Personality Profile

Last night, while reading through the March 2012,Self magazine that I "borrowed" from the nail salon, I decided to actually look up a website that they had mentioned.  The article is called "Get Happy For Free". It showcases "two weeks of a joy-inducing plan".  

Day 1:  Enjoy frequent, tiny hits of pleasure (This is supposed to explain why the first bite of something yummy is the best and things of that sort.  True.  But, the last bite of the tenth S'More is just as yummy as the first one to me.)

Day 2:  Move it  (No duh.  I've heard that one.  BTW:  I'm only up to 6,500 steps today.)

Day 3:  Quit comparing  (Yeah...OK...I get it.  Don't compare yourself to the airbrushed model.)

Day 4:  Give up that grudge  (I kind of suck at this one.  I do  give up on grudges but only after hours of perseverating.)

Day 5:  Linger in the break room  (What?  Oh...Make friends with coworkers and try to be more socially engaged.)

Day 6:  Tap into your innate strengths...

And then I stopped reading and thought.  What are my strengths?  I typed in the ViaMe.org website and prepared to take a quiz to find out. Not knowing what I was getting myself in to, I just logged in the required information and then read that the quiz was 240 questions long!!!  Well, I'd already invested five minutes or so in creating a free  account, why not do the rest?

And so, two HUNDRED and forty questions later, these are the results of my quiz.  By golly, I think that these are true.  I think that I might actually be this person and I like this person.  Go me!  

 

Your Top Character Strength

Kindness
You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Your Second Character Strength

Creativity
Thinking of new ways to do things is a crucial part of who you are. You are never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible.

Your Third Character Strength

Gratitude
You are aware of the good things that happen to you, and you never take them for granted. Your friends and family members know that you are a grateful person because you always take the time to express your thanks.

Your Fourth Character Strength

Curiosity
You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.

Your Fifth Character Strength

Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence
You notice and appreciate beauty, excellence, and/or skilled performance in all domains of life, from nature to art to mathematics
to science to everyday experience.

I guess that explains why I took a picture of my sticky notes all lined up in my desk drawer.  I just thought that they looked so pretty!

Time In Target

This evening we went to Target.  We needed a few grocery and drug store type items, I needed to walk more steps, and my husband and son wanted to look at toys and things for my son's upcoming birthday.  And so...off to Target we go.

After walking the aisles and meeting my 10,000 step goal, I decide to finally sit - in an open lower shelf where there used to be a Big Wheel for sale.  My son was shopping in the row in front of me.  Then the chaos started to build.

With names like Fisher and Bean, children and parents began to buzz about.  Crying.  "I want...!"  And "Oooo Mommy!"  For a moment it was hard to tell who belonged to who.  Stealthfully, I sized 'em up, made mental judgements about parenting styles and watched the drama unfold.

Like clucking hens, four teen girls debated about the features and benefits versus the cost before buying water guns for $25.  Flip flops slapping, I watched as they strutted their stuff out of sight, planning some sort of ambush.

Just as that show ended, a boy that was about seven sulked down the row.  Whining.  Hyperventilating.  Following dad with heavy feet, "It's not fair!" he wailed.  Big sister reached out to comfort him, patting his head in an empathetic yet condescending way.  Dad says something to the kids but that just ramps up the drama.  "It's not fair! Sister gets something and I don't!"   In a useless attempt to provide logic,  sister responds with the obligatory, "We offered you something and you didn't want it."  Then the boy says something so spoiled, "Daddy, I don't want to get a Nerf gun!"  Oh.  My.  God!

Another boy about the same age runs up to a display of some sort of display of Legos.  This time I'm watching the mom and the little sister (about four) who are in the next aisle over looking at bins of footballs, soccer balls, and balls with princesses and Dora images covering the surface.  The boy announces,  "Holy crap! This looks purely rare!"  Mom and daughter continue to shop.  Just in case the mom didn't hear him the first time, the boy repeats, "Holy crap!  This IS purely rare!"  The mom's response made me snicker,  "You're supposed to be helping me find stuff for ..." as she takes him by the hand and guides him back to being mindful of the purpose of their time in the toy section.  I was thinking about how excited that boy was and enjoying how just pure his excitement was and then...

The Nerf gun kid wails and reminds me of the flip side of pure emotion with a crescendo of whining.  As the dad and sister walk away to go to the grocery section, the little brat follows.  They left but I can still hear his protest.

Stage left, enter a new family.  A three year old baby girl in the shopping cart, mom pushing, dad walking about five paces behind, and a five year old boy about twenty feet behind them bringing up the rear.  Proudly, he is wearing a shiny Ferrari red baseball helmet while he perfects his swagger.  The baby is waving to me.  She's probably never seen a grown woman sitting on a shelf in Target.  I smile warmly and blow the baby a kiss.

Instead of just being an observer, I am forced to renter my real life as my son finally discovers me:  "Mommy?  You've been here the whole entire time?"  He has a remote control helicopter in his hands as he sits next to me on the shelf and justifies his potential purchase, "I want this 'cause my other one has a broken wing."  I nod and purse my lips.

All quiet now.   It's amazing how the flurry of activity just vanished.  But that was just a lull between waves.  Like some weird arty film short, a girl comes from the bedding section behind me, down the Lego aisle, bouncing an enormous purple ball and then disappears into the electronics section.

Then, I see a lady I used to teach with ages ago. I slink deeper into my shelf and look down to avoid her gaze.  Wondering where she is teaching now and hoping she doesn't recognize me...I've forgotten her name.  She's talking on the phone looking at toys saying, "Tomorrow I'm going to do my unemployment stuff."  Well, there's the answer to that question.  I guess she doesn't work for the school system any more.

Then, I hear the familiar "family whistle" and echo back to let my husband know where I am.  I love my bubble.  I love my life.  He extends his hand to help me up.  I take it and know that I've just been rescued by my knight in shining armor.

Girl Power

It seems that a lot of people that I know are dealing with some very heavy stuff:

My boss has had three loved ones die in about a month and a half.

A coworker's dog is dying.

I know three people (without even trying hard) whose husbands are out of work.

A friend has to undergo a medical treatment that makes her radioactive and keeps her away from her family.

I know the old saying that God will only give you as much as you can handle...some times I think ENOUGH!  But then I remember that I have some awesome women as friends.  

The above mentioned women are strong.  They are moms and sisters and aunts and nieces and daughters and wives and bosses and bread winners and fighters!  I am so proud to know these women! 

I hope that I am like them.  I hope that when things get tough that I am strong and face the challenge head on.  

(Dear God,

Please do not take that as a challenge.  I am simply saying that I admire these gals.

Amen.)

As I get ready for bed tonight, my ten year old daughter is in the next room, listening to music, playing with her ipod and stuffed animals, and snuggling with her dog.  I am proud of her too.  Although she doesn't have to worry about bills and grown up stuff, she does have a full plate at times.  She is learning to handle tasks with grace...but there have been some hellacious missteps along the way!  

Every night she has a zillion hours of homework to do.  Granted, if she paid better attention in class, she might not have as much to do AND if she'd just do the work instead of being chatty, she wouldn't have quite so many hours of work to do.  

Math:  Working multistep problems backward to find the original value of the number in the word problem, integers (positive and negative), plotting numbers on a graph...Eeww!

Literary Terms:  Oxymorons, idioms, metaphors, limericks, haiku...And I majored in English and teach writing for a living!  Blech.

Social Studies:  Ancient Roman wars...Whoa is me!

I bite my tongue and reiterate that she needs to beef up her study skills, pull up her average, plan ahead and go in during lunch and recess for more tutoring.  She is so good!  She tries so hard (most of the time).

My only wish for her is for her to have health and happiness.  She is in charge of some of the things that will make my wish come true.  

I hope that I am a good (enough) model for her to follow.  I love her so much.

Short-n-Sweet

I just pinned this picture from Pinterest.  I thought that it was so me.  I am an introvert.  I am not mad or depressed...and only a little antisocial.  I just need to not talk to anyone for a while.  As a school teacher, I talk all day.   I like listening.  I don't always remember what was said though. I really suck at actually listening and retaining.  Remembering details, names, and other "important" stuff is not something that I can usually do.  I'm a good note taker though.  In social situations, taking notes is not very handy.

Now, my husband though...he's great.  He loves to talk.  He's the social one.  And he loves me, quirks and all.  He's my best friend.  And I'm so lucky.  And that's okay by me!

Alone Today

What a wacky day!  My husband asked me to set my alarm and to wake him at 5:00 so that he could get ready for the charity golf tournament.  He agreed to play in this golf tournament before we knew that our son was sick.  Not wanting to make him bow out of his commitment, I stayed home from work to baby sit the strep throat patient.  It actually worked out fine with my testing schedule at school because today was reserved for make ups only.

So, he was up and out and I was still in bed.  Some how I fell back asleep and continued to sleep until 7:10.  The whole house kept sleeping, in fact.  I shouted out to my daughter to be ready for school by 7:15, which is the usual time that the kids have to be ready for school.  She was ticked at me!  "I don't want to get up.  I don't want to go to school today!  I'm too tired!" she hollered to me through her closed bedroom door.

Needless to say, I was now wide awake and prepared my rebuttal.  "Get up.  You've got five minutes to get ready and you don't make the decisions about school!"  Brat!

I made her and Nicholas a bagel, shoved her out the door to ride to school with the neighbors and got my boy set up in front of the TV for a day of medicine, rest, and movies.  She was so mad!  I'm not even sure if she said, "Good bye."  Brat!

Now, to tend to... (insert Gollum's voice here) "my precious".  He was feeling better and managed to choke down his medicine without any great drama.  We looked through all of the movies on Apple TV and he decided that what he wanted to watch was a Lego movie called "Clutch Power".  I sipped my coffee and began my normal routine of taking my own medicine and having my eggs.  (My darling husband had made them for me the day before so that they would be ready for me even though he was out golfing.)  I put on my  Fit Bit and started walking and eating.  I did laps around the dining room table and the kitchen island.

While my sickly little guy watched "Clutch Power", I read my Glamour magazine and wandered around the house.  Up the stairs, turn right into Summer's room and do a U-turn, exit Summer's room, turn right into my bedroom, then into the bathroom, turn around, exit my room, turn right into Nicholas' room and another U-turn, down the stairs, around the dining room table, around the kitchen island, back up the stairs...and on and on.  Some times I did extra laps upstairs or downstairs to log more steps.

Eventually I had to rest and since "Clutch Power" was over I sat with Nicholas to make some plans for the day.  We decided to go to Office Depot.  I wanted to look at filing cabinets for putting next to my desk and I wanted to look for a slant board for my daughter to use to help angle her books and writing materials.  Once we got there I put him in the shopping cart and wheeled him around while I looked and he played on his ipod.  I was unable to find what I was looking for.  Since Barnes and Noble is next door, we went there next.

I got a "fat free sugar free vanilla frap" which was actually kinda gross but at least it was something to hold and sip while I shopped.  Nicholas set himself up in the kids' section.  Our neighbor was also at Barnes and Noble so we chatted for about a half hour.  Nicholas started to look really shabby and asked to go home.

Once I got him in the car I started badgering him to eat.  He was not happy.  He hates to eat as it is and hates to eat even more that his taste buds are all whacked.  Burger King, Pizza Hut, Steak and Shake, PDQ,  Arby's, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Krystal, Five Guys...all on the way home and all with a drive through.  He was ticked at me for trying to get him to eat something but I figured the "Happy Meal" type food might perk him up.  He was almost in tears with frustration and finally agreed to McDonald's.  White knuckled, I drove through, placed an order for ONE Happy Meal and drove on.  Nothing for me.

Once we got home, I made myself some chicken salad with black olives, a bit of pesto, mayo, and a splash of hot sauce.  I only ate half of what I made and put the rest in plastic.  To give myself a little crunch, I had a handful of veggie sticks.  Then sucked down two huge glasses of Cyrstal Light lemonade while we watched "Percy Jackson".

Around 3:00, I checked my Fit Bit and only needed a little more than 1,000 steps to reach my goal of 10,000 by 4:00.  So, around and around I went.

As the day comes to a close, I am proud to announce...

I did it!  I did it!  I ate only the proper things, didn't binge and walked over 11,000 steps, 4.66 miles, and went up 11 flights of stairs.

Day 4 Diet Undo

I didn't actually undo all of my diet, but I did have Thai for dinner...um...and a Bud Light...and some frozen yogurt.  Let me ess-plain it to you, Lucy.  (Ricky Ricardo has nothing to do with Thai food.)

I did not wake up in the night or binge of any sort today.  Yeah me!  I stuck to all of the foods that my husband packed for my lunch:  egg whites, almonds, jerky, Babybel, orange, and a Cliff bar.  I paced myself better today than yesterday and reminded myself that with God's help I would be fine without an additional this or that yummy thing.

But then, my husband discovered that my son had a large white patch of "ick" in his throat.  (My boy has been sick since Monday night with a fever as high as 102.6 - with medicine.)

Well, that lead to making a doctor's appointment at 4:20.  Since the doctor's office is about half way between my work and our home, we just met there.  My intention was to stop at a juice bar and have a smoothie with protein and an immunity boost.  But the husband said, "Let's go to this new Thai place.  They have healthy stuff there." Click here to go to their website: Just Thai

Ding.  Ding.  Ding.  Yes, please.  I ordered Panang Stir Fry with shrimp.   I've looked up Panang and it appears to have between 200 and 400 calories which I guess is not bad.  Then I spied the beer cooler.  Since I'm not going to work tomorrow, tonight is now my Friday and a cold beer sounded sooo good!  (And it was!)

Here's the dumb move on my part...faulty logic included:  My son is sick.  Right?  He's pitifully skinny.  He's got strep throat.  What's the perfect fix for a sore throat and a skinny kid who loves ice cream?  Cold Stone Creamery!  He got his usual mint chocolate chip in a cone.  Luckily I kinda hate mint chocolate chip ice cream.  I like York peppermint patties and Andes mints but for some reason I don't like that flavor of ice cream.  Plus my kid is a germ factory so I'm not going to be sampling his cone or finishing his leftovers (which I am not proud to admit that I do...a lot.)  So far, the logic is working for me.  Now here's where it goes south.  Cold Stone now has a frozen yogurt.  The "Peanut Butter Cup Perfection" in the "Like It Size" (aka small, 6oz.) is...970 calories!  WTF!?  The chocolate ice cream alone has 390 calories!  Lucky for me I swapped out the ice cream for the new frozen yogurt which has 230.  That saves 160 calories...not much when you're talking 970 verses 810.

And I forgot my Fit Bit again so I don't know how many steps I logged.   So, tomorrow while I am babysitting my sick son, I will be walking laps around my house, trying to get in 10,000 steps.  No one will be here to police my food intake.  I can't needlepoint and walk laps.  But, I do have a new magazine to look at and that will keep me company, keep my hands busy, keep my mind active, and I can walk and do it.

Goal:
1.  Do not binge.  (My husband has already made my meals for me.)
2.  Complete 10,000 steps before 4:00.

Day 3 of Diet Redo

Today is the third day of my newly restarted diet.

Yesterday I was hungry but I managed to do "OK".  (Except for one of the top twenty worst headaches ever.)

Today I can't get food out of my mind.  I woke up and had my normal coffee with creamer and sipped it during my drive in to work.  Once I got settled in my classroom, I had time to eat my lovely egg whites before my morning duty started at school.  Then, I had my standard second cup of coffee and creamer.  As a thank you treat for the teachers during FCAT testing our Assistant Principal gave us a nut breakfast bar (only 200 calories) which I promptly ate.  During testing I had a third cup of coffee and creamer.  After that and while walking laps around the students during the test, I ate my almonds and eventually my beef jerky.  (My head actually hurt when I chewed, so I chewed freakishly slowly.)  After the testing session was finally complete, sadly...the only thing left in my lunch bag was an orange - which I ate.  By 11:00, I had eaten all of the food my husband had packed for me!  So, I had a student salad from the cafeteria and another handful of nuts.  Once I got home from work, I had about five pretzel rods and a few veggie sticks.  Pretty much as soon as I was done eating that I asked my husband to make me my protein shake.  At about 7:00, I had two handfuls of pistachio nuts.  Da-umn!

Now, rather than continue to think about food, I am typing about it via this blog entry.

Food is an absolute drug for me.  As humans we need food but those of us who are food addicts want much more than what is needed.  At no point today did my stomach hurt.  I don't even think that my stomach actually growled.  It's in my head.

How is it that I am a strong person who can do lots of things but food is something that I just can't get a handle on?  In my limited OA experience, I know that I have heard that I need to "be thankful" for my food addiction and to be thankful that God will provide the solution.  I go to church (sometimes) and I know that God will take me down the path that He has chosen for me.  Although I may not want to go...if I believe, I know that God has a plan for me.  However, when I'm physically and/or mentally hungry, I forget to let God lead me.

Then comes the battle.  I want ____.  I know I shouldn't have _____.  If I have _____ instead of _____ that will be ok, right?  Well, since I had _____...  You get the picture.  It's like a game of tug-o-war but no one wins.

Was I so hungry today because I had such a bad headache yesterday and for a good portion of the school day today?  Was I so hungry today because today is the third day of my "diet" and  my body is trying to adjust/detox?  Was I so hungry today because I got up with my sick son at 4:00 am and I was just tired all day and thought that it was hunger?  Was I so hungry today because God has given me hunger so that I can turn to Him so that He will remove it?

I am looking forward to sleeping because I am tired AND I just want for the kitchen to officially close.  I don't know when the last time was that I got up in the night to eat something but it sure as heck isn't going to be tonight...God willing!  Wink.  Wink.

Back In The Saddle Again...

After taking some time off of ye olde diet, it is time to restart.  The IQ lowering giant orange flower in my hair cannot hide the fact that I need to seriously turn the yo-yo strings back over to my husband, the Diet Police.  And so, insert tongue into cheek and sing along with Gene Autry...

I'm back in the saddle again
Out where my husband's no friend
Where the eggs, almonds, and jerky are my feed
And the lowly flax seed
Back in the saddle again

Munching the sweets no more
Totin' a face like Eeyore
Where you log steps every night
And the only Fit Bit is right
Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Brain games to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
The less I weigh
Back in the saddle again

Breakfast:

20 almonds

Coffee with creamer

Mid-Morning Snack:

Coffee with creamer

Lunch:

Egg whites with Babybel cheese

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Whole wheat wrap

Orange

Dinner:

Protein shake with almond milk, flax seed, frozen fruit, and peanut butter

Although I administered the first session of the FCAT today, I sauntered around the classroom rather than walking a faster paced lap.  My Fit Bit said that I had logged almost 9,000 steps by 4:00.  The daily goal is to do 10,000 steps a day, but my personal goal is to achieve 10,000 steps by the time I get home from work.  Since we are testing this week, I'm wearing my saddle shoes which makes for quiet steps (and no high heels=no excuses for not stepping). 

 And so, I am officially setting these mini goals for this week:

1.  Stick with my "diet".

2.  Log at least 10,000 steps by 3:30 pm.

Lego Likenesses

At times, it is hard to tell which is the Lego...

  

                                                                     

      

                                          

                                                 

                           

Lego Land Day 2

On our second day at Lego Land, we arrived about 20 minutes early.  It turns out that they had opened the park at 8:30 instead of 9:00.  So, we were not actually early, but nevertheless the lines were nonexistent.  The kids ran through (literally through the horizontal bars) as fast as they could to get back on the ride.  No waiting at all, except for just waiting for their own bodies.  The ride operator was ready to start the ride as soon as they went through the perfunctory process.  So, needless to say, arrive early if riding rides is a priority.

The jungle safari ride had a sixty minute wait the day before.  For these little explorers, nothing.  They rode this one about four times in a row.

Impala

Meercats

Ostrich and giraffe

Lion over Nicholas' shoulder

Zebra

The day before, the kids stood in this boat ride line for about forty five minutes (twice!).  Today, nothin'.  Nicholas and I were in one boat and Summer and Shawn in the one in front of ours.  Since the kids were familiar with this ride, they loved driving us by the "surprise" water sprinklers.  

Private school is really paying off!

Watching Summer drive away.

Nicholas rammed them.

Summer is freakishly grown up!

Yesterday we got to this ride just as they closed it.  Today, we got there just as they opened it.  The kids rode this one about six times!  

The grown ups were running out of steam and decided that 12:00 until 6:00 on Thursday PLUS 8:40 until 12:00 was enough.  We started to make our way to the front of the park, did a little shopping, and rode the final ride of the day.

The "Island in the Sky" was the final ride for us.  Again, no wait.  We rode it twice.  This ride has been at the park for about thirty years.  Now, Lego colors but still a fun 150 foot look around.

Playing Hooky

I couldn't resist any longer...  I took two personal days and went with my family to Lego Land!  Each day during my kid's Spring Break I went to work while my kids and my husband did all kinds of fun things without me.  This is one of the cruelest things about being a teacher at a school that is different from the one my kids attend.  Being a Catholic school, my kids' Spring Break followed Easter whereas my public school Spring Break was almost a month ago! So, I decided that I was taking two personal days to go with my family to Lego Land.  (As a Christmas present, my folks got us a year pass to Lego Land and we had yet to go.)

Nicholas could hardly contain himself!  He couldn't bear to walk with us...he HAD to run/walk ahead.  

The "Welcome" sign made of Legos.

Teachers get in free but not without having to jump through a number of hoops.  I needed a copy of my current teaching certificate, a pay check stub, and my work ID.  But, once all of the paper work was out of the way, my card looks like every other card.

After scanning their brand new ID's and walking through the gate.

The more you scream, the faster you go!

Junior Fire Fighters

The famous Banyan tree, brought to this site 75 years ago in a wheel barrow!

On a family RV trip to Florida from Kentucky (in the late 1970's), we visited Cypress Gardens.  At the young age of 7 or 8, I fell in love with the belles and wanted to be one! Reminder:  The Disney Princess phenomenon had yet to be invented in the 70's.   Walking through the updated Garden, I was so tickled that they still had those lovely ladies...but made from Lego pieces.  Good enough for me.  It is a little sad that they don't have any real human belles, but I was still shyly excited to get my picture taken with one.

I asked a stranger to take my picture.  I'm sure the gal thought I was a little insane, posing for a picture with a Lego belle at age 42!

After walking over 12,500 steps in the only the park, I was beat!  A shabby Best Western offered a crummy room, closed restaurant, and a dank bar with the best Bud Light Lime I ever had!  Since I'm a bit of a diva, I traveled with my own Lily Pulitzer drink coozie.  (Thanks to my mom for hooking me up with any awesome designer birthday coozie that happens to have a set of matching sticky notes.)

We'll be ba-a-a-ck!

(Tomorrow)

Couch Prequel

This blog is "written" by my mom.  She gathered up these ancient pictures that featured "the couch" and as she talked through each photo, I typed what she said.  Any interruptions in conversation are noted by brackets.  The blurb about the photo is above the picture.

Mom refers to my mom's mom, Edith, who died four years before I was born.  Pop refers to my mom's dad, Walter.  Hank is my mom's oldest brother and Tommy is my mom's middle brother.  My mom was the baby and only girl of the family.  When my mom speaks of her former houses, she refers to them by the street name.

Oh my...oh dear.  That was in 1944 and I would have been six.  Oh dear me!  That was in a photograph's studio - not our house.  That's the best we could look.  I was six.  Hank was sixteen.  He (Hank) was in prep school and was probably not going to be around.  So, mom wanted to have these photos made.  The prep school was Andover, where Pop also went...before they went to Princeton.

That was at our house... Marcia Ave. in Hamilton, Ohio.  Hamilton was the birth place of my father, my mother, myself, Cindy, and you... and this couch.  The couch was custom made for my father because he was 6'3" (as evidenced by the long legs in the photo.)  This couch was made in 1928 or maybe '27.  It had a slipcover on it, that is why the skirt was so short.  It wasn't made short, but probably shrank in the wash.  It stood in front of the window in this picture.  It stood in one of two places, there - in front of the window or opposite, which would have been next to the fireplace.  The green wool woven afghan was always folded at the end of the couch but it was often used by anyone who was chilly and needed to warm up.  My mother would sit on the end of the couch and stretch her leg out.  She had phlebitis which would be aggravated when she was cold.  She often just draped it over her leg.  We didn't wrap it around our shoulders.  My father always wore those same skinny black socks with garters.  [At this point in the "interview" I commented that Grandpa always wore dressy clothes.  I never remember seeing him in shorts or a bathing suit.]  He used to work in the yard and liked pruning.  He wore Bermudas and a golf shirts when he was working in the yard or playing golf. 

Oh gosh...let me have a better look.  There's the afghan under Pop's left arm.  The couch has a new slip cover without a short skirt.  It must have been at Christmas time.  I think this was after my eye accident.  I remember those cat eye glasses.  At Christmas, I was in the hospital in the ninth grade.  So, in this picture I must have been in about the 10th grade.  This was still at Marcia Ave.  This is the couch in its alternate location, perpendicular to the fireplace and parallel to the piano niche.  On the table are Christmas wrappings.  This would have been in the afternoon because Pop had his suit on and went to church.  I probably took off my dress and put on my jeans and  sweat shirt.  We were locking arms.  That was quite a lot of affection.  He wasn't a touchy feely person so, putting his arm through my arm was a big step.  He used to dig around in my ears, searching for mashed potatoes.  He used to call me Lizziebelle when he was feeling affectionate.  He called his own father Henry.  He called his mother...gee I can't remember.  He never called her mother, I think he called her Lizzy.

There was a piano.  My mother played - some what.  I took piano lessons but quit in the sixth grade.  Piano lessons were not very much fun in those days.  

Oh, this was the couch when we moved to our first apartment, Park Ave in Hamilton. I begged for the couch from my parents.  I loved it so!  It was the most comfortable couch in the world.  I loved the style and we had a new slipcover custom made for it.  That was the first decorating decision I made in my married life...I chose the fabric.  The fabric on the couch was blue and cream cotton.  This was our living room.  We didn't have a TV and this was all we had in that room.  The desk was on the opposite wall.  

From there it moved with us.  First, College Corner, Ohio.  Then, Dayton, Ohio.  Then, Oxford, Ohio and then we went to Cherrywood Dr. in Ft. Mitchell, Ky.  We moved there in August, 1970.  In this picture, you were in Brownies; you must have been about in second grade.  This would have been 1977 or '78.  Yet another slip cover on the couch.  I wanted white, red, and blue.  A decorator helped decorate that room.  This was it's second slip cover when I owned it.  Every now and then my mom would have the couch reupholstered.  She'd have it retied and the springs redone.  After many years in Ft. Mitchell, I also had it reupholstered. 

[See my previous post about "The Giving Couch" and my relationship with the couch.]

Oh, that's when it was living here, in Tampa.  Summer is holding Morgan.  Summer would have been about five in this picture.  We had it done with new upholstery which was done when it moved to Riverside Dr., Kentucky.  

[At this point my husband chimed in with:  I'm glad you didn't make me drive that couch to Vero.]  Nick said that I could have the couch back again 500 times.  I seriously thought about it.  The couch means more to me that anyone else.  Hopefully someone will recognize that it had value.  It had a long and happy life with our family and hopefully some needy person will put it in their family room and put a throw over it.

Well, I felt like that Giving Tree/Couch was sad even though the stump became a seat for someone.  Maybe the couch will go to a new house and someone will be enterprising enough to restuff the cushions.  I guess I'l  never know.  Just as well.  

Not Your Typical Guilty Pleasure

After an off the wagon dinner at Your Pie my husband said that he and the kids were going to go visit Pop Pop.  Since the kids don't have school due to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and then are off school the following week for Spring Break, they were looking for something special to do on a Wednesday night.  At first I was a little sad that I was going to be going home alone...like I was punished in a way because I work for the public school system that doesn't "do" Holy Week.  

Once I got home, fed the dog, and let her out, I was done with my house chores.  Granted:  I could put the dishes in the sink in the dishwasher, change the beds and clean the bathroom in the guest room, tidy up in preparation for our couch delivery tomorrow...but no.  I decided to change out of my school teacher clothes and just go right into my pajamas.  Then, I made the most lovely decadent selfish decision!  I am currently plopped on my bed, two pillows under my head, two pillows under my knees, lap desk and laptop on my lap, remote to my right...watching the DVR.  The cherry on top is that I am watching last weekend's Martinsville NASCAR race.  "The Paperclip" is one of my very most favorite race tracks.

Fast forwarding through the commercials, I am not even going to feel guilty about this.  I even watched the actual race live and I know who the winner is but I'm still watching it, excited.  This type of racing is so fun to watch.  They bump and skid around like amateurs but I love this track.  "Boogity!  Boogity!  Boogity!  Let's go racin' boys!"  And how fun that Ryan Newman will be the winner!  He hasn't won a race in forever!  I get to root for him all the while knowing that he's the winner.  I know that the commentators will not be focused on "The Outback Car" but I know who the winner is and what to watch for.

I'll probably fall asleep before the race ends.  We joke that NASCAR is NAP-CAR but there is something just so wonderful about being in bed, listening to Chris Myers and DW.  It's like an old friend.  I may go weeks without watching, but there NASCAR is when I need it.  Part soap opera, part childhood memory, part hick...  Not your typical guilty pleasure on a "school night".

Oh the shame...

After taking the weekend off of my diet:

Friday evening:  Jimmy Buffet concert with beverages, snacks, and a midnight trip to The Taco Bus. http://www.taco-bus.com/ 

It was kind of like a dinner and a show.  There was a couple behind us that was fighting so loudly that they literally emptied the restaurant of patrons (except us).  The volume on the radio was even turned down in an attempt to get them to speak more quietly but that didn't work.  Shawn and I just sat there thinking that we hope that we are raising kids who won't turn into these types of people, or partner themselves with these types of people.  We hope and pray that we are raising a daughter who has enough self respect to walk away (and stay away the first time and not come back three more times like the above mentioned girl).  And, we hope that we are raising a son who would have enough class to not argue with his girlfriend in public and continue to stuff his mouth while ignoring his girlfriend and talking to his buddy across the table.  {Stepping down from my soap box.}

Saturday:  Various things to soak up the beverages from the night before...and a trip to The Taco Bus. http://www.taco-bus.com/

Our kids stayed up late to watch the Kids Choice Awards.  They voted online and scanned the crowd and credits for their cousin who is a producer for Nickelodeon.  As a surprise, we announced that the kids were to get dressed because we were going downtown to the Taco Bus at 11:30 pm.  They were so excited...until they got their food and realized that this ain't no Taco Bell taco.  Oh well.  It was fun anyway.  Shawn and I patted ourselves on the back for being so "cool".

Sunday:  I skipped the family trifecta trip to The Taco Bus (My husband, kids, friend, and his kids seriously went again!) but I had half of the left over burrito from the night before.  I figured that was better than going AGAIN.  However...to chase the lingering onion and Mexican spices, I had a few spoons mixed half and half with peanut butter and chocolate cake frosting - like a lazy version of a Buckeye.

It's time to saddle up and get myself back on the wagon.
Egg whites with cheese, almonds, blackberries, chocolate protein flax seed almond milk shake (in the Margarita Maker), Brussel sprouts, edamame, dark chocolate, and a glass of red wine.

Although I was back to wearing my regular teacher clothes and heels, I did manage to slip into my flip flops in my classroom and logged about 10,000 steps before dismissal.

I think I'll wait until Wednesday to weigh in.