Daddy Daughter Dance 2010

Saturday our homeschool group had their Daddy/Daughter banquet and they had the best time. Their was dinner, dancing, fancy clothes and of course special memories with daddy. There was a pledge from the fathers to protect their daughters and a pledge from the daughters to honor dad's authority so sweet.  There was a photographer to take pictures but we won't have those for a few weeks.  We will have to make due with the photos taken by dad with his work camera.

Sydney and Chrissa, her American Girl doll with matching dresses.

Sydney and Angel dancing..they are a funny couple.  Angel is nearly a year younger than Sydney but off the charts tall and Sydney is off the charts short!  Too cute.  It has been an honor to watch these two grow and mature from where they were when we started homeschooling.

High 5!!!

The scales have finally moved...down a total of 6 lbs in 3 weeks!  Also I have not had anything from Taco Bueno in over a week...do you think there could be a connection?  Sydney and I are meeting my friend Tracy and her daughter for dinner tomorrow at Olive Garden.  The breadsticks are killer and I have discovered that the salad isn't so healthy either.  I'm not really a dessert person so I have that going for me.  Oh and I can't stand the mints they give you so I'm good!

I need to brag on my sweet Sydney today too.  Yesterday she did 2 days worth of school so we could have the day off.  She went to her Nana's and I stayed home and rested, cleaned up the aftermath of being sick for a week.  So thanks Mom and Sydney for the break!  Love you both. 

No Weight Change!

Maybe I boasted a little too much about the five pounds I lost last week but for some reason the scale has been flat.  I know I haven't tracked my points like I should have and we had a really busy week which always messes me up.  There was a death in our extended family, we had 3 doctor appointments and am taking medicine for strep throat and a sinus infection plus a suspected respiratory virus. Yeah, I'm in good shape.  Today I am feeling better but I had cinnamon toast for breakfast but only a half piece.  I know that being on medicine plus a hectic schedule kicks my appetite into high gear.  Add to that a funeral feast and I'm amazed I didn't gain a pound or two.  It was nice to get on the scales at the doctor's office and not cringe...well, I still cringe but with a smile because my weight was less than before.  The last time that I had a check up my doctor and I talked about exercise and how after 3 surgeries in a 16 months I was being very careful what I lifted.  His response was "I see you didn't have any trouble lifing your fork".  That would have made some folks angry or cry but it did make me laugh because he was so right.  After my first surgery I lost 20 lbs due to a liquid diet, then a soft diet and just being afraid of eating (which I overcame). That 20 lbs was a real eye opener because my blood pressure was back to normal without meds.  I am also at risk for adult onset diabetes because I had gestational diabetes. This is a health issue and not a vanity issue for me.  All that to say this is a new week and I am feeling better and I am working on better planning. I was planning to add the treadmill in last week but that will probably not happen until next week.  I also need some really good stomach exercises because after 3 abdominal surgeries and a c-section my abs are super shot.

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!