ladies Home Journal and she was done. We don't go back to the dentist until July!

The faces of Haiti

When Sydney was in 1st grade, her class mission project was to fill shoeboxes and send them to Haiti. It is actually a project that the school and our church take on every year. We had so much fun going and getting personal items and a toy for the 3-year-old little girl that Sydney chose. The father of one of her classmates went on the mission trip to deliver the boxes and I know it changed him forever. Sydney was particularly interested in how the Haitians lived...no plumbing (bathrooms), no running water, unpaved roads etc. Mr. Hoffman sent these pictures to Sydney after she expressed interest in becoming a missionary because of this experience. She also wanted to work at Build a Bear that year. Nonetheless, this experience had and effect on her. This morning I woke up thinking about these children and explained the tragedy in Haiti to Sydney.  We pulled out these pictures and prayed and cried for these sweet innocents. I urge you to do the same.

Here are some of the pictures Mr. Hoffman sent Sydney:

While we are all focused on this and other tragedies, please remember to pray for those who are suffering and in need in our own country, state, neighborhood.  There are people all around us who need prayer and the truth is suffering is suffering whether it is because of a giant earth quake, hurricane or the loss of a loved one or even the loss of a job.

Yesterday and a couple of blogs for you!

Yesterday my baby had to have a tooth pulled to make room for others.  The weeks leading up to this event were dramatic and we were both nervous.  It was orignially scheduled for last week but was cancelled due to snow and ice.  Anyhoo, yesterday was the big day and she was a champ.  While I was in the waiting room crumpled into a ball, she was back there with the gas and never knew when the tooth came out!  Seriously, I felt a little faint when we first walked in but thankfully, my mom to the rescue again!  Yea!  Way to go Sydney for being so brave and strong.  Tooth number 2 is scheduled for next Wednesday...I hope it goes as well.

Speaking of my mom here is what she looks like and what I will look like in 20 years.  She is holding my sweet dog Belle!

Today I recommend that you read Buzzings of a Queen Bee  she has the cutest ideas for quick winter decorations that are not red and green. Also please go to Coco's Cuckoo World and read today's post. Not only is she beautiful, she is a good will ambassador. I might be a little predjudiced because she is a cousin of mine and she has two of the cutest and most entertaining babies in the world...outside of my house!

After school today we will have a play date with Angel and Cindy...ahhh adult conversation? In the middle of the day?

Soon I will recommend a cookbook and diet that my sister in law lost a lot of weight on...REALLY! I stayed up late last night and read some of the cook book and the recipes look awsome but easy!

A new day and a tip!

Most homeschooling days for me are far from perfect.  Imagine a family filled with ADD and a child with ADD and dyslexia, which has a tendancy to curb her enthusiasm because it makes core subject harder than they are for most of her friends.  Due to foot dragging on both of us, I realized that we had stopped following the plan that kept us in line and worked so well for both of us.  As a family we sat down and went over our plan again which is as follows on school days:

Get up
Eat breakfast with no cartoons
Get dressed
Begin school
Eat lunch
Finish school if needed
Pick 3 or 4 rooms and spend 10 or 15 minutes together tidying up
FREE TIME!

It works! This works so well for us and we have a blast doing it. School was smooth sailing until spelling but we recovered quickly and finished.  Then we ate our lunches (while watching cartoons) and as soon as lunch was over we headed for the living room which was a wreck because Sydney had a sleep over on Saturday night with life long friend Taryn.  Actually only friends since age 3 but they don't remember not being friends EVER!  They slept on an air matress so we folded that up as well as tons of king size blankets.  Sydney was having fun and not complaining because we did everything together. Soon whining turned to giggles and frowns turned to smiles!  After the living room/dining room we headed for the den and then the hall bath which we share. There is still a lot to do but I think if we do this as our routine each day maybe I won't be so stressed and neither will she.

After working, she headed for the table and the paints!  Her friend Angel gave her a sun catcher kit for her birthday (in July) and she finally painted it...she loves painting.

Tip - I bought a $5.00 vinyl table cloth at Wal-Mart and throw down when we are doing crafts.  Wipe off, fold up and put away for next time.  Beats trying to scrub paints of your antique wood table!

Baby it's cold outside!!!

It is nearly noon and the temperature is 22 degrees with a windchill of 9 degrees.  It's Texas people! My faucets are dripping and my house is cold.  We just put in 18 inches of insulation too but when the wind is blowing 30mph it is a little drafty and both bathrooms are on northern walls.  This weather is crazy but it happens every 10 years or so but this is the land where never store our flip flops, shorts and tank tops. I don't despair (too much) because next week we shall have highs near 60s again or warmer! So I am going to enjoy and snuggle up with my hubby, little girl, dog or cat...TTFN

Sometime life's most amazing moments just happen...

Today Sydney and I just planned an ordinary day of dr. visits and errands.  We started the day with a dentist appointment (more on that later this week), then buying mom new athletic shoes (not that I am athletic). We stopped in a Chick Fil A and that's where it happened. Sydney ate a little of her lunch and she was in a huge hurry to get into the playroom and play.  When I finished my lunch I looked up (we were sitting right next to the playroom) and saw the sweetest thing.  Sydney was sitting on the bottom of the slide with about 7 kids (everyone) ages 2-6 gathered around her.  I could tell from her expression that she was telling a story and they were hooked.  This went on for the longest time and you could hear a pin drop in that playroom.  Then they moved to another area where I couldn't see so I went in to check and the same crew was snuggled around her and she was reading them a story...just one of those that comes in the kids meal.  She was having the best time and felt so big.  She looked just like a kindergarten teacher in the making.  I'm so glad she likes little kids.  I'm more proud that she takes time for them.

My apologies for the quality of this pic...used my old camera.  There were several more kids back where you can't see them.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010! I haven't posted for a while so here is the run down of the past week and a half...
After all of the parties and recitals and field trips we got down to serious family fun.

Our tree...there are 25 years of ornaments here baby! If you click on the photo below you can see my china on the wall in my dining room...handpainted by my paternal grandmother when she was in her 80s!  I'm very proud of them. I was very lucky to be very close to all of my grandparents...I miss them all so much.  Makes me want to be a better Mama Sue for Michael.

The first whilte Christmas in Fort Worth since 1926! Not a lot but it was fun and so pretty!

Michael our grandson...he looks just like Rick and Annie!

 A special father/daughter Christmas Eve moment...They fell asleep in the chair...they are not posing.  I'm so thankful that our 91/2 year old daughter still loves to sit in our laps and hold hands with us in public.  Each time I wonder how long before this stops...so I treasure each time she grabs my hand at Wal-Mart or at the movies.  So special.

 Santa was good to Sydney this year! She finally got her Wii...lots of other good stuff too!

And her American Girl doll "Chrissa" from her Nana!

We always spend Christmas Eve at my dad's house but due to the snow and icy roads we postponed until the 26th.  It wasn't the same but it was nice and relaxing.

I hope everyone has a happy 2010.  I have made a few goals for this year.  Some of them long term and some immediate:

Fold all of the laundry by the end of today.

Put away all of the Christmas decorations by the end of the week end.

Update my blog more regularly.

Spend more time with my hubby.

Eat more vegetables.

Lose 50 lbs this year...a pound a week...surely I can do that!

Exercise every day...I turn 50 in 2 months and I would like to do it gracefully.

Spend more time reading...my Bible.

Re-model our old house! Stay tuned for that craziness

These are just a few of the things I hope to accomplish this year!  I hope you reach your goals too!