If this heat keeps up...

... I'm not going to have to worry about losing weight - I'm going to die of heat exhaustion first!! This is RIDICULOUS! Holy hell on earth batman!

So we had a softball game tonight. In 100 degree heat. I had a really bad game, my abilities are really going downhill, not that they can go too much further as it is! I actually made contact with the ball while batting, which is more than I can say about the last couple of games. And, I barely made a catch out in the field, though I DID catch it! It hit my glove and bounced into my chest, which I then caught it with my hand. But, hey, it counted as a catch! Totally made up for the one that flew just over my mitt and I missed. Grrr...

Anyways, I weighed in at 163.2 this morning, which is about two pounds down from the last weigh-in. Unfortunately it's still not the 155 I was a couple months ago, but I'll get there again.

Well, just checking in! If I don't make it back before then, have a great weekend everyone!!

Just a Bunch of Blah Blah Blah

Ok, I know I shouldn't be rushing my summer vaca, but I'm so pumped to get back to school. I have a new co-teacher, and everyone is telling me she's awesome. But, the best part, is she's prego and due in August, which means the first six weeks of school I'll be on my own. I know that usually that would make people nervous, but I'm really excited to try out things that I want, and set up the classroom and routine how I want, and not worry about what another teacher's opinion is. Yes, deep down I'm selfish and not so much of a team player, I can admit that.

This year I've decided to provide my students with their supplies for a fee of $1. Therefore, I went to Walmart the other day and bought 175 notebooks, folders, composition notebooks and manila folders. I figured it out, and I'll actually make a profit because the notebooks were 20 cents, folders 15, comp. notebooks 40 and manila folders 15. That's an extra ten cents for me, which I'll of course use to provide freaking pencils and pens that they never seem to have. Parents, if nothing else, force your kids to have some sort of writing utensil for school please! Thanks :)

Anyways, I'm going to get online today and look up some ideas for icebreakers and opening activities. I know the first day we'll be reading the school rules, but that leaves about fifteen minutes for additional things, one of which will be organizing the seating chart. So, I need something for them to do. I'm tossing around the idea of having them take a quiz about me and then for homework, come up with a quiz about themselves that I have to take. I don't know.

The point is, I'm so excited about this school year! I need to pace myself, though, or else the rest of the summer is going to pass at the blink of an eye!!

So, weight loss. Oh, dear weight loss, how I miss thee. Yesterday I did pretty well eating-wise. I need to get some exercising in, which luckily I'll be teaching at the Y tonight. Speaking of which, did I tell you why I'm teaching during the week as well as my regular Saturday morning? Oh, wait, I know I didn't because I haven't blogged in forever! Ok, so this chicka Nikki normally teaches, but she's on maternity leave. This CRAZY lady kept teaching until like three weeks before her due date! WHOA!!

Anyways, well I have chores to do. Happy Tuesday to all!!

Confessions

#1 I pay $10 a month for a Netflix subscription that I barely use.

#2 I HATE when young people today use 'texting' lingo that's hardly decipherable. I mean, I get the lol and btw, I use those, but when they edit out all the vowels of words and expect you to understand what it all means, that's a little ridiculous.

#3 I'm addicted to crossword puzzles and a matching game that came preloaded on my computer. Yes, a matching game. You know, the kind where you play in kindergarten and flip over cards to find the matches. I guess I'm just trying to keep my mind active to fend off Alzheimer's.

#4 I've gained back all the weight I lost since April. Yep, I'm back to 166. Actually, 165.6, but there's no need to be that particular. The point is, it's back.

You know, a friend of mine once said, "It's so much harder to lose weight when you're older because by that time, your body and your fat are too good of friends to separate." I'm thinking this is very much the case with me, but I'm only 26, so my body and my fat must have fallen in love at first sight.

It's not that I'm not active. Actually, I've been very active this summer - a couple bike rides (indoors and out), teaching twice a week at the Y, softball, swimming, walking throughout the campground. But my diet lately has consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and alcohol. The only thing keeping me from blowing up into morbidly obesity IS how active I am, actually.

Eh, it's a little difficult to see this written down. But I certainly can't hide from the truth. I looked at myself in the mirror yesterday and barely recognized myself. How did I let my body get so big again?! Oh wait, I already know the answer to that. I remember back when I had lost a ton of weight and was down to a size 6, and my sister told me that I looked good and that when I was in high school I was pretty fat. Well, I weigh more now than I did in high school. Wonder what she thinks of me now.

Anyways, there's my update. My goal is to lose 5 pounds before school starts back up. I just want to be 160. Then, I'll go from there.

I'm still alive, I promise

Hey everyone!! I've been seriously neglecting my blog and all of the blogs I love to read. It's summer. That's all I can say. I have no other excuses. I haven't been doing well at all with my eating, I've been slowly gaining weight, and I haven't been following the workout routine I've wanted to. I guess when I lack a structured daily routine I fall apart. Plus, I've been drinking enough to offset any exercise or healthy eating I DO do! Oh well. Just think of it like this - most people worry about going on vacation for a week and gaining weight and how much it's going to throw off their progress, and for me, that vacation is over 2 MONTHS LONG! My goal is to get into a strong routine in August. At least then I start to go to inservice trainings and stuff, so it's kind of like getting back to work. Plus, the weather here went from cold and rainy to smoldering hot with very few days of nice springy weather in between. So I haven't really gotten outside for a run or bike ride at all. I have been playing softball and teaching my regular aerobics classes on Saturdays. I did picked up an additional aerobics class once a week because the original instructor is on maternity leave, which is nice because it forces me to workout at least twice a week.

Speaking of maternity leave, nothing has happened in that area for me yet. My hubby has continued to use other methods of birth control because he claims he's not 'ready' to begin trying. I asked him when he thinks he'll be ready, and he came up with the same bullshit excuse he did back before we got engaged about getting married - he's not sure when he'll be ready, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year. Sometimes I hate men.

So I guess you can't always get what you want, right? Anyways, I'll be back around soon enough. Hang in there! I hope everyone is doing well!!!!

Somewhat exciting news...

We interupt the normally broadcasted schedule to inform you of some somewhat exciting news.

Ok, I know I haven't been keeping up with my blog recently, and I haven't really had time to read my faves either, but it's because I've been BUSY BUSY BUSY!! Doing what, you might ask? Getting ready. Ready for what? Well, my hubby and I have decided to go off birth control and take our chances at getting preggo!

I'm not pregnant yet. And we aren't exactly officially TRYING right yet either. But the possibility of me having a small child growing within by the end of the summer is very high!! I had time to blog about this the other day, but I figured I should talk to my mom about it first. I didn't want her finding out in writing rather than directly from me!

So anyways, I've been getting my house ready. I went through my closet and dresser and got rid of TONS of clothes. I've also been cleaning some areas that have been neglected for quite a while. I had goals in mind to get this stuff done the first week of summer vacation anyways, but now that we've made this decision I figure it's a little more pertinent to do. I know I have at least a whole year before a little one will be sharing our home, but I want to get a head start. Lord only knows with as much of a procrastinator I am, I'll be eight months preggo and just starting on the nursery! Besides, it makes me feel so accomplished to have a clean house with no laundry to be done and a nice, healthy dinner in the oven.

Now, if you would have known me way back in the day, you would be extremely surprised to read these words coming from me. I've never really been a girly girl. I'm a slob. I hate cleaning, cooking, etc... you know - the 'woman's jobs' as my hubby refers to them. But, I don't know, all of a sudden I'm getting these feelings. Call it hormones or whatever, but it's there.

I've NEVER wanted a kid. I NEVER thought I'd have any motherly instincts. I hated babies. I dreaded the idea of being preggo, giving birth, staying up all night with a crying baby, giving up my FREEDOM. But lately these things don't bother me so much. Crazy, huh? I can't believe I feel so different. As a matter of fact, I'm actually excited about those things.

I don't know, like I said, nothing is for certain just yet because I'm not preggo. But, I have a feeling a whole new chapter of my life is opening up really soon!

As for weight loss, I forgot to weigh in this morning. I gained a little last week, and I don't even know what to expect this week. What I can say, though, is that I've actually felt normal with my eating. I did eat a bit much at dinner last night (I LOVE tuna noodle casserole), and we haven't exactly been eating the BEST of foods (McD's and Pizza Hut have been regulars on our menu), but I haven't felt the need to eat between meals at all, let alone binge like a mad woman. Twig and I are going to start a summer workout program next week, where we have a list of things we plan to do throughout the week, and we just check them off as we go. For example, there are four sessions of 30-45 minutes of cardio on there. Each day we do one session, we'll cross it off. She's doing it to keep in shape/condition for volleyball season. I'm, of course, doing it to lose weight.

And, I don't know if it is because of the decision to have a baby, but ever since I've been happy. Truly happy. I feel more love for my hubby (which I didn't think was even possible), I look at things differently, I'm happy about my future, I even do the dishes with a SMILE on my face!

What a difference life can be when you finally decide to grow up!

A Quickie

I know, you got all excited when you saw the title of this post. But, sorry, it's just to describe the length of this post. ;)

I might actually be ahead of the game today. I did eat a little junk at school, but I had Subway for dinner and played hard at our softball game tonight. I plan to have a much better weekend too. The people I usually drink with aren't going to be around the campground. I just want to relax, do a little garage-saling (what my family calls going around to all the garage sales in the area), and get in some bike riding. I'm excited to spend some time with my youngest stepdaughter. I really love it when she's around!

Anyways, tomorrow is the last day of school for the students. We moved our room around today and it got me really excited about next year. Not too excited, though, I'm still really looking forward to the summer!

I'm anxious to see what I weigh in at tomorrow. I'm certainly not expecting much, I'm just hoping to not see too much of a gain. I can't wait to get on some sort of workout routine for the summer. I've been slacking off on everything, especially my workouts, and I don't know why because I really enjoy it. I'm proud of myself when I can do things that I couldn't do if I weren't in shape. Plus I'm sure I'm nowhere near a six minute mile!! Remember that goal? How easily life gets in the way of things we want sometimes! I'll get there eventually!

Well I just wanted to check in. TGIF baby!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

What My Husband Said

I had my post ready in my mind today and I almost forgot it. Everyone knows Blogger is going through a rough patch (see, I told you we all go through it sometimes!), and I even mentioned in my last post that I'm having problems commenting. Then, I logged on just now and about had a freaking heart attack! Under the spot where I can read all the blogs I follow, it said, "You are not currently following any blogs." WHAT?? I did some frantic clicking around on a bunch of buttons and in a panic I restarted my internet and everything was back to normal. Phew, that was a close one! My laptop was about to be thrown out the window!

This leads me right into my post, actually, because rather than writing a lot about weight loss and fitness, I'm going to vent instead today because I'm frustrated (yeah, I'm already frustrated and Blogger decided to make things worse for a moment there). See, I'm having an issue with something my hubby said to me a while back. Have you ever had someone say something and it didn't really get to you at first, but the longer you thought about it, the more it started to get under your skin? Or how about something someone said just floating around, constantly popping up in your head at the worst possible moments? Yeah, that's happening to me, and it's something my hubby, my normally sweet, amazing, wonderful hubby, said.

A while back, when I was trying to close down the campground store, I dropped one of our bowls. I have a nice set of red dishes that I got at my bridal shower that we use when we're having a crowd over because they all match. But, I broke one of the bowls. And it was because I had so much stuff to carry into the house - my laptop, the cash register drawer, the bowl, and some other stuff, that I was having a hard time balancing it all in my arms. On the way out of the store, I locked and shut the door, only to realize that I locked the plug at the end of the cord to my laptop in the door. Needless to say I was trapped, so I called my hubby to help. He kind of gave me a hard time because he was right in the middle of something, but he had no choice because I didn't have the key to unlock the door, so he had to come down to open it. After opening the door, instead of offering to take something out of my hands, he just walked away, and as I bent over to pick up the plug, I dropped the bowl.

I was already irritated with the whole situation, and this just sent me over the edge. I was like, "You come down every night and help everyone else close the store, and you carry the register drawer into the house for them and yada yada yada," and you know what his comment back was? Apparently he was inside folding laundry, so he said, "Yeah? Well I was just inside doing YOUR job, so I don't want to hear it." *Cue the screeching sound of a record coming to an abrupt halt*

WHAT?

What did he mean MY job? The housework? My job? Ok, fine, no problem, I don't mind. Then what's his job? Provide for the family? Bring home the bacon? Ok, cool, definitely no problem. Then WHY DO I HAVE A FULL TIME JOB?!?! Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type of woman cut out to be a stay-at-home wife/mom/whatever, but seriously! Let me get this straight, he expects me to do all the housework and have a job and do the grocery shopping and everything else that is supposedly 'woman's' work, AND have a full time job. While he just has a full time job. On top of that, I work in the campground store! Don't even get me started on that, because I worked four days a week a couple times, but I try to keep it at three, and now my stepmom is helping out and working one of my shifts, and my hubby made the comment about how lately I've only been working twice a week. So now, apparently, this man expects me to do all the housework, laundry, dishes, cooking, running errands, grocery shopping, work a full-time job AND work in the store four days a week. You're so lucky you can't hear the words coming out of my mouth right now.

So this little comment, though it didn't really get to me too much right then, has been digging and digging and digging at me. I was really reminded of it today when I was thinking about how messy my house is right now, and how tired I am from running around at school today (I had to help run two talent shows, which I'll talk about in a bit) and how FREAKING hot it is out (no, there's no air conditioning in the store, just stifling air being circulated by a fan which does nothing to cool it down) and how much I'd really like to have just come home and relaxed by the pool for a little bit before heading in to make a nutritious dinner and do a little cleaning up. Oh, but wait, I forgot, I have to do MY JOB, which is pretty much everything INCLUDING work in the store. Oops, my mistake, how easily I forget. Plus, I don't know if I'll have the chance to get much of a workout in tonight, since I can't close until nine! GRRRRRR!!

Ok, there, I'm done complaining. So about that talent show. As you know I work at a Jr. High. So we had two talent shows, one for seventh and one for eighth grade. I was so amazed at the talen the students really have. Most of them sang, but there were a couple dancers as well. We even had a kid come out a couple times throughout to do yo-yo tricks. And one boy played the violin! But, I spent the first four hours of school running around, making sure everything was set up, everyone was in line and ready to go on stage, and keeping the performers under control when they were waiting in the audience. Then we went around during all lunch periods to get votes from the kids on who their favorite act was so we could present trophies to the winners at the end of the day. It was stressful, but a great success. In the end, I was very proud of every student that had the balls to get on stage in front of their peers!

Anyways, last night Twig and I went for a 45 minute bike ride. It was kind of amazing how out of shape she is compared to me. She's only 13, about 2 inches taller than me and weighs 30 pounds less than me. She's really athletic and a skinny little thing (hence the name Twig), but she was about dying and way out of breath! Just goes to show that age/size/build makes NO difference on how truly fit you are! She ran in when we got home and jumped right in the shower; me? I barely broke a sweat ;)

Well I guess I've gone on for long enough today. Makes up for the lack of a post yesterday. I'm just going to sit here, sweating my nutsack off, for about five more freaking hours. Hopefully it cools off as the sun goes down. Oh, wait, that's right, sunset isn't until, like, 9:30. Awesome.

This is me, totally excited to be working in the hot, sticky store. With the one fan blowing my hair in my face, so it can stick to my sweat. Fun fun.

Anyways, happy hump day!! Only three days left of work for me (the teachers have to go on Monday for an inservice, but there'll be no kids, so it's all good!)!!!!! YAY!!!!!

STUPID BLOGGER!!

Anyone else having problems commenting on other people's blogs? Yeah, I don't expect much of a response to this post!! GRRRR!!! I finally take the time to comment and it won't post! Now I'm going to be up until 11:30 again and be really tired at school tomorrow. Where's my lawyer?!?!

Checking in again...

...because, once AGAIN, it's past 10 at night and I have to get up in the morning. I just want to make sure I post because I'm trying to keep track of my progress at the June Boom. I did get in some activity - we went to play golf this evening. Even though we get a cart, trust me, I still do a TON of walking because I spend more time looking for my ball than I do hitting it! I shot 63 on nine holes. If you aren't sure, I'll fill you in - that score sucks. When I tell people who know anything about golf that I shoot in the sixties, they are always impressed. Then I mention that that score is on NINE holes and they tend to turn on the fake smiles and tell me how good I am. Whatev, I'm not that blonde! ;) It's ok, though, I really enjoy golfing because it's one of the few things that my hubby and I do together. Plus I don't take it even half as serious as he does, so I have to laugh when he gets all nerved up because he's not doing so well. I tend to pad my score a little too, so who knows exactly what I usually shoot! Let's just say I get at least one mulligan on each hole!

Anyways, I ate pretty well tonight, though I did end up drinking a bottle of Mike's Hard Lemonade this evening when we got back to the campground. Dang it, I really need to quit going back there! I think my goal for next week is to refrain from alcohol during the week and restrict it to weekends only. This weekend won't be so bad because my usual drinking partners won't be there; they all have to work. 

My dad has been coming to the campground lately to hit the pool for some exercise. I guess his knee has been bothering him, and the cool water plus the fact that it takes a lot of pressure off his knee is good for him. I guess I should start taking that advice and spend more time in our pool. The problem is it's not heated, so the water is usually freezing. Plus I'm really out of shape when it comes to swimming. I have a hard time making it from one end of the pool to the other, let alone trying a whole lap. I suppose that means it'd be really good for me and I'd build up some endurance, but if it doesn't come easy to me, I tend to shy away from it. Hmmmmm, maybe I have another goal coming on?

Anyways, I spent quite a bit of time today grading the final exam we had the students do. I'm pretty proud of them, most did really well. You can really tell who studied and who didn't! The last question on the test was an extended response about what their favorite lesson we did in class this year, and what they learned from it. The students who took it seriously really surprised me with what they wrote. Quite a few talked about certain stories encouraging them to change themselves in some way. It's really awesome to see the power of literature in a child's life. Makes you realize just how important it is to incorporate books and reading into your own kids' lives, huh?!?!

Well I have GOT to get to bed. I didn't go to sleep until 11:30 last night and I was dead to the world at school today! Happy Monday all!!

Just Checking In

Ok, it's Sunday night, I have to work in the morning and I'm EXHAUSTED, so this is going to be quick. I'm going to set some goals for this coming week:

1. Exercise every day.
2. Eat healthfully and in good portions.

Really, that's it. I just want to get through this coming week, being that it's my last week of school, and get to summer break. Once school's out, I have some ideas in mind for a workout routine and such, but I know very well I'm not getting up early enough this week to get my thirty minutes in.

Anyways, today was Amby's open house. It was a great success. Bad part - we rented a soft serve ice cream machine and I hit that bad boy up too many times. Good part - I ate decent portions and refrained from overdoing it too much on the desserts. Tons of people showed up, we were at 146 count towards the end. I'm not even kidding, that's more than what we had at our wedding reception! I was pretty impressed that Amby stayed around the whole time and made sure she greeted everyone and spent time with them. I really expected her to wander off with her friends, but she didn't. And she even offered to help clean up! Not that she's a lazy girl, she just has a really bad case of senior-itis and needs that extra reminder every once in a while that she's not the center of the universe and isn't exempt from helping out. She's a good girl. Both of my stepkids are, really.

Well that's it for tonight. I just wanted to make sure I got on to keep up with everyone. Have a great week!

Another Long One

Life would be so much easier if I didn't have a job. Then again, everyone's life would be easier without jobs, and then there would be no one working, and then the world would shut down and we'd all be in big trouble. But still, this job thing is really getting in the way of the more important things in life, such as blogging! I have been MIA the last couple of weeks. It's been really busy here at the campground, and I've been as busy as a madwoman trying to tie up all the stuff at school for the end of the year. Plus add in softball, and I have barely any time left to hang out and relax let alone get online. I have been keeping up with everyone else's blogs through my iPhone, but not my own. Actually, let me rephrase this - life would be so much easier if I could get on blogger at school! It's blocked. :(

Anyways, I have still been weighing in, so here is yesterday's results:

Unfortunately, that shows a gain of one whole pound. It's not as bad as I would have expected after what last weekend looked like eating, drinking and the lack of exercise-wise. It's still a step in the wrong direction, and reminds me that I really need to get back on track. I haven't been doing as bad with my eating this week, but I did have a glass of wine last night... along with two rather large helpings of goulash. And you may be thinking 'oh, it was only one glass, that's not too bad' - well, you've never seen my glasses. A friend and I split the entire bottle into our two glasses, so when I say one glass what I really mean is a HALF A BOTTLE. Please, don't have sympathy for me, I did it myself. I must move on.

So I did end up getting my tattoo on Thursday. So did my sister, stepsister and stepbrother. I had to go first, and I was sure they'd end up chickening out, but they didn't. We all got a matching tattoo that is the Chinese symbol for family. Or maybe it's Japanese? I don't know. For all I know it really means 'I-abuse-my-husband' or 'I'm-a-pedophile' or some shit like that, but hey, we all got the same one, so it doesn't really make a difference. I got mine on my lower back, and they all got it on their shoulders. They wanted me to get it there too, but I would just rather have all my tats in areas that are easily covered if necessary. And seeing as how my feet are pretty much covered, I had to head north. Here're a couple pics:

(That's me, my stepbrother, my sister and my stepsister. I felt so fat and icky standing next to them, they are all a bunch of twigs!)

Usually I do "Stuff I Stole" on Saturday, but it's been pretty quiet here in bloggyland. I only really stole one thing this week, and it's the ABCDEFood thing that's been going around. It's really cute, actually. I got it from Fat-Be-Gone, and she got it from someone else. I've also seen it on a few other blogs, so I have no clue who started it. Go ahead and steal it from me!

A: is for Apple, what's your favourite variety?

I LOVE gala! I used to really like Granny Smiths, but not so much anymore. 'Round here we eat a LOT of apples!!

B: is for Bread, regardless of nutrition, calories, or whole grains what is your favorite type to have a nice big piece of?

Whole grain. I like the kind with seeds and nuts as stuff right in it. I especially like it with peanut butter slathered all over... yummy!

C: is for Cereal what is your favorite kind currently (just one!)

Frosted mini wheats... especially the maple and brown sugar kind

D: is for Doughnuts, you might not currently be eating them but what kind do you fancy?
My usual is a chocolate eclair, but sometimes I just feel like a simple glazed... it has to be the larger fluffier kind, though, not the little condensed ones (whatever they are called, I don't know, but I know YOU know what I'm talking about!)

E: is for Eggs, how would you like yours prepared?
Honestly, my fave is hard-boiled. But, I will eat them any way they are prepared.

F: is for Fat Free, what is your favorite fat free product?

Whipped cream, out of the can. YUM!

G: is for Groceries, where do you purchase yours at?
Most often, I hit up Giant Eagle. It's close and they have the largest selection of organic stuff in our area. The nearest place to get decent food is at least a half an hour away, so I only make it there once in a while. Trader Joes is an hour away, but I get there once in a while also. In the summer, most of our tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, etc. come from my uncle's garden.

H: is for Hot Beverages, what is your favorite hot drink?

Chai tea... or hot chocolate

I: is for Ice Cream, pick a favorite flavour and add a fun topping.

Ben and Jerry's HALF BAKED!!! YUMMMMMMMMY!!! And I like hot fudge - I know, lame-o!

J: is for Jams or Jellies, do you eat them, and if so what kind and flavour?
Yum, homemade strawberry jam. I hate to admit it, but my hubby's ex makes the BEST.

K: is for Kashi, name your favourite Kashi product?

I don't have a favorite - I don't eat them enough. If I had to pick something, you can never go wrong with a granola bar.

L: is for Lunch, what was yours today?
Today? A big bowl of Raisin Bran. Yeah, not the best, but it was quick and easy. My usual, though, is some flavor of greek yogurt, cheese and a piece of fruit.

M: is for microwave, what is your favorite microwave meal/snack?

I rarely use my microwave for anything other than reheating leftovers, but if I had to choose I'd go with popcorn.

N: is for nutrients, do you like carbs, fats, or proteins best?
What do I LIKE? Let's be honest, fats. But the if I had to pick something for on the healthy side - proteins.

O: is for oil, what kind do you like to use?
EVOO all the way.

P: is for protein, how do you get yours?
Meats, nuts, and the occasional protein shake.

Q: is for Quaker, how do you like your oats?

Brown sugar and some vanilla almond milk.

R: is for roasting, what is your favourite thing to roast?

Turkey!

S: is for sandwich, what’s your favourite kind?

Peanut butter and jelly on whole grain. Or a good old Reuben (only on any other kind of bread because I hate rye).

T: is for travel, how do you handle eating while traveling?
Just make the best choices I can!

U: is for unique, what is one of your weirdest food combos?
Hmmm, I don't know what would really be considered weird. Maybe ketchup on potato chips? That's not too weird, though. Other than that, I'm a pretty normal regular non-weird eater, I guess.

V: is for vitamins, what kind do you take?

Just a general multi-vitamin.

W: is for wasabi, yay or nay?
NO WAY, TOO HOT FOR ME!!!!

X: is for XRAY. if we x-rayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
Again, a big bowl of Raisin Bran (minus the bowl of course ;) ). And water.

Y: is for youth, what food reminds you of your childhood?

Chicken puppycosh. My family's dish. YUMM-O!!!

Z: is for zucchini, how do you prepare it?
Sauteed. I LOVE sauteed zucchini!

So since I don't have much that I stole this week, I've decided to make it more of a 'Shout-out Saturday'.

First of all, this morning I checked the mail and received a copy of Weight Watchers magazine from my pal over at The Skinny Doll. This was SO cool for a couple reasons. First of all, she lives all the way out in Ireland! That's a long way to send a magazine! I would just like to say, "THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH SKINNY DOLL!!! You rock lady!!" She has one of the best blogs out there, she's amazing, she's funny, and she's inspiring. What more could you ask for?!?! If you haven't been by her blog, make sure you head over!

(Yes, this is her pic, I forgot to take one to post. I'll have to write about it when I get the chance to read it. It was either read the magazine, or write a post. My mom will be happy that I chose the latter.)

Then, I logged on and saw a post from another fave of mine. Sarah used to call her blog Operation Size 8, but she changed her blog's name to Running for Myself. She's already lost over 125 pounds and is no longer on a mission to get to that size - because she's already there!! Congrats!! Head over to her blog to read all about how she did it!

I also discovered a new blog, though he's not a new blogger of course. He's Alan, and his blog is Pounds Off Playoff. He came up with a challenge called June Boom and has three rules:

• Exercise every day in June. 
• Start something you've been putting off.
• Be publicly accountable.

I'm so joining, even though it's already the fourth and I haven't been consistent with his rules. I've decided I'll go until July 3rd to make things even. I don't think there's any kind of prize or anything, but it's always good to have a challenge in mind to keep me motivated!

Ok, I've saved the best for last. Drum roll please.....

Candy at Candy and Kankles is in ONDERLAND!! I'm sooooo proud of this gal! And, she's been posting pics - she looks AMAZING! She's soooo gorgeous! Candy, if you're reading this, just know that I think you're amazing and so inspiring! You are sooo beautiful!! And even though you probably didn't think I had been reading because I haven't commented in what feels like forever, I have! Keep at it killer!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!

ALSO, in the process of writing this post, I just discovered that a blogger that I used to talk to quite often last year has finally posted again. And she's struggling. I've missed her dearly and it's so hard to hear that she's been having a hard time. PLEASE go visit Lindsay at Hungry to be Thin and leave some words of encouragement - she'd do it for you! :)

Well, there it is. A huge long post. Hopefully it won't be quite so long before I post again this time!! Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

It's been a while!

It's been almost a week since I last posted. I don't really even know where the time went! One minute my stepdaughter/stepsister (see picture below) was graduating and the next thing I knew, I'm sitting here trying to type a new post - six whole days later! And this would be a LOT easier if my internet were running a little quicker!

Stepsister Mo and Stepdaughter Amby

Anyways, I have a TON of stuff to write, so be prepared for a long post! My mom will be happy - she called me yesterday complaining about blog withdrawals. I had even promised her I'd get on yesterday, but that just didn't work out either.

I guess I'll start at the top - Friday. I had every intention of blogging because I was in the store, but we were SO busy! I didn't have a moment to myself until 9:30. By that time I was too exhausted to even think, let alone write an entire post. But, I did weigh in. I was down, also, but only .4 pounds. Hey, it's a loss, right?



I'm really dreading my weigh-in this week, though. All I did this past weekend was eat and drink. I only worked out on Saturday, because I had to teach my regular aerobics class. I ate crap, drank heavily, and layed around in the heat. It finally stopped raining around here, but it's been in the high 80s every day since. I swear our weather sucks! If it's not one thing, it's the other. Why can't it just be 72 degrees with a light breeze! Anyways, I didn't get up this morning and run either. I'm not doing so good :( I'm going to have to just suck it up, move on, and get myself back on track. I cannot and WILL NOT gain a bunch of weight like I did last summer. NO! I WILL lose instead!! I WILL workout much much much more! I WILL NOT be lazy!! That's the beauty of having the summer off - I can workout every day all day if I wanted to!

Speaking of summers off - it looks like I'll have it this way for the rest of my life. I'm not going to be able to be a Physical Therapist Assistant. I would have to quit working to go back to school, and being that I'm the health insurance carrier, that won't be possible. I went in to the local college for a meeting with an advisor on Friday, and these were the results. Oh well.

So apparently I'm getting a new tatoo tomorrow afternoon. I say it like that because I didn't have much of a choice, my sister, stepsister and stepbrother told me I had to get a matching tatoo with them. I guess I'm getting the Chinese symbol for family. They all are getting it on their right shoulder, but I've officially decided I'm going to be different. I have all my other tatoos on my feet for a reason - they are easy to cover if necessary. I don't want to be in a wedding someday with a beautiful dress on and a big tatoo sticking out. I'm going to get in right above my pants line on my back on the right side. I'll be close to them, just not as high. And that's fine with me, I'm just glad they have included me in this. I've never really felt a part of their 'group' because I'm so much older (my sister is six years younger than me, stepsister is eight years younger, and stepbrother is ten years younger!). They are all relatively closer in age, but I was older and out of the house before they all started hanging out. So as much as I 'complain' that they are 'forcing' me to get this tatoo, I secretly like it. ;)

Um, speaking of tatoos this time, here are pics of the ones I already have:

 My ladybug. This was my first tatoo ever. I used to draw ladybugs on my toe when I was younger, so I figured getting a permanent one would be cute.

 This tatoo is very random. I wanted to get one under my ankle/around my heel like this, so I just randomly picked a moon and stars. The cool thing, though, is the original design was drawn on by my stepdad, and then I took that directly to the tattoo artist, and he tattooed over it. Cool, huh?

 A bunch of ladies at the campground and I decided to get frog tattoos. They are all different in design, but we are united forever because they are all frogs. We have TONS of frogs here at the campground, which is where we got the idea. This little guy turned out to be much bigger than I had originally imagined, but he's definitely grown on me (which is a lucky thing, since he's kind of, umm, well, PERMANENT!).

 While I was at the tattoo shop waiting to get my frog, I saw this in a catalog of tattoos the artist had already done. It was originally on two girls' hands, so when they put them together it made one. But, I wouldn't get one on my hand, so my sister and I (since I got her to agree to do it with me) got them on our feet instead. This is my foot alone.

This is our feet when we put them together. They make a full star. Awww, how special.

Anyways, so I hope to get in a nice bike ride at some point this weekend. We have my stepdaughter's open house, and then everything for her is DONE! Thank GOD. As much as I respect her mom (the hubby's ex), I'm pretty tired of being her BFF. I swear, lately, I've talked more to her than my own husband! Just last night when I was dropping Twig off she asked me to come in to see a lazy susan we can use for the cupcakes. I haven't been in their house in quite a while purposely because I don't particularly want her in mine (always lead by example!). Once all this is over I won't have to talk to her for a while. Don't get me wrong, I like her, I really do. Again, I have a lot of respect for her and I get along with her, but it's just awkward sometimes.

We had our first softball game last night. The first two were rained out! We played kind of a rival team, and lost. It was bad, tempers were flying (yes, including mine - the second baseman's foot was WAY off the bag and I SHOULD HAVE BEEN SAFE!!), which was pretty bad since it's a church league and all. Hey, I can't help it, I get it from my father, who also plays (and who also had his temper going!). Plus, a guy from the other team kicked (he claims it was an accident, but I beg to differ!) our catcher in the leg to make her drop the ball so he'd be safe and the catcher's mom was screaming at him! That was hilarious! The guy that did it is a complete jerk (which is why I do think he did it on purpose), so he deserved it! Plus they had a player on their team that played on my team for fall ball last year, who I ended up wanting to punch in the face. Apparently he'd been spreading rumors that my sister had sex with him! He's lucky my sister didn't tell me about it until I was sitting in the truck ready to leave because I was about to jump through the window to get to him! I'm so telling my father the next chance I get (hehehe, that hot head will definitely tell him off!!). Yes, again this is a church league!

Well, I'm down to 6 and a half days of school left with the kids and one additional day for teacher inservice. Thank the LORD! Having the long weekend made me really not want to go back to school, especially since it's finally nice out. I've been slowly working on my tan at the pool!

Happy HUMP day everyone!

Graduation! And an Award!! Woohooo!!

Ok, my stepdaughter is GRADUATING from high school tonight!! My hubby and I got together when she was in fifth grade, so even though I wasn't with her throughout her entire school career, I am still soooo proud of her! She's amazing! And she's graduating third in her class! Holy cow, I can't believe how fast time has gone!!

Anyways, I got another blog award! I'm so excited!! I was actually given it on Tuesday, but yesterday was insane! We decided to go to Sam's Club, which is about 40 minutes away. I figured I'd blog last night when we got home. Of course, just my luck, it takes us an hour and a half to get there because of a traffic jam! Then, when we were ready to head home, we were stuck because it was storming so bad we couldn't see more than a foot in front of the truck! Apparently, back at home, rumors were spreading that a tornado touched down nearby (which wasn't actually true), and everyone that was here retreated to our basement! When we finally did make it home at ten there were trees and branches down all over our area and the campground. Luckily no damage was done to our house or any campers, but it was still pretty scary.

So, I would like to thank Lisa at Challenge Accepted for this award. I feel especially appreciative because I was one of only three people she gave it to. Lisa is one of the most inspirational people I know in bloggyland and is truly an amazing woman. Go check out her blog - you'll love it!!

Here it is!!

 

The rules:

• Thank the person and link them in your post.
• Tell ten things about yourself.
• Nominate your bloggers.
• Go to their blogs and let them know you've given them an award!

I feel the same way as Lisa about this first part - it's hard to tell ten things about myself because I don't really hold much back (I mean, I talked about peeing in Tuesdays post). But, here it goes:

1.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but my nickname at home is Cryc (sounds like crick). Twig made it up quite a few years ago and at first I hated it. But, eventually it grew on me, and now today I love it! I sign all their cards with this name and I wouldn't know who they were referring to if they called me by anything other than Cryc!
2. I know my mom is going to read this, but speaking of nicknames, my stepdad has a habit of calling me 'Kid' and I hate it. I don't know why, I just hate it. I'd rather them call me Cryc too if they aren't going to say my full name. It's probably because I'm 26 years old and am far from being a kid.
3. I'm terribly jealous of my sister. There, I said it. She is 20 and is doing NOTHING with her life. She works as a waitress at Denny's for, like, 25 hours a week and does absolutely nothing the rest of the time. Me? I've worked 40ish hours a week since I was a senior in high school. I worked all through college and haven't stopped. In the summer, I work at the campground store, though that's much less hours than normal. But, I'm still constantly busy. Don't bother saying that all the work I've done will make me a better person and blah blah blah - I've heard it all before. This is how I've chosen to live, and I wouldn't switch lives with her, but I'm still jealous that she hasn't a care in the world, nor any major responsibilities.
4. I just got done eating about half a box of granola. There goes my bingeless streak. I'm dreading my weigh-in this week!
5. I've cheated on my hubby. It was an awful, huge, ridiculous, crazy, dumb, idiotic, alcohol-induced, major mistake, but I did it. I will NEVER do it again, and it's cause some major trust issues between us, but I sure realize how amazing he really is. I'm so thankful he took me back and am trying my best to build up his trust again. I can't tell you how sorry I am for doing it and it's the one thing in my life that I really regret. I haven't even THOUGHT about another man since. I'm sure your opinion of me has lowered tremendously, but if I'm going to be honest, I might as well be HONEST.
6. I have four tattoos. They are all on my feet. The first one I ever got was a ladybug - it's on my big toe on my right foot. Then, right under my left ankle, I got a moon and four stars. Last summer I got my last two - a frog on my right foot and half a star of my left. The half star is right on the edge, and my sister got the other half. When you put our feet together, they make one big star. I'll have to post pics someday.
7. I pick my nose. Without a tissue. My hubby HATES when I do it, but I've caught him doing it before, too!!
8. This one is inspired by Lisa's award post - I'm pierced. There are two. They are on my chest. You can figure it out from there. Unlike Lisa, though, I'm going to refrain from posting a pic of them ;)
9. I have braces. I don't know if I've ever mentioned this or not, but I do. I HATED my teeth when I was younger and finally got them when I was 23. I've had them taken off, but they were put back on in about 4 months. I'm starting to get the feeling that they'll be on for the rest of my life.
10. I don't mind being a freak, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose followers after admitting to these things!

Ok, so here are my nominees:

• Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical
• I'd Rather Have a Cupcake (by the way, yeah, me too)
• Kelly at Journey to a New Me
• Syl at Live, Smile, Run
• Sarah at Operation Size 8
• Amie at Running on Healthy

 I wrote a post on Sunday featuring these ladies. They are at or really near their goals and blog about maintaining. They definitely deserve an award for that!

Well, I'm taking a nap before I have to get ready for graduation. Have a great Thursday! I'll see you tomorrow!

Quick post!!

You know, it's pretty bad when you drink about a gallon of water and don't practically wet yourself! Yeah that would be me on Sunday during and after softball practice. It was so freaking hot out I'm pretty sure I was getting dehydrated. I drank a Gatorade, then refilled it with water, then drank two huge glasses of water at dinner. I didn't pee even once that evening (and just to give you a clue as to how I am, I drank two bottles at school today and peed five times!). I know it's Tuesday and I'm just bringing it up, but I really felt the urge to share my bodily functions with you this evening.

Anyways the school days are winding down and the kids are getting restless and ready to get out for the summer. I don't blame them really.

I don't have much to add tonight, so I invite you all to join me in the viewing of the finale of Biggest Loser. Have a great evening!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

She's a Real Nail-Biter...

See these?



You know what these are? Pics of my treadmill. You know what they mean? Yeah buddy, that's right, I WORKED OUT THIS MORNING!!! What was that, laziness? You feel defeated?? WELL GOOD!!

Yes, I finally feel myself again. I LOVE getting my morning workout in. It's perfect - 30 minutes each morning and then if I can't make it to the Y or whatnot that night, it's ok. It also sets the mood for eating for the day - if I workout in the morning, it gives me the ambition to eat healthy and in decent portions so I don't ruin it. Starting the day off in the negative feels very nice :)
Also, check this out:

That's a bandaid on my finger. Let me give you a little background information. See, I used to be a constant nail-biter. I know, gross! Then, back a couple years ago my hubby told me that he would never put a ring on a finger that had such terrible looking nails. That was the last day I bit my nails (although, it didn't work - that jerk still didn't get me a ring for a whole year after I quit!). But, I bet you know what's coming: I started again. As a matter of fact, I bit this nail so far down that it started bleeding! I can't believe it, I'm so ashamed and disappointed in myself! I stopped biting my nails for over three years, even though I had been doing it for as long as I could remember! And I quit cold turkey! They are all gone now, bitten down to the nubs. Looks like I'm going to have to add it to my list of goals this Sunday, even though I'm going to try to stop as of right now. I had forgotten how much pain I'd cause myself, because trust me, this isn't the first time I've made myself bleed. I don't know what my problem is - it's like now that I'm eating less, I need something for my mouth to do. I need to buy myself some freaking gum! :( Anyways, the bandaid is a real pain to type with. It's hitting like six different keys on the keyboard than the one I actually want! DAMMIT. I guess once a nail-biter, always a nail-biter. I wonder if they have any 12 step programs. Let me try this out, "Hi, my name is ThunderThighs, and I'm a nail-biter-aholic." Hmmmmm....

So I'm thinking about changing my career. It's so funny, it was career day at school and we had lots of people from different careers come in and talk to the kids in our classes and I was more interested in them than the students! The speakers kept asking if they had any questions, and they'd be pretty stumped when I was the only one with my hand raised. They'd go to call on me and would be like, "Ummm, the teacher in the back(?)." Hey, I'm very inquisitive!

Anyways, yeah, I have my master's in education, I've spent all that money for schooling, and I'm thinking about blowing it all away and becoming a physical therapist assistant. It's amazing how different your life turns out than you think when you are in high school. Back then, I envisioned my life to include a hubby with a 9-5 job and all that white picket fence crap, and look how it turned out - my hubby owns a campground, he's off all winter long and wants to spend weeks away traveling and we have 33 acres that would be impossible to enclose with a white picket fence. This whole life as a teacher thing just doesn't give me the flexibility that I would like. I can't take time away in the winter to travel. My hubby can't take time away in the summer to travel. (And I really really REALLY hate missing the opportunity to TRAVEL!) Plus, it's a whole different ballgame when you are actually the head of the classroom. You get no respect from the students, none from their parents, zero from the community, and a NEGATIVE amount from the freaking government! The only people who truly respect you are the other teachers! It's ridiculous!

Plus, I barely make enough to cover my own bills each month. Starting salaries for physical therapy assistants are 20 grand more than what I make now even WITH a master's!!!!! And that only requires an associate's degree! AND, they offer it at the college that's right in my hometown, which is el cheapo in tuition. The lady that spoke today said there's such a need for PTAs around here that she could quit her job today and have another one tomorrow. Needless to say, I have an appointment at that college on Friday. It'd be nice to take the courses while I'm still working as a teacher so I don't lose pay, but if need be I can always defer my loans until I graduate and pray for a job right out of the program. I'm crazy, I know. My hubby is freaking out. And I'm going to have to end this post pretty soon because I know as soon as I hit 'publish' my mother, who reads this blog more religiously than the Bible, will be on the phone asking me what the hell I'm thinking. It's ok, though, I figure if I'm going to go all insane and change my entire life, right now is the time to do it. I'm only 26, I have no kids, I'm not that far out of college/high school so I shouldn't have too much trouble being a student again, and I have a ton of support. I don't know, I have lots of time to decide.

Well I wish you all a wonderful Monday (well, what's left of it anyways), and I shall see you all tomorrow! Ciao!

Stuff I Stole... umm... Sunday?

Hello folks, it's time for another edition of "Stuff I Stole.... wait a minute, it's SUNDAY! Well apparently ThunderThighs was a little too lazy to get on her computer yesterday and write the episode!

Ok, so I guess I'll have to do "Stuff I Stole Saturday" on Sunday instead. No problem. I was rather busy yesterday and it was SO nice out that I spent the entire time outside rather than in on my computer. Except for between the hours of 4 and 6, in which I took a nice early evening nap. The hubster and I hung out at a friend's campfire last night and didn't make it in until midnight. By that time, I was too tipsy tired to get on and write. I must say, I didn't do too bad yesterday until the drinking came in. Dang it! I'm too weak to peer pressure! Not that anyone is forcing anything on me! HA, the hubby doesn't even drink, so... it's always my own fault.

I taught my regular aerobics class yesterday morning, then I ran home, showered, headed to a couple stores for stuff (kitty litter, laundry detergent, and whatnot...), then I came back to the campground and lo and behold, there was a little surprise waiting for me inside my front door. One of our friends is loaning us his super awesome Nikon practically professional camera for Amby's graduation on Thursday, and he brought it over for me to practice with! I was so pumped! I walked all around the campground taking pics of random things/people/kids. I'll have to figure out how to upload them so I can post a few tomorrow. Anyways, so then I took my nap, headed back out for some food stuff, we all gathered at a camper to eat and then we sat around the fire for the rest of the night. There was some drinking and MUCH smores consumption involved.

ANYWAYS, back to the stuff I stole for the week. There are actually only two things, and really the second isn't anything I STOLE per se, but I'm not always that bad of a klepto. So here goes:

First of all, we have Annalisa from Diary of a Yo-Yo Dieter. She ever so kindly stole the phrase "Livet" from Mrs. Sheila (a girl after my own heart, that one). Now, I've never read Mrs. Sheila's blogs, but according to Annalisa, Livet is from taking the words Diet and Live and smashing them together. I really should use this one, because I use the term Diet very loosely, and I know that word just freaks some people out. I like to be as PC and unoffending (if that's even a word) as possible, so I'll try refer to it as 'livet' from now on. Because, I DO realize that this is a life change and a healthy path and a diet full of wholesome foods and portion control and good choices - I'm just too lazy to type all that every time I'm refering to my DIET.

And, the only other thing I stole for the week, well, it's not actually anything I've really TAKEN. I have browsed plenty of posts over the past weeks, and noticed that a lot of people struggle to find motivation sometimes. They ask us fellow bloggers to help them find inspiration, and to talk about what WE do when we are feeling low. Now, I'm certainly not perfect, and I struggle just as much, if not even more sometimes, as the next gal, but one thing I do when I'm feeling out of sync with my LIVET, I really find it helpful to look at those who are at the end of their journey. Those who have reached their goal and are now focusing on maintaining. The people I really look to are also the 'underdogs' of blogging, too. I mean, we all read Bitch Cakes, she's pretty much a given here in bloggyland. Another favorite is Miz Fit - she even won enough votes to become a Fila Real Woman Model! But I'm talking about those women who are just blogging for their own sanity - not to make any money, not to find any notoriety. Just normal gals with normal jobs who have normal kids/families/husbands/boyfriends, etc. I find my motivation in the people who are, well, most like me I guess. So here are a couple I tend to lean on (who probably have no idea who I even am!):

• Tricia at Endurance Isn't Only Physical - Check out this hot mama!! She went from a size 24/26 to a 4/6... that's 20 sizes!! Talk about an amazing woman!
• I'd Rather Have a Cupcake - Down 35 pounds, this chicka is exactly where I'd like to be!
• Kelly at Journey to a New Me - I actually started following Kelly WAY back over a year ago when I first started blogging. As a matter of fact, if I'd have kept up with her as far as weightloss is concerned, I'd be just about where she is now! It just goes to show the difference a year can make. Stop by her blog and check out her guns!! Wouldn't want to get into a fight with her, that's fo sho!!
• Syl at Live, Smile, Run - Syl... oh Syl... there is so much I could say about this lady. She is one of my biggest inspirations. I love how much she loves pink, I love how encouraging she is to everyone (she's one of the few more popular bloggers who will actually stop by your site and comment on your posts), I love reading her posts, I love learning about her running adventures... I just plain love her. I always look forward to her posts. Ok, perhaps I'm a little bit of a creeper, but I'm proud of it! ;)
• Sarah at Operation Size 8 - According to Sarah, she still has about 10 pounds to lose, but if you go by her blog title, she's already there! She is another blogger I started following when I first began my original blog, and again, if I'd have stuck with it, I'd be where she is today. She tried on those size 8s not too long ago and THEY FIT! Now if that's not motivation, I don't know what is!
• Amie at Running on Healthy - Just another gal in her ultimate goal range. Just look at her after pics - the abs say it all!!

I really like looking at the before and after pics because I want that to be me someday. I'm constantly taking these before pics. When will I get to my afters?!?! So, again, I look to these ladies for the motivation. Anything you can do I can do better, right?

Anyways, on to my goals. Here are last week's:
      No binges - Complete! Even though I didn't eat very well the last couple days, I can at least say I didn't binge.

      Stay within weekly points - Yep, so far as I know at least, I had to do some estimating.
      One outside run - Weather was crappy all week and the days that it was nice, I had to work. Yesterday? No excuse. Fail.
      One bike ride - See 'outside run' above.
      2.6 liters of water a day - Yep!
      Workout every morning - Ummm, shamefully, no.

This week:
- WORK OUT EVERY MORNING! Stop being such a lazy bum, ThunderThighs! Remember? You refuse to go back to Florida if you look this bad in a bathing suit? Remember your goals? COME ON GIRL GET WITH IT!!!
- One outside run.
- Stay within weekly points.
- 2.6 liters of water a day
- Accomplish all goals (I guess this one is kind of redundant, but oh well, it reiterates my goals. A goal that reiterates my goal. Wow, I'm a moron.)

Well everyone, have a wonderful week!!

Weigh-In Friday

Hello!!! It's a LOVELY Friday where I'm at!! I'm sorry for not posting last night, I'll get into reasoning later. First off, let me share my weigh-in:

This is a loss of only .6, but I'll take it!!

So anyways, last night I spent the evening with two of my students whom I am mentoring. My area is very poverty-stricken (whose area isn't though, right?), and so I decided to take the time to hang out with two disadvantaged kids and hopefully be enough of a good influence on them that they begin to change the terrible cycle the youth in my area is stuck in. We decided to go to dinner and a movie.

Ok, I don't know how many of you grew up in underpriviledged homes, but if you are sitting on a computer, reading this, you most likely aren't in that situation any longer. If you never have, consider yourself very blessed. Being with these two helped me realize just how blessed/spoiled I am in life. I've mentioned before that there are no good places to shop in my area and the closest decent mall is 30 minutes away. Neither of these kids ever really make it out to those places. I figured we were going somewhere that they didn't get to go very often, but I didn't realize the extent of it!

First off, the boy - we'll call him T - I don't think he's ever been on the freeway before. We drove through some construction, and at one point we had to share the lane with the oncoming traffic because our side of the freeway had been ripped up and was being prepared to be repaved. T looked over at the dirt where the road had been and asked why they were building another road. He truly didn't get that it WAS the road and we were just on the other side while they fixed it. They opted to eat at the Golden Corral, which if you don't know is a buffet. To me that place is disgusting and the people who are usually there at that particular one are usually slobs - if we're going to go to a buffet, I'd much rather go to the Hometown Buffet (it's much cleaner and nicer) - but I told them they could pick where we ate, and they had never been there before. It had a chocolate fountain at the dessert buffet, and they were thrilled! They took pictures with their phones and sent them to everyone they knew! It wasn't even anything fancy!

We specifically went to this city because I really like the theater there. It's huge and has an old-time theater feel. They were AMAZED to say the least! The theater in our area is run-down and tiny, so they had never been to anything like it. They continued to take more pictures and send them to everyone. I had to laugh - I've been going to that theater for as long as I can remember and so it was nothing to me. Again, oh how much I can appreciate my life after being with kids that have never done those things in fifteen years!

Let me tell you, those kids have no social skills either. And it's not because they are bad kids, they have just never been told how to act in public. After we came out from the movie, there was a stand set up with people dressed as pirates showing off replicas of pirate-y things for the opening of The Pirates of the Caribbean. The kids were asking tons of questions, interrupting the guy before he could even get his explanation out for the first answer. Then, around the corner, another guy dressed as a pirate came out to join the table. He was a rather large man with a limp. The kids took one look at him and yelled 'Oh my gosh' and T asked if he was really walking with a limp or if it was a part of his costume (and not in the politest of ways, either). I was SO embarrassed! I ended up explaining to the pirates, after the kids walked off in another direction of course, what the situation was and that they were disadvantaged kids with a great lack of social skills, and luckily they were very understanding. I felt like I was with a couple two-year-olds the entire time, but that's exactly what their social age would compare to I guess. I felt like I was constantly nagging them - sit down, stop talking, shhhh don't say that, don't touch that, etc. etc. etc., but when I went to school today I talked about the whole experience with a fellow teacher who has been mentoring students for years. She said that's what it'll feel like at first, but after a while they will get into better social habits and it'll be easier. She also told me that those behaviors are not uncommon at all, which made me feel better because I was almost wondering if I had made a mistake taking on the mentoring position.

Here are some pictures of our adventures:

 Just a couple crazy kids! They both are very good kids at heart. T has gotten into trouble in school and with the law a little bit, but he's seemed to have straightened himself up quite a bit since he decided to get involved with track at school. He's an amazing runner - winning just about every race he competed in this season. J (the girl) was also in track. They both come from very rough areas of town, particularly the low-income housing, and have multiple family issues to deal with at home. I love them both a lot, which is why I chose them, and deep down they are really kind-hearted, sweet kids, but boy do they need to learn a thing or two about how to act in public!

So anyways, I really was amazed to lose any kind of weight whatsoever this week because of how bad I was last weekend and how little I've worked out this week. I'm hoping I can stick to the plan this weekend as much as possible. Since camping season started back up, I'm afraid of falling into my old routine of drinking both nights every weekend and eating junk food by the campfire. It's such an easy habit to fall into because that is basically what everyone around here does! And being that my hubby is the owner of the place, everyone invites me to their fire to suck up (which I of course accept :) ). And dinner each night usually consists of something off the grill - hamburgers, hotdogs, etc. This is exactly how I gained all the weight last year! I'm so close to being down 20 pounds (my official first weigh-in was at 175, before I started blogging again), and I really don't want to screw this up! Determination, DETERMINATION, DETERMINATION!!! Oh boy.

It's so nice out I really should be running or riding my bike, but of course I'm stuck in the campground store. I choose what days to work each week, and it never fails that I decide on the nicest days. If I had decided to NOT work today, it would have poured down rain all night. Just. My. Luck.

Well, I've rambled enough for the evening. Believe it or not, I did start this post at 4:00 and it is now 6:00. Not that I've been writing for two hours, just that I've been busy in the store and I'm having a little focusing problems tonight ;) HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!