Motivational Cowbell

I missed blogging for the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans challenge last week. It’s time to weigh in. I’ve been hovering at 154 pounds pretty much the whole time and today…I am down 1 pound to 153. Ha! Take that cookies! I’ve been eating a little better in the morning this week. Yogurt and strawberries instead of the usual sugar rush. If you’ve  been reading lately you are well aware of my AFFECTION FOR COOKIES. And chocolate. My office is overrun by chocolate. It’s really bad for an addict like me.

I pretty much bailed on the 30 day shred. Seemed like a bad idea to mix that with my 10k training. I plan to jump back on that once the race is over. I do like the workout, it just hurts the legs a bit too much. I ran 4 miles this past weekend and it was awesome. Felt good. I run 4 miles again this weekend, but on my own this time, which is harder than joining up with my team. Last weekend, one of the coaches had a cowbell he was ringing as we all closed in on the finish line. Motivational Cowbell, ya’ll. I will miss that when I’m by myself. Maybe I can convince my mom to stand outside her house and ring one for me. Maybe not. Moving on…

This weight loss journey, this SSJ chal-LUNGE if you will, has been a little rocky so far. (Like that big “lunge”? I don’t care for big lunges, but they do work well don’t they?) My desire to be more fit and (I admit) trim is strong, but my will is weak a lot of the time. However, I consider this the beginning. I lost a lot of ground between getting pregnant and now. Here I am almost 2 years after KCs birth and I’m definitely not back to my old self. I’m not a bad self, just not the best self I can be. It feels really good on the days that I do run or workout so I’m just going to focus on that. And also, I really want a cookie. Do you have one?

Totally Random Crap (a.k.a. I don’t feel like working at 2:30 pm on a Friday.)

I managed to knock a couple of things off that to-do list I shared the other day:

• I bought KC a cute red raincoat with pink polka-dots and some Hello Kitty rain boots. It abruptly stopped raining the very next morning. Sigh.
• I did get my sister-in-law a shower gift. The party is Sunday at my house and I am really looking forward to it. Especially the part where my house will be really clean and smell like a Yankee Candle. Seriously. If people didn’t visit me, I’d never clean. I hate to clean. This is a good thing.

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I have to go run 4 miles tomorrow morning. I did not do any exercise or training this week. I ate a lot of cookies though. I plan to go home and have one or two beers tonight. (Ok, three.) It’s sunny and awesome and is supposed to be sunny and awesome all weekend. Training be damned. I’ll just walk more than normal tomorrow. At this rate, I’ll never wear my old shorts and capris again. I might as well just throw them away and invest in numerous, brightly colored moo-moos. Sounds more comfortable anyway.

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I noted on FaceBook today that I am really obsessed with KC’s clothes. I love her little clothes so much that I even enjoy doing her laundry. What is that about? I daydream about what little outfits I might put her in the next day and the next. What will I do when she starts insisting on picking her own clothes? Maybe I can dress up the cats…

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Things are weird at my office, ya’ll. We’ve let go of some more people. It sucks. They assure us we won’t be going out of business. I believe it, but it’s still kind of scary. That’s all I’m gonna say about that. I have friends both here and at other companies that have lost jobs due to this crappy economy. I am grateful I haven’t lost my job yet. I will sit tight, hang on and just assume we will survive. This crap has got to get better soon, right? This subject is a downer. Moving on…

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Wolverine is totally hot. (Hugh Jackman to you non X-men fans.) Two of my co-workers and I discussed how we all agree on this point and that we should see the movie together. What about you? Do you think Wolverine is hot? Here’s a poll just for the hell of it:

35 candles on one cake is probably a fire hazard.

Today is Ted’s Birthday. He’s 35. 40 is just around the corner! I have to joke some, because he likes to brag that he’s actually 2 years younger than me. Since I was born in January, for a little while after my Birthday, it just sounds like he’s 2 years younger than me. (When I turned 36 he was still 34.) In reality he’s about 1 year and 3 months younger. Give or take. It’s nit-picky of me, but I feel it’s worth pointing this out. Truthfully I’m just jealous that he’s sitting behind me in the out of control wheelbarrow that is carrying us over and down the hill toward old age.

In honor of his Birthday, I want to share some of the many reasons why I love him. In order to keep this short enough that you don’t fall asleep, I’ll do it “Top 10″ style. Like David Letterman. Here goes:

#10 Reason I love Ted:
He buys me my favorite beer when it’s on sale, plus new kinds I’ve never tried before, because he knows I’m an alcoholic I like to try new and interesting brews.

#9 Reason I love Ted:
He not only does all the weekend grocery shopping (which I hate), he also takes KC with him so I get a little quiet time at home.

#8 Reason I love Ted:
He isn’t limited by typical “male” stereotypes. Examples: He’s more romantic and sentimental than I am. He likes to cook and does it often. He actually cares what the bedspread looks like and what kind of window treatments we buy. He shares all responsibilities with caring for KC and never thinks twice that it is his job as a Dad to do so. Oh, and he gives me pedicures and plucks my stray eyebrow hairs. Seriously.

#7 Reason I love Ted:
He embraces the cool “male” stereotypes. Examples: He builds stuff, fixes stuff, mows the lawn and works on our cars. He kind of smells after doing these things, but in a good, manly way. He likes muscle cars and motorcycles, which even if that stuff scares me a little, is kind of cool and sexy. He has cool facial hair and accepts his baldness by shaving his head.

#6 Reason I love Ted:
We like a lot of the same things such as heavy Metal, Sci-Fi, beer… These are things we both like that just make it easier to hang out with each other. Of course, there are other things we don’t share a like for such as blogging, reading and the Lifetime channel for me and PC gaming, building stuff and watching shows about building stuff for him. Whatever. Everybody needs their own interests, right?

#5 Reason I love Ted:
He’s funny. Very funny. Also goofy and playful. I am not always playful, but I like to think I am very funny. Our collective sense of humor will surely get us through a lot. It seems our daughter may have inherited our combined humor and Ted’s goofy attitude. Fine by me. I think you need to have a goofy nature to really enjoy life. Plus, the two of them can help detract from the fact that I can be sort of uptight.

#4 Reason I love Ted:
He works hard and has a very high work ethic. I hate his job sometimes (as does he). It’s manual labor and often crazy hours. He works with a lot of guys. Guys don’t tend to tell you how much they appreciate all your hard work. Especially hard-ass, blue-collar type guys. Plus, the business suits (like clients & bosses) don’t tend to realize when they are asking way too much of these hard working guys. Ted gets stressed, but he keeps giving everything he’s got to the job. He puts a lot of importance on doing the job right. That’s hard to do if others don’t seem to notice how hard you are working. Sucks for him, but it also says a lot about what kind of guy he is.

#3 Reason I love Ted:
He’s good to his family and he’s good to mine. This is a really big deal. It means he shows his love and respect for both set of parents and their roles in our lives. It sets a good example for KC too. Of course, it helps that we both have pretty awesome families. They are supportive and easy to love.

#2 Reason I love Ted:
The man can really rock a skirt. I may have my reservations about his favorite article of clothing, his Utili-kilt, but I have to admit it. He looks pretty sexy in that thing. I wish I had a good photo so I could show you. It turns heads when we go out. You can see the people who just don’t get it looking confused! Most of the time people like it and they tell him so. Ted’s got some serious confidence. Wearing his kilt just proves he doesn’t give a damn what people think of him. I wish I were more like that. Part of why I sometimes don’t want him to wear the kilt is that I hate getting a lot of attention from strangers. That’s my problem, not his. So, Ted, if you read this, wear that thing with pride. Do it for those of us who care a little too much what others think of our appearance.

#1 Reason I love Ted:
He tells me he loves me often. He’s affectionate and compliments me a lot. He does it even though I myself have trouble reciprocating. I know that hurts him sometimes, but I love that it doesn’t stop him. The truth is, even if he can be a little overly “flirty and goofy” with me at times (remember how I admitted to being uptight?), I would be devastated if he stopped doing it all together.

Happy Birthday, Ted. I may get frustrated with you a lot (and you with me, I know), but I am so glad I married you. I am so glad we had KC. You are the best husband and “Baby Daddy” a girl could ever want.

xoxo, bbkf

Here’s what the to-do list of a proscrastinator looks like.

1) Buy KC a raincoat. For the love of God, she’s wearing a light-weight knit hoodie today, the wettest day I’ve seen in weeks. You’d think a woman who adores buying clothes for her daughter would have gotten this item by now. Plus matching boots and a little umbrella. If I wasn’t working I’d be at Carter’s right now.

2) Buy my husband a Birthday gift for his 35th Birthday, which is on Wednesday of this week. Less than two days away. I have plans to take him out to dinner using a gift certificate his parents gave us for our anniversary coming up in May. Aren’t I creative? I am, quite possibly, the worst gift giver ever. I always struggle with the perfect gift idea. I will probably be at Target on Tuesday evening trying to decide between a DVD or some other guy-like thing he really doesn’t need. Maybe I should just buy him a case of Guinness and a card and resolve to have sex with him that night. That would honestly make him more happy than a stupid DVD anyway. (Sorry, Mom and Ted’s sister as I’m sure you are reading and thinking, “Whoa! TMI.”)

3) Buy a shower gift for my sister-in-law. I manged to buy some stuff for KC instead while looking a few days ago. It’s possible I have ADD and it’s gone undiagnosed all this…oooh! Look a cookie! Where was I? Like I mentioned, I love buying clothes for my daughter. I used to love buying clothes for me, but KC is so much easier. Just grab cute things off the rack and go. No need to try it on! Except for shoes. That kid has really big feet. I’m sorry but it’s true.

4) Download the movies from my Flip camera. I have a bunch of silly stuff that I want to make into a montage of all KC’s adorable “first words” and funny sounds, etc. I should really get to it before she’s old enough to use them as “Show and Tell” for her 1st grade class.

5) Put some safety locks on the bathroom cabinets and the cabinet in KC’s room that houses the diaper cream, the baby shampoo and the powder. We covered the kitchen, I’m thinking if she’s curious enough to go into my purse and turn a USB flash drive into a lollipop, she’ll eventually figure out there are more places she’s yet to explore. I will also do well to realize that kid is taller than most 19 month olds and can, in fact, reach that beer I left a little too close to the edge of the counter top. How many sips does it take to get a baby drunk anyway?

And if that last one didn’t have you reaching for the phone to call some sort of local government authority…

6) I must take my 2 cats to the vet. I mean, seriously, it’s been at least 5 years. I think about it a lot, but just can’t make the appointment. Even though they are indoor cats, I realize the importance of having them checked on from time to time. Especially since they do escape at least once a month and as my Mom reminded me, “Rabbis” are very common in the VA area lately. She meant to write “Rabies” (sorry GG), but I totally got a good giggle from that email.  I also need a bigger kennel thingy for the fat one. He’s a monster. He hardly fit into the one I have now as a kitten. Plus, he pees in it while we are driving in the car. Every. Single. Time. Going to the vet is extremely annoying. Can you see now why I’ve avoided it? No? Well, fine.

In case you are wondering, KC has had all the shots she’s supposed to have up to this point. She might get rabies and fleas from my cats, or a good buzz from the backwash still left in my Michelob Ultra, but otherwise I take very good card of her. I swear.

Diet is a four letter word.

I eat cookies for breakfast most days. If not cookies, then maybe a cupcake or something equally “cakey” like a muffin. Oh wait, a muffin is just a bigger cupcake. How about donut? Sounds good. Let’s have one now. This is my weakness. It makes me very happy though so I don’t plan to stop. I tend to rely on exercise alone to lose weight. If I’m exercising I can eat good stuff right? Sure. Ok.

Today is weigh-in day for the SSJ Challenge. I am still holding at 153. No loss for this week, which sucks, but I am not surprised. I may have dropped to 152 or close, but my scale is very hard to read. The little lines are so scrunched together that it’s impossible to discern anything other than the big numbers like 150, or 145. I’ll be honest and call it 153 since I’ve been slacking a lot.

I did the shred two days last week and after my legs felt like they were planning to rip themselves from my body and go find a nice couch potato to live on (I actually heard them discussing this when they thought I was asleep), I decided to take a break from it. I honestly worried I would not be able to run this past Saturday for my 10k training session if I shredded all week long. Call me a wuss. It seemed like a smart decision.

I slept in on Saturday and didn’t join my team. Hey! It was raining hard. Don’t judge. Plus it was almost an hour away from my house where they were meeting. I only had to run 2 miles. That’s barely 30 minutes. You do the math. Seemed smarter to stay in bed, drink lots of coffee, have a cookie and run later in the day when the rain stopped. It didn’t stop. BUT! I did go run/walk on the trail near my house. Score! It felt like my lungs were going to turn inside out, but other than that I think it went well.

Today I had cookies and of course now I’m hungry again. I’m going to go have some yogurt and strawberries right now. Then I’m going to the gym on my lunch break. I am trying. Kind of. I did the shred Monday night and had NO pain yesterday. That must mean my legs have forgiven me and want me to try it again. Maybe I will do it tonight.

In Your Easter Bonnet

Just before Easter came, I thought that maybe I should have tried to find KC an Easter Bonnet to go with her dress. She seems to adore hats. I quickly realized there was really no need…

She’ll make the most of what’s available, or look adorable with no hat at all. Besides, who would want to hide such a perfectly round head?

The Final Blow

On Sunday, as we drove down route 1 toward toward my sister and brother in-law’s house for breakfast and more Easter baskets, Ted saw something he wasn’t expecting. The property where his family’s automotive business once operated had finally been cleared of the house his grandfather built. Doran’s Automotive had been a landmark business on rte. 1 in Alexandria for many, many years. First an automotive shop, gas station and even a small motel, it had been a huge part of Ted’s life since the day he was born. I cannot even say for sure what year his Grandfather opened the business, but you can bet I’ll give more details in future posts. I can tell you that when the house and business were built, rte. 1 was just a dirt road.

That place, and Ted’s family, saw a lot of changes. I was lucky enough to see the shop up close and personal during my engagement to Ted. By then the gas station and motel part of the business were long gone, but they were still servicing cars and selling parts and supplies. For a little while after we were married, we even lived in his Grandparent’s house. And, before that, I visited often when Ted and a couple of buddies lived there together after college. It became the “bachelor pad to end all bachelor pads”. Wow, the parties they threw! It was, quite simply, a house like no other. Completely unique and full of good memories for many people. I loved it with only my limited experience there. I cannot even imagine how hard it is for Ted to see it gone.

Ted’s father and his Uncle ran the automotive business together after it was passed on to them by their Father, Ted’s grandfather. From what Ted tells me the shop did particularly well during the 80’s and into the early 90’s. However, as the Pep Boys and Jiffy Lube franchises started to crop up more and more, people didn’t seem to frequent the family-owned, local businesses quite as much. Sure, they had a good core of customers and friends who would never think of going elsewhere, however, as Ted’s Dad neared retirement it was pretty clear that selling the shop was inevitable if he ever wanted to stop working. And, believe me, he deserved to stop working. Every day but Sunday that place was open and Ted’s dad was there.

I know the fact that the business could not be passed on to him made my husband very sad. I don’t blame his Dad and Uncle for selling the business. It was the only decision they could have made. However, I feel great sadness for Ted that he wasn’t able to carry on the business. He loved it. I plan to ask him to share with me some of the history when I can take some notes. I’ve heard so many stories, but it’s tough to recall all the details sitting here now. I know Ted will want to share this wonderful family history with his daughter. I hope I can help him start to do that here. In the meantime here are two photos of Doran’s in it’s hey-day.

It’s Potty Time!

I think I will be adding a new category to the blog today. “Potty Time” has arrived at the Doran household. Well, sort of. I have held off on blogging about potty training, because KC is only 19 months. That’s still pretty young to be in serious training mode. However, we bought a little potty a few weeks ago and, as of last night, she has pooped in it about 3 times.

This is Ted and I everytime this happens: “Yeaaaa! You pooped in the potty! Yeaaaaa!”

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Sidenote: It’s funny how first marriage, and then parenthood will completely eradicate any past embarrassment you may have felt about discussing intestinal “issues” in depth in front of other people.

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Ok, ok. Let me back up for all you seasoned parents who are like. “Yeah. Right. You’ve potty trained a one and half year old. As if!”

She’s not really telling us she needs to go potty. She might occasionally show interest in sitting on the little pot for no apparent reason, but it isn’t because she knows she has to go. Right now it’s just a novelty to her. A little chair that sits in the bathroom instead of the living room. What made us buy the potty was the fact that she took to occasionally pooping while in the bath. Ew.

Actually, I’m surprised that little habit took so long to surface. (Pardon the pun.) The first time it happened it caught both her Dad and I off guard. Each of us were lucky enough to be present for it once before it became common knowledge between the two of us. Once we knew the signs (sudden stillness, little bubbles coming up…) we knew to lift her out and put her on the throne.

The first time I tried this maneuver on the adult toilet, some went in the tub and some made it into the pot. (You have to be quick.) The end result if any “escapees” get left behind is still to end bath time, gather up all toys, put them in the dishwasher and then scrub the tub. It may be baby poop, but it’s still poop. One must be careful and clean when dealing with poop.

Now we’ve gotten better at whisking her up and over to the potty in the nick of time. Last night she did it, with some protestation, and her Dad and I cheered and cheered. I even went so far as to show her the poop, right before I flushed it away. I want her to understand that “This is such a good thing, this poop in the little bucket!”

I realize this is just the very first step on a VERY long road. I don’t expect her to wake up tomorrow and suddenly understand that every time she has to “go” is time to run to the bathroom. I’ve already read some about potty training and I understand it takes a lot of time and patience. Not to mention a lot of soiled clothes and bedding.

I guess all we should do at this early stage is watch for the signs and take opportunities to put her on the “hot seat” as much as we can. Eventually, I suppose it starts to sink in, right? I don’t even want to think about how often she pees in the tub.

No pain…would be kind of nice.

But…you know what they say. “No pain, no gain.” Jillian seems to agree. I did the 30 day shred DVD for the first time ever last night. Only 20 minutes on level 1, but it’s no cake walk. You move the whole time and for someone who’s not done too many lunges in a while…well, it hurts. I actually had a few moments this morning when I woke in bed and thought, “Wow! My arms and legs hardly hurt at all!” Pshaw! It seems the muscle pain is a tad delayed. It has gotten worse as the day goes on, particularly my quads. The muscles used most for LUNGES. I. HATE. LUNGES. I also hate push-ups. I cannot do push-ups correctly. My push-ups are a joke and if Jillian could see me from DVD-bizarro-world, I’m sure she’d bitch slap me for my awful form.

Enough about my pain. How about some gain! After all, my real purpose here today is to report in for Wednesday weigh-in with the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I weighed myself this morning and I seem to have dropped one pound to 153 again. Fine by me, but if I am up a pound next week, I am going to scream. You might recall I started at 153 two weeks ago and then weighed 154 last week.

I will try the shred again tonight. It is the whole point to do it every day for 30 days. I also have my 2nd TNT training run this Saturday. Don’t want to be so “shredded” that I can’t do that! (Now there’s a good excuse to take it easy.) Last night KC got in on the act with me for the very end of my workout. Ted managed to get a few shots of her trying to do jumping jacks. I wish he’d caught her straddling my stomach while I attempted to do crunches.

I bet Jillian Michaels never did the shred with a 26 pound baby. Sure is harder than the 3 pound hand weights.

Three Words

So apparently this post was way off base. On Friday evening Ted says to KC, “Where’s KC?” and she answers back, “There she is!” as she points to herself. That’s three words all together, people. THREE WORDS.

“Wh-, wha-, whaaat? What did she just say?” says I, almost falling off the couch in disbelief.

Ted just looks at me and goes, “Yeah, she’s been doing that for a little while now. You haven’t heard that?” I think he immediately regretted that statement when he saw that I was close to tears at my oblivion to my own daughter’s recent developmental milestone.

“When did she start doing this?” I cried in obvious anguish. “Um, well, maybe it was over at my Mom’s. I’m sorry. I thought you’d seen that.” he replied, backpedaling like crazy.

Good lord. I know as a working mother I miss some stuff. I accept it. However, what’s that cute saying? The one that’s a spoof on the Vegas line? Oh, right…“What happens at Grandma’s, stays at Grandma’s.” They should go on to add…“and, when it happens in front of Mom, everyone just act surprised like it’s really the first time.”

Sheesh. Don’t these people know anything??

KC, I’m very proud of you, baby. Keep up the good work. Just save some of it for when I’m home, m-kay?