Thanksgiving 2012

Not sure I can remember in order so I'll share the high lites. What a great break! 5 days off work to relax and spend with family. Leah came home and I loved it. We went to Chipotle, of course, and to the movie. We saw Life of Pi which was fabulous! We bought a giant bucket to reuse for buttered popcorn. Yipes.
On Thursday we went to Dave's in Atchison and spent time with the rents, and Dave's entire family. Leah and I held Baby Norah tons. She's such a precious little thing, so tiny and warm and cuddly. Dinner was most excellent. I enjoyed every part of the day. Most everyone picked up a stomach bug which is a huge bummer but so far scott and I haven't gotten it.
We bought a new bed. Scotty fell in love with the most expensive one there which was more than we wanted to spend but it is so luxurious and comfy! I can read on it and I sleep well on it, too, and my back feels great in the morning!
I worked out in class on Tuesday and squeezed in another workout on my own and ran a mile in 9:50 on the treadmill! I read a super long book, The Alienist, which was interesting, 4 stars.
Yesterday Julie came to Manhattan for the day and we went out to lunch at Longhorns with Jackie and TJ which was nice. Then last night we had Jon and 6 of his friends over for dinner and watched the USC game. I made salmon, my specialty. I like to cook for others especially when it is so appreciated. I love that Jon likes to come over. We used to love being the house the kids liked to come to. It's been way too quiet here. I like sharing this wonderful home, too.
Today I'll go to church and Leah heads back and I'll get Adelle for while.
So much to be Thankful for every single day of my life. I miss hannah and Joel but got to talk to them. And Joel and Leah will be home in two short weeks!
I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!

Low carb all the way

So I've done some reading and decided to cut way back on my carbs. This summer I ate 1200-1600. Calories a day and burned off between 600-1200 per day and stayed the same weight all summer. I felt pretty good and was in good shape but the belly fat remained. My PT told me about a low carb diet he is on and how he used to be heavy. I read the book he recommended and decided to cut out all the sugar and whit flour out of my diet and cut way back on carbs. I can't cut them out entirely. I try to eat only complex carbs and ones with high protein and high fiber. Right away I lost 9 pounds and they've stayed off. They seemed to come off the right places, too. And I'm not hungry. On cheat days and the next day , I gain 2 pounds mostly on bloat on my belly and then I'm starving all day. I just cut back the carbs again and the 2 pounds drop back off. It's pretty easy.
The details on what i eat: for breakfast either kashi cereal with blueberries or cream cheese pancakes. I can't seem to make myself eat bacon and eggs for breakfast. They make good snacks though. For snacks, I eat nuts and sometimes popcorn made with olive oil. Or peanut butter. For dinner we eat a lot of meat and veggies. I don't eat pasta or rice often and I use low carb tortillas. I don't eat crackers or chips of any kind. I love bacon for a treat or peanut butter and sugar free chocolate pudding. Today when Adelle had pizza and it looked so good, I made fried cheese. It sounds gross but it is really exactly what she was eating without the crust. Yummy! I love grilled steak. I do miss my potatoes so I eat them sometimes but I eat tons less of them. I like to make fried zucchini. I only crave carbs the day after I splurge so I never feel deprived. The book claims that my cholesterol will be great but I think I'll get it checked just in case. I miss milk though. For dairy, I eat carb smart yogurt.

Adelle.

Spent time with Adelle today, as is usual for Saturday. Picked her up 7 minutes late which she hates. I gave my explanation before she could chew me out (although she was waiting outside when I got there). Also as usual, she turned the radio to her station and cranked the volume as soon as we pulled away, oh, after she told her mom "see you tomorrow! We're going to Boston!" It's a joke only Adelle and I get.
She waits til she's comfortable to talk and also until there is a commercial. She always asks how my friend Jess is, only because this is the friend she assumes is my best friend. I tell her fine and how I saw Jesi this week and then I ask about Darby, her favorite friend. Then she usually gives me the Around the Horn update for the week but today she did that later. I love the Around the Horn updates because she does it in a cliff hanger way, telling me the boring high lites leading up to the ones that are more exciting for her. And always tells me how Jackie Mac did last.
Today we went to the car wash first. She loves to wash the car. Today I hardly had to give any instructions. When the time ticks down, she runs around the car spraying it randomly with water with a giant smile on her face. Today we got done and I complimented her on how shiny the car was and she said, "Now you can take Scott on a date!" Cracked me up.
Next was the grocery store. Adelle drives the cart around and I shop. Today we also planned her birthday. She wants to go bowling then to dinner at the restaurant of her choice then go to Orange Leaf. She does Not want to shop for new jeans as I suggested. I plan to buy her a list journal I saw in a gift shop along with some list notepads and notebooks.
Adelle helped carry the groceries in and asked Scott to help. Then she got on the ipad and checked her Facebook and the top 40 music lists. I fixed her some pizza and she offered some to Scott. Then she put in the earplugs and danced through the house singing to YouTube at the top of her lungs. Funny.
When it was time to go home, she made herself an ice cream sprite float in a to go cup. On the way home, I had to talk to her about a call I got from her teacher this week. Apparently, Adelle makes index cards about tons of people she knows with all the personal facts about the person on the cards. The kids think its creepy. They've tried every way to explain it to her. My speech started with how well her teacher said she's doing this year. Then I asked if she remembered when we talked about Temple Grandin and how she told me she thinks in charts and grafts. She remembered. I said , "other people don't think that way." I explained that other people also don't remember or memorize facts like she does either. I asked if she saw other people make index cards like that and she said no. Then I said that its important to not do things that are really different than other kids do because it makes her look weird. I said not to do the index cards in regular classes but she could do them in the resource room or at home. Adelle said, "ok." Humm... That was easy. Hope it sticks.
When I dropped her off she said, "Happy Thanksgiving!"
All friends should be this easy to spend time with.

I felt old today

Today started with two mad kids and an angry parent all having to do with holding kids accountable. Then two teachers whom we'd already said no to made us take extra kids to the parade with complicated instructions to coordinate. I guess younger people take last minute changes like that in stride but frankly, it just pissed me off. So my stress level was pretty high when I took roll and got all the kids on the bus. I was only supposed to be in charge of the band kids until we dropped off, then I'd help Angela with her kids and walk behind them in the parade. But due to changes in plans and poor planning, I ended up in charge of pep bands from two schools for over an hour. I felt like wrapping the snare drums and piccalo s around their heads. So then I was grouchy while walking in the parade in front of half of manhattan. I couldn't get into the spirit of the thing.
Then after school greg said he was going to go see the movie Argo. I think scott and I saw it but I couldn't remember! And this was after unopened my big mouth and said I'd seen it. I felt like an idiot that I couldn't remember it at all. Does that happen to other people or am I really getting Alzheimer's early? I watch a movie or read a book and two days later its just gone. Makes me feel really old.
Yesterday a teacher walked into the office and I was stretching my hip. Talk about feeling stupid and old.
Ok, I've vented, now time to put this day behind me and move on.

Kids

Ok Grandparents who love their grand kids and who read this blog. Our kids need some encouragement about now--all three. Hannah has found a part time job making pizza in a bar 5 blocks away. This will help her make rent but not much else while she awaits the other jobs she has lined up for December and February. She has no money and three potatoes in her kitchen. I've already helped her this month. Her new address is 205 s 8th street, Laramie, 87027. Same phone number. I helped her replace her broken phone with a cheap sturdy one.
Leah is super busy and sick with a cold and deep cough. Her address is the same, phine number the same. She does get to come home for Thanksgiving and has an orchestra concert on the 18th... Details on the Bethel website. Leah works lots of hours at the coffee shop and takes a full load of classes.
Joel is crazy busy with his full load of classes and two jobs. He is bummed because he has a torn Acl and we are meeting lots of obstacles on getting it repaired soon. It may be awhile. Joel is feeling somewhat discouraged lately. His address this year is 2722 Menlo ave Los Angeles ca 90007.
All three of our babies need some lovin from all of us. Love comes in all forms--prayer, cash , cookies, calls, letters, texts, emails or all of these things:). I am shamelessly appealing to you on their behalf.

Mini vacation

Right now I'm lying on about 6 down pillows in a nice hotel room in Kansas City. Scott had a soccer tournament and yesterday was my dad's birthday so we boarded the dogs for the first time and came on down! I felt silly packing an overnight bag for the dogs with their Chewies and food and toys and bedding. I included a shirt that I've worn so they don't get lonely for me. But from a doggie pint of view, I imagine they are enjoying themselves immensely. They have so many things to smell, new friends to make and they can bark their silly heads off all night if they want. It isn't cheap, though.
So scott dropped me off at Aberdeen and I thought that I'd be sitting around all day. But dad wanted to go out to eat right when I got there. We went to IHOP so two weekends in a row I got a one to one meal with a parent at IHOP! Jean was doing laundry and had already eaten breakfast. Then we took a short nap and went to the movie! We saw Flight which I gave a 2 out of 4 stars and dad didn't like. It was about a pilot who is an alcoholic.
We rested some more then dave and his whole family except Jon met us in the dining room and we had a birthday party for dad. We ha d lemon pie instead of cake because he really likes it. He's 84! We went back to the room and watched kstate. Beat Oklahoma state on tv. It was quite an exciting game.
This morning scott had to go coach early so I slept in. He brought me coffee and a scone for breakfast in bed! In a little while I am dropping him off at another soccer game and going back to Aberdeen-- this time to see my friend kathy who will be visiting her grandma! I haven't seen kathy in about two years! I also just talked to my sweet Leah on the phone-- it's been weeks! My kids are so busy!
I'm enjoying my little weekend get away but it will also be good to get home.