Along those same lines...

I am terrified that something will happen to Thomas. He starts convoy duty the second week of August. He'll be the damn GUNNER.

I know some of you may think that I'm crazy (wait, that part goes without saying) for getting so involved with Thomas, even though we haven't met yet. But please know this: Thomas and I grow closer every day, and even if things don't work out romantically (although I hope they do), he means the world to me. I realized, not that long ago, that I would give my life in a HEARTBEAT if it would guarantee that Thomas would come home safely.

We received some good news recently: he MIGHT be home by Thanksgiving, a full month earlier than we anticipated. Even so, that's 4 long months away. PLEASE, everyone, I beg you to keep Thomas in your thoughts and prayers.

Truly heartbreaking.

On July 25, a particular soldier was submitted to Soldiers' Angels for adoption. Two days later, he was killed. He was 21. This was the message that we received with his adoption submission:

THIS SOLDIER HAS BEEN THRU A LOT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS AND CAN REALLY USE SOME MAJOR ANGEL SUPPORT. TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIM.

So now, I send that same message up to God and all of His Angels:

This soldier has been through a lot in the last couple of months and can really use some major Angel support. Please, Lord, watch over Spc. Edward Myers--and all of our fallen heroes. Amen.

My kids.

I got to see my kids (the S's) today! Mrs. S. got called into work early and had to bring the kids with her for a few hours until Mr. S. could pick them up. (They should really consider getting a nanny.) ;)

Anyway, I heard they were in the building so I snuck up behind them in the break/lunch room. "Supernanny!!" Madison cried and flung her arms around my waist. Noah just looked at me, grinning. "You WORK here?" he kept asking. (His whole frame of reference was screwed up. Supernanny was supposed to be at THEIR house, in sweats and a tshirt, not at Mommy's work in dressy clothes, for Pete's sake! It was craziness!)

I hung out with them for a while before going back to work (I snagged one of their fries, telling them that my new job was French Fry Tester. After chewing thoughtfully for a few moments, I pronounced their fries "okay to eat." They just sat there giggling. "You're so funny, Supernanny!!" Luc announced, cracking everybody else up.

Anyway, as no less than 20 people heard them calling me Supernanny, I'm pretty sure that I'll have a new nickname around the office. (Which is a step up from my current one, Tramp. Yup, I was there for about 4 days before I got nailed with that one.)

I really, really miss those kids.

Blast from the Past

I went to my high school reunion last weekend. Was it my 5 year, my 10 year, you ask? No, I’m 8 years out of high school (Let’s Go West High’97!). My school, Norman County West High (Go Panthers!), in northern MN was so small (my class had 24 kids, the whole school grades 7-12 had about 200 kids) that every 5 years they have an “All School Reunion” where everyone who ever went to school there is invited back. I swear- they had 3 people from the class of 1933 stand up for a round of applause.

So here I am, 8 years out of high school, graduated from college, real job, house, just married to the best man in the world- why not go back and brag and see how much better I am than everyone else? Just kidding, just kidding!! I keep in contact with 2 good friends from high school and loosely with maybe a half dozen more, so I wondered what happened to everybody else.

I went, I saw, I conquered! OK, actually, I went, chatted with the others that showed up, looked at the old year book and prophecy, gossiped about the people who weren’t there, drank like the old days, saw a bunch of people I didn’t know, walked around town, checked out the school. The most fun was looking at the yearbook with my classmates and catching up. The least fun was the hangover Sunday morning. ;)

I’m glad I went. I’m glad my hubby came with. I’m glad I got to talk to and see so many folks. I had a good time. Will I go again? Dunno. I think now I’ve been there, done that.

What are your thoughts on reunions?

The Much Awaited Vacation Post

This is gonna be long. But you guys asked for it...

As some of you know, John came home on the 14th and told me that he was taking the following week off work and that his parents were watching Brent for us on Mon, Tues and Wed. He told ME, indecisive ME, to decide where we were gonna go for our three gloriously free days. What a sweet surprise, no?

I chose Traverse City (for those non-Michiganders, it's about as NW as you can get in the Lower Peninsula of MI). We go there quite often, and we both love it up there. I was tempted to pick somewhere different, but with only three days to plan, I went with the familiar.

We got up Monday morning and drove the three hours to the in-laws. As soon as we walked in, Brent was asking Grandpa to turn on the air. They have no AC; only breeze from the lake, which was nonexistent that day. Brent's hair was soaked with sweat after being there for about 20 minutes. Time for us to get the hell out of there and for Grandma and Grandpa to throw him in the lake :-) He didn't want us to go, and when we got in the van, he started crying. We found out later that after we were gone, he threw himself on the ground and cried for a few minutes. He's just a teensy bit dramatic.

We got up to Traverse City around 7. We checked into THE most wonderful hotel room (aside from Cancun) at The Cherry Tree Inn and Suites( http://www.cherrytreeinn.com). We were on the first floor, and had French doors that opened up to a patio right on the water. About 5 steps out our door and down some stairs and we were on the beach. The breeze was heavenly.

So we got settled and freshened up for dinner at Boone's Long Lake Inn (http://www.booneslli.com). I wish they had pictures of the food on the site, cuz you just have no idea! We go there every time we're in Traverse; the food is SO GOOD and the portions are insane. It's very lodge-y inside, exposed wood beams and etc. If you're ever up in that area, you've GOT to experience the love that is Boone's :-)

After dinner, we ventured to a little... um... sex toy shop. While we've each been to them separately, we've never been in one together, so that was fun. We then went back to the hotel to use our purchases, which I will not go into further detail about (Deb, if you read this, please don't ever mention it to me, lest I throw up. Thank you).

We got up Tuesday morning and sat outside for a little bit. The weather was PERFECT-- not a cloud in the sky, low 70's, breezy... incredible. We went to a local place called Mabel's for breakfast. Again, excellent food. I got the most wonderful creation-- hashbrowns FILLED with tomatoes, onions, peppers, sour cream and cheese. Not like stirred up together, but like... a jelly donut or something. I don't know how they did it, but it was so good. John got "the best omelet he's ever had".

After breakfast, we went miniature golfing, then to a movie. We saw The Wedding Crashers. If you have not seen this movie, stop reading and go now. GO! It was the funniest movie I have seen in a really long time and I developed a huge crush on Vince Vaughn who is just a big hunk of sexiness. The movie was so good that I actually went to see it again with my sister last weekend. The movie theater is in the mall, so we walked the mall, looking for something to get Brent. I also ended up getting a few things for my soldier :-)

We took a long drive up the coast (is it still called a coast when it's a lake rather than ocean?), up into Leelanau. We did not go to the casino (or any other ones up there) cuz it just looked too small and... I don't know. We were spoiled by Vegas, I guess. Later that night, we had dinner at http://www.redmesagrill.com/redmesa.asp. The best Mexican food we've both ever had. Looks like they're only up in Northern Michigan, but again-- if you're ever up there, you must go to Red Mesa Grill! Since we'd never been there, we wanted to try a variety of things, so John ordered the Fredrico Platter and I the Maria Special. Obviously way more food than we could ever eat, but I'm glad we did that cuz we got to try so many different things. And lemme tell ya-- you've not had a tostada until you've had one from this place. The "shell" is made from Mayan Fry Bread. It was like a quarter-inch thick and so full of corn flavor... it was so good. All of the meat was really juicy and tender... and I can't forget to mention the Tart Cherry Margarita I downed in about 3 minutes. YUM! *Quick little history lesson for those unfamiliar with this area-- 3/4 of the tart cherries in the nation and over one tenth of the sweet cherries are grown in Michigan and Traverse City has an annual Cherry Festival, which we missed by a week. We did buy lots of sweet cherries, though, and like the rednecks that we are, used a Target bag to spit the pits into while driving. Yeah, baby!*

That's essentially it. Wednesday we mosied our way back down to reality and to the in-laws. It was very relaxing and it recharged our batteries. LOL. Figuratively and literally, I guess ;-) Came home Thursday afternoon, took Brent to the fair on Friday, I hung out with my sister on Sunday. End of vacation :-( LOL. I feel like all I talked about was food! Of course, I guess the alternative is sex, and I'm not going there with ya'll.

But today John got to go to the Buick Open in Grand Blanc and actually TALKED to Mark O'Meara. And unlike at the Ryder Cup, he was able to get really close to the players; he said he was standing about 10 ft from Tiger on his last hole and got to watch him crush his drive, which is so incredible in real life that it gave him chills. Tiger is beautiful. That's about the extent of MY interest in golf, so this will conclude my post. Finally.

Testing, testing...
If this works, I'll post about my vacation after the kid goes to bed :-)

This is just all kinds of wrong.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050726/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle

Opening sentence: "With the countdown entering its final hours and a fuel gauge problem still unexplained, NASA said it is prepared to bend its long-standing safety rules to launch the shuttle Tuesday on the first flight since Columbia's doomed mission 2 1/2 years ago."

Riiiiight. Considering that their last shuttle CRASHED, you would think that this would be the time to be EXTRA cautious, not LESS so.

The article goes on to state that Columbia's crash "was blamed, in part, on NASA's 'broken safety culture,' or a tendency to downplay risks."

GET OUTTA TOWN. NASA has a history of downplaying risks?? ("Hmmm.....not sure why this darned fuel gauge still ain't workin, but let's send 'er up anyway, boys, whaddya say?")

"We have addressed everything we know on the shuttle that can go wrong that we have the technology to fix," said one NASA official. ("But the shit we DON'T know how to fix....yeah, all that's still broke.")

And now, allow me to skip down to the closing paragraph: "If we were to lose another shuttle, I think obviously the shuttle program would be out of business and the United States would be years away from putting another crew of people in space," he said. "The initiation of
President Bush's call to return the U.S. to the moon and go to Mars would be delayed. And of course — of course, of course, of course — seven people would be killed. So there's a lot riding on this launch." (Translation: "It would really hurt our program if we lose another shuttle. Oh yeah, and 7 people would die, too.")

Seriously, am I missing something here? Is this an Armegeddon-type situation, where the fate of mankind depends on this launch happening tomorrow? I know that they only have until the beginning of August to fly to the space station "on a 12-day supply and repair mission" and that this is their last chance to launch before they miss their window of opportunity...I must be missing some crucial bit of info, however, that would justify risking the lives of these astronauts. Someone enlighten me, please.

It's freakin' hot.

I'm writing this at 1 am. I've been waiting for it to cool off so that I can go for my walk (earlier today, we had a "feels like" temp of 103), but even now, it still "feels like" 95 in metro Detroit, according to weather.com. What the HELL. I'm going to have to go walk anyway (yes, at 1 in the morning--my work schedule is noon to 7 pm, so the rest of my days and nights are thrown off accordingly)--but it's going to be pretty unpleasant. I'll be lucky if I can get in 30 minutes.

Welcome home, JD!!

In early December, I posted that someone very important to me was deploying to Iraq. Well, I am thrilled to announce that JD returned home in June. I actually didn't post about it then because we were going through one of our not-talking phases (we have a very love-hate relationship; I consider him to be a very good friend and he means the world to me--but yet, he can just get under my skin and aggravate me like no one else. I chalk it up to sexual tension). Anyway, we talked on the phone for about half an hour tonight and it was so, so good to hear his voice and joke around with him again. He's in great spirits and I'm SO HAPPY that he's home--especially since he's a "bomb guy" in the Army, so he was in a considerable amount of danger.

Really, today has been a great day.

Updated stats.

I went back to the Scale of Death at the mall today, and it says I've lost 6 pounds since the last time I was there.

Bust: 42 (still. of course.)
Waist: 34
Hips: 38

So, since I started tracking my measurements, I've already lost 2 inches in my waist and 1 in my hips. Plus the 6 pounds (which means I've already passed my monthly goal of 5 lbs for July--so anything more in the next week or so is just gravy...mmmm, gravy. That sounds good).

I'm happy.

Boys & Girls

I know it's been a while since I posted because I really feel like this is Jen's blog but I need your insights into this one:

Can straight men and women be friends?

It seems like an easy question, but maybe it's not...

It's me!

Thanks to Missy for doing a great job with my hair. (That's about the only positive thing I can say about my appearance.)

I Saw a Soldier Today.

I wrote this poem after seeing a soldier (Reserves or National Guard, I would have to guess) this weekend.

I saw a soldier today
He’d stopped to get some gas
I was hesitant to approach him
But I couldn’t let the moment pass

He was in his uniform
Standing tall and proud
I walked over to him
To say the words out loud

I worked up my courage
And looked him in the eye
“Thank you,” I said quietly
And tried my hardest not to cry

He looked a bit surprised
But I could tell my words meant a lot
“You’re welcome,” he replied with a smile
And it was the best reward I ever got

I had so much more to say
But I guess my simple thanks will have to do
Thank God there are heroes like him
Fighting for the red, white and blue

Update: I don't know if I measured incorrectly the first time or if this whole eating right and exercising thing is actually working, but my waist is now coming in at a 35.

Starting stats.

As promised, here are the numbers I'm working with. (And actually...my waist measurement HAS gone down since I started a month ago. In fact, there is now actually a difference between my waist and hip measurement. As friends and family can attest, even when I was thin, I never really had a dip in my waist; I just went straight down. So the fact that there's a differential actually thrills me. I keep putting my hand on my side and feeling that inner curvature.)

Okay, enough stalling.

Bust: 42
Waist: 36 (and remember, that's actually smaller than it was. It used to be, like, 105)
Hips: 39

My main concern and focus, obviously, is that middle number.

So there we go. I'm putting them out there for the world to see. Be kind.

We'll see how much we can get those numbers to change in the next few months.

*Theme From Rocky*

(Imagine "Gonna Fly Now" playing on this site in an SoR-type manner.)

Oh, it's ON.

If my body wants to fight me, I'll just fight back harder. I'll walk longer. I'll eat better.

I have the kind of motivation and inspiration to get this weight off that I have NEVER HAD in my life.

Mark my words: Come December, I WILL be down to the 140s.

From http://www.inspirationalwriting.info/rockytheme.htm:

This is about personal success, personal power. It isn't even really about competition - it is you outdoing yourself. It is you being in your prime, doing what you do in such a perfect way. That's what it is about.

And forever more, when you do something of great importance, when you work and work for that goal, and you finally get there... what better way to express that feeling than to listen to the Theme from Rocky! Raise your hands in the air like a champion, for you have conquered!

Coming soon: my starting measurements. (Yes, I'm putting them up here for the world to see, and I'll be posting updated stats once a month. I'M DONE FUCKING AROUND.)

BRING IT.

Give me the Oreos and pass the remote.

I have been working out very regularly for the last 6 weeks or so; in fact, this past week was my best ever (every day except Saturday, 30-40 minutes at a time, except for Tae Bo Monday). And while I'm not on a diet (because I won't be able to stick to it long term, so I'd rather make "life style changes"), I'm trying to make better choices, eat less (although admittedly, I'm not writing anything down) and not eat late at night anymore. But EVEN SO, I'm DEFINITELY eating better and less than I was before--and exercising WAY MORE--so the (@*@&^@^ scale should be going down, not up!!

Yes, that's right. I weighed myself at the mall today....AND I GAINED A *#&#^^@*@* POUND. (Although, without going into too much detail, RENEE, I might be carrying around extra "girl weight" at the moment, as I just, um, got my visitor this morning. And I'm not sure how long after your visitor's arrival you continue to carry around that "girl weight." So I HOPE TO HELL that that's part of it, too.) So I'm going back to eating cookies and sitting on the couch. What the hell am I busting my ass for? Seriously, I could cry, I feel so....dejected. I have something VERY IMPORTANT in December that I'm trying to lose weight for (details to follow) and to have worked THIS HARD for 6 weeks and have made NEGATIVE progress just makes me want to give up. Now what?

Happy trails to our boys.

Here's wishing Rob and J a safe trip to sunny Cali. I know they'll have a great time; I just hope that they fulfill their vow to occasionally update the SoR. It'll be a long week without them, but we'll have to be strong and persevere.

Have fun, guys--and don't forget the protection (sun protection, of course). ;)

Yee-haw, mon.

What could I possibly add to make this even funnier?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/willie_nelson_reggae

Rock star.

Rob sent me a video of himself playing the guitar. It was really good!! Girls, I tried to email it to you but it was too big (I waited for 45 minutes and it STILL wasn't done attaching--and then my computer froze). Rob was "tipsy" during the recording, but I couldn't tell at all. Really, I'm impressed.

In other news, SOMEONE forgot to take her Vitamin E this month. I am DYING here, ladies.

Happy Birthday, Eric!

Eric is now 26 (and he remains one of the very few YOUNGER men I've dated in my time, might I add.)

Happy birthday, E...and no, I'm not giving you "that" for your birthday. Freak.

Actually, now that I think about it....next to the one I'm currently living with, Eric is the only ex, period, that I still talk to these days. Let's take a trip back in time, shall we? It was the summer of 19....something. Maybe 2000. Definitely post-college (for me, anyway). We only dated for a few months (actually, "dated" is kind of a euphemism, hee hee). We ended on relatively friendly terms (being younger, he wasn't in a "relationship" frame of mind) and, although we occasionally fall out of touch, we always end up back in contact again.

...Where was I going with this? I guess the point I intended to make is that, for ex-boyfriends, Eric's pretty damn cool. He's not a bad friend, either.

So like I was saying....Happy Birthday, E.

Told you I was shy.

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core.
You often find yourself on the outside looking in.
Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works.
You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Jen's Book Club, part deaux.

I haven't been able to get into Buck's The Good Earth yet (granted, I only gave it about 3 sentences, but hey, I'm merciless like that). I DID read her Portrait of a Marriage and I thought it was great. Very mid-century Nicholas Sparks (I know that some people will cringe at the comparison, though).

I plan to move onto Orwell next, probably 1984.

My 4th of July.

I celebrated the 4th on Saturday by going to Laura and Jake's house (which is by the Holy Land, aka Michigan International Speedway). It was a lovely evening, complete with grilling, a bonfire and illegal fireworks from Indiana. Oh, and there may have been some drinking.

The best part was when Jake finally agreed to let me light some of the fireworks (stupid, stupid boy). I don't know if I did something wrong or if I just had a weird one, but instead of shooting straight up into the air, it took off to the side--right towards poor Jake, who was "supervising" me. LOL--I don't think Jake, a former Marine, has "hit the deck" that quickly since Basic.

Not too long after that, I was holding a Roman Candle when I heard Jake saying something to me. I couldn't hear him, so I turned towards him and the others who were sitting with him by the bonfire--with the Roman Candle still firing, mind you--to say, "What, Jake?" I'll tell you what: when a situation requires it, drunk people can move pretty fast. (As it turns out, he was saying, "Hold it AWAY from your body!")

I wasn't allowed to do any more fireworks after that....it was still a fun night, though.

Happy 4th of July!

Contact Lens Nazi.

Remember the now-infamous Soup Nazi from Seinfeld ("No soup for you!")? Well, I just met his optomologist counterpart. At my eye appointment yesterday, the doctor examined me and talked to me for a while; then he clicks his pen, closes the file and says, "Well, I'm not giving you contacts today."

Huh. I've never been refused contacts before. (And I felt strangely desperate, like I was trying to score some presciption drugs and failed or something.) As it turns out, he made a pretty persuasive argument:

1) I went in there thinking it would be cheaper to get contacts ($20 or so a box, vs. $100-200 for a new pair of glasses). However, I was going to keep my current pair of glasses (with my current old-ass prescription) and alternate between my new, updated contacts and my older, less effective glasses. This is the primariy reason why contacts were a no go--he said that going back and forth between the two prescriptions would wreak havoc on my eyes. He said that he'd rather have my new, updated prescription in glasses that I would wear all of the time instead of contacts that I would wear 8-10 hours a day, mostly at work. And regarding the whole "contacts are cheaper" argument...

2) Not, as it turns out, for me. SINCE NOTHING ABOUT ME IS NORMAL, of COURSE the surface of my eye is irregularly shaped. Due to the severity of my astigmatism, I would actually need customized contacts--so in this situation, glasses are actually cheaper.

To make a long story short (something I suck at as bady as Renee does)...the doctor told me to get glasses now, and if I still want contacts I can come back and get those later. But he'd rather have me seeing well ALL of the time with one prescription than seeing well PART of the time and going between two prescriptions.

Harumpf.

PS--my eyesight is so bad that at one point, while asking me to read the Letter Chart with my right eye, he actually said to me, "Your eye IS open, right?", since I failed the test so miserably. And later, during the Depth Perception test, he showed me a series of circles with a dot inside each one. He said that in each group of 4, I was supposed to tell him which one looked different. I said, "Oh, one is supposed to look different?" to which he replied, "Oh, geez." (I guess one was designed to have a 3-D effect or something--but they ALL looked 2-D to me.) He said, "Don't feel bad, they do get harder the further you go," to which I observed that we were still on #1.