H1N1 Comes to the Buchanan Household

Uggg . . . H1N1 . . . Swine Flu . . . whatever you want to call it . . . it came to visit our house last week. Kayla went to bed feeling fine . . . and woke up the next morning with a temperature of 102 and a cough. My mommy insticts just KNEW it was H1N1 and I was right. We headed straight for urgent care and a couple hours later walked out with prescriptions (for all of us) for Tamiflu. The good news is the Swine Flu was the EASIEST flu I ever encountered, at least for us. Had it not been for the swab test at the Urgent Care . . I would have never believed Kayla had more than a mild cold. Kayla was thrilled to be home from school and even more thrilled when I told her that now she would not require the H1N1 vaccination.

In total, I was off work for 9 straight days. It was a short week because of Thanksgiving so with the additional 2 days off for sickness and a few weekends in there, it turned into a mini vacation. Didn't realize exactly how much I needed a break until I came back to work today. I feel refreshed!!

Let's see . . . what has Miss Kayla been up to lately. Right now she is so exacted about going to see Hensley (Janeen's daughter) this weekend. Hensley's birthday party is on Saturday so we're heading down Friday night. Janeen and I always have a great time together. There's never a lapse in conversation. Kayla and Hensley take off and do their own thing. They remind me so much of Janeen and I as little girls.

Kayla will be heading back to school tomorrow. She was out of school again today for a Professional Day. She has been LOVING being home so much. Can't say I blame her. She has spent most days working on her "crafts". She is absolutely obsessed with printing stuff off the computer. She has printed tons of coloring sheets. In fact, she made a whole binder of coloring sheets to give to Hensley. I'm glad she enjoys doing stuff besides watching TV and playing video games. I like that she wants to use her imagination. She gets real excited about the "Diji"(sp?) medals that she finds on the "Special Agent Oso" website. You should see her face light up when she finds a new one.

Ok . . so this whole post is kind of random but I guess that's just how I feel today.

I'm reading in my mind . . .

That's what Kayla says when she reading to herself. Last night on the way to dance, she was reading the library book she checked out from the school library. I glanced in the rear view mirror and saw her lips moving . . . but no sound . . . which is unusual since Kayla tends to read everything out loud. So . . I asked her . . . "Are you reading to yourself?" . . . and she said, "No! I'm reading in my mind!"

I just thought that was too cute.

So . . Kayla's Fall dance program was tonight. It was basically a quick performance they did for the parents during the last 30 minutes of class time. They all did great. However, I'm pretty sure Kayla is NOT going to be a professional ballerina when she grows up. Sweet girl tries so very hard but she is NOT graceful at all. Think I'll put her in a hip-hop class next year!

This morning, she was awake but still in bed when I left for work. Daddy is taking her to school so I got off to an early start. She stopped me about 20 times before I actually left wanting "just one more" hug and kiss. She's got some STINKY morning breath! But, I always oblige because I know one day I'll miss those hugs and "sugars". One day she'll be embarrassed when I want to give a hug and kiss before she leaves for school. She'll roll her eyes at me and walk out the door . . . or get in her car and drive off! I am so amazed each day at how fast the time has gone.

It's been almost 8 years since I found out I was pregnant with her (February 1st to be exact!). I remember wondering what she would look like . . . how she would sound . . . what she would like . . . what she would dislike . . . would she be shy or outgoing . . and the list goes on. I wondered what she would be like at the age she is now and that time just seemed so far away. Now it's here . . and I now it's just a blink of an eye before she'll be a grown woman. It's bittersweet.

Kayla and the Bunnies . .

Funny story . . . today Kayla and I were on our way to the school and a rabbit scurried across the road in front of us. I slowed down so Kayla could see him and we talked about what the bunny might be doing. She told me she thought it might be a baby looking for his Momma. I told her I thought it might be a Momma looking for food for her babies. That got her thinking.

You see . . . a few years ago we had this bunny that would show up in our yard from time to time. I think he was a bunny who was displaced when they started developing the area behind our house. Anyway, Kayla would get such a kick out of this bunny. We haven't seen him in some time. So, Kayla told me this morning that we need to start putting a carrot out in the yard so the bunny will come back. Of course, I know we're more likely to end up with racoons and rodents than bunnies . . . but in her sweet, innocent, 7-year-old mind . . . all it takes to bring back the bunny is a carrot in the yard.

I adore her.

I'm going to change subjects for a moment . . .

The other day while perusing a Caringbridge site for a friend's baby (Cash Caywood) who has a dreadful type of cancer, I stumbled across the email address of one of my closest friends from my days in Ringwood. Her name is Janeen Scheurer (Fritzler now) and we were the best of buddies while growing up. She lived right down the road from me. I have so many memories with her . . . staying overnight at one another's house . . . sneaking out of one another's house (sorry Jim and Joann!) . . . going to church together . . . . riding bikes to one another's houses . . . you name it . . we did it. It was such an innocent time in my life. I always said I wanted to get the heck out of Ringwood and here I sit at 35 year old . . . longing for the simple life I had growing up.

And I miss my dear friends.

Back to Janeen - I emailed her and she was just as surprised to hear from me as I was to find her. We've talked/emailed every day since and I'm planning a trip to Enid in a few weeks to visit her. She has 3 kids (2 from her first husband, Mark and one from her current husband, Jay). It seems so odd that we are grown with children and families of our own. Some days I still feel like a child . . . . like I'm just pretending to be a grown-up.

Janeen knows that person that few people get to know today . . . the REAL Jennifer. She knows my past . . and all the good and bad things about it that make me who I am today. She's knows the person that comes out when I quit hiding from my feelings. She understands that underneath my dry sense of humor is a person with a wide range of feelings and emotions. She remembers me when I was that kid that wet the bed . . . when I thought my cat, Felix, had died and I was tore up . . . when my parents divorced . . . . when my sister went crazy and my parents all but forgot about me as they tried to figure out how to "fix" her . . . when I got my heart broke . . . when I started driving and we'd take "Big Red" to Enid to go cruising down Van Buren . . . . when I went to prom. There is just so much history there and it feels good to talk to her and know that she just gets me.

I'm so excited to see my dear friend again. Though it's been over 10 years since we've seen each other, it feels as if no time has passed. We both have a few more battle wounds . . . but deep down we're still those two crazy girls playing in her dad's hi-lo camper in her backyard.

Kayla is going to be hacked!!

I left for work this morning before she woke up. She hates when I do that. She can't understand why I don't wake her up to tell her "Bye". One day, she'll appreciate the fact that I allow her additional uninterrupted sleep.

Speaking of sleep, Kayla fell asleep at 7 last night. I finished cleaning the kitchen after dinner . . . sat down with Larry to watch some T.V. . . . and then realized I didn't hear Kayla anywhere. When I went in the front room, there she was asleep on the couch. She slept all the way through and was still asleep this morning when I left at 6:45. Girl must have been tuckered out!

I'm going to try to get video of Kayla doing her new dance. It is the absolute funniest thing I've seen in a long time. She does these circles with her hands and bobs up and down. However, the look on her face just makes the whole thing.

That's about it for now. Oh . . today is Papa Benny's birthday so I called him this morning to wish him a Happy Birthday. Kayla just adores her Papa Benny. He'll play with her for hours . . even if it involves dress up or make up.

35!!!

Now how the hell did that happen? Wasn't I just 21 last year?? So, I'm 35 now and the big day was pretty uneventful. Got up Saturday morning and Larry gave me TWO birthday cards. One card had a $50 gift card to Marshall's and, since I LOVE to shop, this was just perfect. Kayla and I were a couple "Lazy Taters" and didn't actually leave the house until after noon. We made a trip to Marshall's, Target . . . and PUMP IT UP! Kayla's friend Saycia had her birthday party there and since it's my favorite place (can you hear my eyes rolling) we made an appearance. After the party, Kayla and I met Larry and Joe's Crab Shack for my FAVORITE food ever . . . CRAB!!!


Let me rewind for a bit. Last Monday, I left to go to Los Angeles for work. Ok . . . so it was more play than work but since work paid for the trip . . . we'll call it work. We had our annual tax return review meeting which went well. My WONDERFUL boss, Mr. Stutts, even brought in my absolute favorite treat . . Sprinkles cupcakes. I ate two strawberry cupcakes that morning and took the leftovers back to my hotel room. Mmmmmmm . . . cupcakes.


Sprinkles cupcakes are absolutely divine. If you ever get the chance, get one (or 6)!



We also went to a L.A. Dodgers baseball game while in L.A. It's always fun to do a little celebrity watching at these things. This time, I saw Larry King. Apparently Pat Sayjak and Jane Seymour were there too but I didn't see them.


The last night in L.A., we went to a restaurant in Beverly Hills called Wolfgang's. It was a DELICIOUS steakhouse. However, my favorite part of the experience was the restrooms. Now that was some crazy stuff straight out of Star Trek. Unfortunately I didn't take (nor could I find) any pics but this bathroom had a freakin' control panel. I wasn't sure whether to pee . . or press rape charges against the thing.


Oh . . . the super cool part was I walked right past Marcia Cross from Desparate Housewive (Bree . . the red-head) as we were walking to the restaurant. I put on my "I'm cool . . I hang with celebs all the time" face but inside I was like . . AWESOME!!


OK . . back to this weekend.

Sunday, Kayla and I ventured out to a few car lots since Larry had to work. I'm in the preliminary phase of car shopping. This is the phase where I go out looking . . . fall in love with several cars . . . . then talk myself out of buying one . . . . then decide I really should buy a new one . . . then decide I'm being too impractical and should be looking at something less expensive . . . then decide "Damn it . . I'm worth it!" The end result is that some time between now and 2 years from now I might actually commit to buying a car. But, for your consideration, I'm attaching a couple of my personal favs.

The Infiniti G37 -

The BMW 328i Hard-Top Convertible -

Finally, we ended our afternoon at the Tulsa Just Between Friends sale. This is a HUGE consignment sale held at the fairgrounds twice a year. Got some GREAT deals on clothes for Kayla. Here she is hanging outside the expo building at the fairgrounds after we FINALLY made it through the crazy long line.

Sometime you just need to have a party . . . .

The weekend started out rather uneventful. We had Courtney and Christie this weekend so I picked them up Friday afternoon and we headed to Cameron's birthday party at Pump It Up. Cameron is the son of our friends Tia and Steven Surles.

Saturday, it was the bi-annual Buchanan family reunion. Larry had to work so the girls and I headed to Owasso, OK to spend the day with the family. It was nice to see everyone. Unfortunately, it seems the only time we see everyone is at the holidays or reunion. Once again, luck was on my side. I won the candy bouquet being given away at the reunion.

My luck has been almost scary lately. Every time I turn around, I'm winning something. I won't complain . . . but I find it very interesting.

The candy bouquet must have sparked something in Kayla because as soon as she realized I had won it, she decided we needed to have a party. When I asked her what the party was for, she said, "It will be a girls party!" She seemed so excited about this party she had planned in her head . . . I just couldn't bring myself to burst her bubble so Sunday afternoon, we had a party.

I made a quick trip to Dollar Tree and $5 later . . I had hats and blowers and plates and cups and balloons and a tablecloth. I picked up some sugar cookie dough and icing at Walmart as well as some chips and dip. We made sugar cookies and the girls decorated them. We snacked on chips and dip and passed the balloons around. It was a fun time for all of us.

Today, I head to Los Angeles for our annual Tax Return Review Meeting. Kayla was such a big girl when I dropped her off at school. She was trying to be so brave and not cry. Her eyes were all red from holding in the tears. I'll miss her.

It's BACK TO SCHOOL!!

Well . . . my sweet Kayla entered the world of First Grade today!! Wow how time flies! I LOVE her new teacher . . . Mrs. Chatman. She's a sweet lady with a very friendly disposition. Kayla seems to like her.

Her face looks kind of odd in this picture. Not sure why. Anyway, this is Kayla sitting at her spot in her new classroom. This day is big for another reason. It's the first class where she and Maddison Surles have not been together. They have been in daycare, preschool, Kindergarten, dance, and swim together. Now they must face the fine halls of Liberty Elementary on their own. Kayla was quite worried about this and upset when she found out that Maddison would be in Mrs. York's class. Of course, the first thing she noticed on "Meet the Teacher" night was that Mrs. York's classroom is directly across the hall from Mrs. Chatman's classroom. That seemed to make things better.

Today they had to take their favorite teddy bear to school. I'm interested to find out exactly what they did with the teddy bears they brought. In fact, I'm can't wait to find out how she liked first grade.

Unfortunately that will have to wait a bit longer as I have to attend a business dinner tonight. Thank goodness for my understanding husband. I feel so bad when I have to go on a business dinner on nights he is off early. Of course, he never complains and understands it just comes with the territory. I'm certainly a lucky woman.

I'm boring . . .

That's what Kayla told me this weekend. Lovely, huh? Guess Daddy gets to be the fun one.

This weekend was pretty relaxed. Saturday Kayla and I got up and ran some errands. Her Nintendo DS is "ghosting" (per the middle-aged video game nerd at Game Stop) which is gamer speak for "the screen ain't workin'". Anyway, the guy recommended a place that fixes these things so we took it there on Saturday. It's going to cost $55 - $65 to get it fixed. Ridiculous!! That's 1/2 of what the darn thing cost.

Then it was off to get Kayla's new dance shoes. She starts dance up again next week and this year she'll be doing jazz and ballet.

Then we headed off to the Broken Arrow library. I was SO excited to finally find the local library. I don't know why I hadn't looked for it sooner. I just always went to the one in Tulsa. Kayla and I had so much fun browsing the books. Kayla checked out 5 or 6. I love that she loves to read. It's always been a passion of mine and I hope that she finds the same joy in it that I have. While we were at the library, we saw a flier announcing that McGruff the Crime Dog was going to be at Walgreens. A local company was doing child identification kits and had brough McGruff along to entertain the kids.

So . . next stop . . . Walgreens

Kayla use to be so afraid of things like this. Not any more!! She saw McGruff and her face just lit up. She ran to hug him. It was so sweet. I love her innocence.

We left there and FINALLY headed home. Later that evening, our friends Tia and Steven Surles came over with their kids Maddi and Cameron. We all headed down to the neighborhood pool for a little (much needed) relaxation. The kids had a ball splashing around. Kayla and Maddi have known each other since they were babies. They've been in daycare, Kindergarten, dance, swim . . . . you name it . . they've been in it together. This year will be the first year they are not in class together and Kayla has already shed tears over that.

So . . that was Kayla's weekend with her BORING mom!

Kayla . . The Early Years

I've really been racking my brain to remember all the funny details of Kayla's life that I want to document. I've come up with a few more.

When Kayla was a little over a year old, we were living in an apartment while we waited for our new home to finish being built. Kayla had such fun there. She would sit is the one cabinet constantly.

She would walk around with a bowl on her head.

She would drag all the laundry out of the laundry hamper and just laugh and laugh . . .

and she'd run around in her hooded towel with it completely covering her face!

She's such a funny little kid!

Today on our way to camp, Kayla told me that I should let all the camp kids come to my work for a tour. She doesn't quite understand that an office full of tax accountants isn't exactly exciting. I guess one of the parents of one of the kids at camp is a judge so the kids got to go to the courthouse for a tour and it was "so cool". I hate to break it to her . . . but the only remotely interesting thing in my office is the candy jar.

We're Changing Directions Here . .

On my way to work this morning, it occurred to me that I've done an AWFUL job at documenting things about Kayla that I want to remember. Sure . . I have the photo albums and preschool art . . but I'm talking about the day-to-day stuff she does that I want to remember. So, I've decided to use this blog as my journal to remember all those "funnies".

Let's start with a few of the old memories I have. Kayla use to refer to nail polish as toelash. Guess she just combine "painting toes" with "nail polish". She's come to me and say, "Momma, I need some toelash." What's even funnier is she had me saying it too. I must have made a fool of myself on more than one occasion.

Sheeting - This is Kayla's term for holding her blankie (which is a 300 thread count pillow case) up to her nose. Apparently this is how toddlers and young children get "high". My mom about busted a gut the first time she heard Kayla say that. I specifically remember being in the parking lot of Walgreens getting ready to get out of the car and Kayla said, "Hold on. Let me get one more 'sheet'."

Of course, we can't forget Kayla's Starbuck's obsession when she was around 4-5 years old. She HAD to go to Starbuck's for chocolate milk. It might of had something to do with my coffee addiction.

One of my favorite memories of Kayla is the first time she cursed. I know . . bad mommy . . . but it really was hilarious. We were in the parking lot at Albertson's and I was trying to get her in the car. In the process, I dropped my keys and then proceeded to drop a whole bag of groceries. Well, without thinking, I yelled, "Oh shit". Trying to cover my tracks, I quickly said, "Oh . . er.. . I mean shoot. Oh, shoot!" Later that evening Kayla was playing in the living room and I believe she dropped something she was playing with. All of a sudden, I hear my precious 3-year old yell, "Oh shit". I quickly went to her and explained that that was a bad word and she should never use it again to which she replied so innocently, "So . . that's only a 'mommy' word?" My reply? "Yes Kayla. That's only a 'mommy' word.

And today (and what inspired me to start journaling these things) Kayla was in the back seat on the way to camp counting how many peace signs she was wearing. Kayla is currently obsessed with anything with a peace sign on it. She can spot them a mile away. Currently, I would guess that she no fewer than 10 shirts with some form of peace sign on them AND a pair of sandals with peace sign metal embellishments on them. It's so cute to watch her develop her own style (even though I secretly want her to get all her clothes at Gymboree until she's 20).

That's all for today. I plan to update this blog as I remember more things. I look forward to being able to look back one day and smile about all the silly and crazy things she does.

Could anything else go wrong??

Seriously.

Ok . . let me just get the Weight Watcher thing out of the way. This week was NOT good. My mom was here so I ate out a lot more than I should have. Gained a pound. Of course, I'm in that period before the period so some of that could be water. I'm going to be VERY good this week and get back on track.

Mom was here all last week and we had a nice time. We did a lot of shopping (as usual) and ate some of my Mom's good home-cooking. I do not enjoy cooking. In fact, I bought a hand towel this week that said "I have a kitchen because it came with the house". That about sums it up right there. Poor Larry!

So . . on to the crap that went wrong. There's the ongoing saga of Larry's van. He's been trying to fix the problem himself but he bit off more than he could chew. We are now $400 in and the problem is still there. I finally convinced him that it would be smart to take it to the shop and have them diagnose the problem. THEN . . if it's something he can fix he can do the work. Much better than just throwing money at an unknown problem.

Of course, the icing on top came on Saturday night. The underground drain decided to get clogged . . and back up all over the hallway. It was a M-E-S-S! After spending over $50 at Lowe's trying to find the right tool to clear the clog . . . we ended up having to go to Home Depot the next morning to get the "big guns" (i.e. commercial grade rooter). That solved the problem. In the midst of all the chaos, Larry tells me to turn on the washer so he can see if the water clears. What he didn't tell me is he never put the drain hose back in the pipe in the wall so water went all over the laundry room. Lovely. I seriously wanted to shoot myself.

And on top of ALL this . . . we had to fork over another $800 for Larry's dental work this week . . . another $125 for Spring Break for Kayla . . . and yet another God knows how much to pay our tax bill!! Oh . . and of course . . . we just bought 1700 square feet of flooring for the house.

Can you hear the echo in our checking account?? I told Larry that we are going to trim the fat in April and May to catch up from all this craziness. We've done more than our share to stimulate the economy. Now someone else can take a turn.

But . . today is a new day. This week WILL be better!

I'm in such a weird place right now . . .

I wish I could explain it better . . . but I just can't find the right words. I'm just all jacked up right now. I seem to go from feeling ok one moment . . . to feeling anxiety the next . . . to wanting to cry the next. I wish I could get some sort of control over this. It certainly doesn't help that I've been in constant pain from these darn kidney stones FOREVER! By the way, you ever seen one of those rocks??

Those things freakin' things hurt!!

On the Weight Watcher front . . the weirdest thing happened. So . . I weighed in on Monday and was down about 1/2 pound. Nothing to write home about . . but a loss none the less. Tuesday and Wednesday were not exactly my best WW days . . . and I went over a bit on my daily allotment. No worries . . . I still had my weekly allotment of 35 flex points so I dipped into that. All I can say is THANK THE LORD ABOVE for WW popsicles. They got me through my munchy phase without totally killing my points. Anyway, this morning I get up thinking, "I better just weigh myself now and assess the damage." I normally NEVER weigh but once a week but this morning . . . the weight loss gods spoke and I felt compelled. And . . . . .

I LOST ANOTHER POUND!!!

Now . . how the heck did that happen? Eat like a pig for two days and LOSE weight? I don't know how that worked out . . but I'll take it.

Mom is flying in on Saturday to stay with us for a week. I'm super excited as is Kayla. It's going to be big fun. Of course, it would have been even better if she had been here during Spring Break . . . but that's a LONG story.

My name is Jennifer . . . and I am a CONTROL FREAK!

I've had a day of self-assessment and that's the conclusion I reached. I just can't stand it when I'm not in control of things. I want EVERYTHING to go the way I want it to go and I tend to become a bit of a bitch when it doesn't.

I blame my MOM!

Seriously, the woman catered to my every desire . . . . and turned me into spoiled brat. And, unfortunately, I think I tend to do the same thing with Kayla.

So . . . . what should I do with this little tidbit of discovery?

Well . . since I don't particularly MIND being spoiled . . . I'm going to allow my Mom to continue spoiling me (and now Kayla as well). As for Kayla, I think she's ok with the whole being spoiled thing so I think it would be unfair to rip it away at this point.

Alright . . . problem solved.

On to my Weight Watcher journey . . . . I've done OK today . . . not GREAT . . . just OK. At this point, I only have about 4 points left for the day and I haven't even eaten dinner. Maybe I'll make water steak! What is water steak you ask?? Well . . . apparently this was my pretend food of choice as a child. The recipe is pretty simple. You pour a glass of water . . . and pretend it's steak. Yeah . . . I know . . . my parents should have pursued some therapy for me as a child. Anyway, I'm quite sure that water steak has ZERO points so . . . I'm think I'll have seconds too!

I just got back from the grocery store which is quite an adventure when you're on Weight Watchers. Fortunately, I found a lot of low point snacks to keep me from falling off track. I weigh in on Monday and I'm hoping to exceed the 10 pound mark. Some days it's a real challenge to stay on track. This week was particularly hard . . . you know . . . that period before your period. I was almost ready to eat my toothbrush. But I survived and am hoping it pays off.

Oh . . . one more random tidbit . . . . after I left the store . . I went to the gas station to fill up. First of all . . . I must have found the SLOWEST gas pump ever made. Seriously, I could have filled the car up quicker with an eye dropper. Well, it's freezing freaking cold here today so I decided I'd start the pump . . and hop back in my car while it filled up. Apparently, at some point, it filled up . . and the lock on the handle didn't let up so fuel was spewing out of my tank. However, I couldn't see it pouring out in my rear view mirror so some guy came running up to my car to tell. Well me . . . being the dunce I am . . . started the car so I could roll down the window and see what he needed. The look on his face was priceless. I think he had to go buy some new underwear!! Anyway, I jumped out of the car and shut everything off. I think about a gallon or two of gas ended up on the ground.

Sometimes I seriously wonder about myself! Gotta go . . . the water steak is burning!

Did you check out my profile pic??

This is one of my favorite pics of Kayla. Just to make it easy on you, I've added it here:

She was not quite 2 and we were headed to the neighborhood pool for a quick swim. I laugh everytime I see that photo. Look at those chubby little thighs!!

Anyway . . . on the Weight Watcher front . . . I'm doing FABULOUS this week. Haven't even used any of my flex points. That's pretty good considering I went from 22 to 21 points this week for my daily allotment. Of course, I'm still tweaking my daily selections to avoid the little fiber problem. What use is it being thin if you walk around gassing up the place all the time??

The new flooring is on it's way so I'm sure I'll be posting pics as Larry gets busy installing it. I am SO ready to be done with this carpet. Next time, I won't be a cheap skate when we're building and just have them put wood in from the start.

More later!

Oops . . . .

Who'd have thunk a grilled chicken ceaser salad, fruit cup, and 1/2 bread stick would be 10 1/2 weight watcher points?? Looks like I'll be eating grass for dinner because I have practically no points left for the day.

If you're considering joining Weight Watchers . . . let me just warn you in advance. Low point foods often have a whole lot of fiber. Need I say more??? Seriously, I've had enough gas in my system to end the energy crisis. Gas-X is my new best friend.




On to more pleasant topics . . . . tomorrow I get to see my friend, Leslie, who just moved to Oklahoma few months ago. She lives in Edmond and is making the trek to T-Town with her husband (who is speaking at TU about something) so we're going to catch up and let the kiddos play at Chick Fil A. Leslie and I both talk a mile a minute so we should be able to catch up in NO time.

Of course, we HAVE to go to swim class first because tomorrow is ribbon night and Kayla will be none too happy if she misses that. She also enjoys getting to see her old FCC friends - Sarah, Mia and Maddi - each week.

Oh . . . and I think we've decided we're going to Nashville for vacation this year. Actually, I think my mom and stepdad are going to meet us there . . . and hopefully my niece and nephew, Amanda and Alex, can meet us up there since they are only a few hours away. I'm super excited to see . . . .





GRACELAND!!!!!

And . . . I plan to do a lot of celebrity stalking while I'm there too!

More later!!

In the beginning . . . .

God created Weight Watchers . . . because he somehow knew we would all wind up a bunch of fat, lazy slugs . . or at least I did.

So I've embarked on this journey to rid myself of the extra 15 or so pounds of extra baggage I've carried around for far too long. So far, I'm down 8.5 pounds and I'm only 3 weeks in. Of course, one week I had strep throat so I ate very little that couldn't be consumed through a straw. But hey, a pound is a pound whether you sweat it off or introduce bacteria to your system to prevent yourself from stuffing your face.

So I'm going along just great . . . and then the Diet Demon . . . the Girl Scout cookies . . . invaded my home. Let me tell ya', it's taken every last ounce of willpower I could summon to keep me out of that pantry. What the heck was I thinking ordering 10 boxes???

I'll probably write a lot about my Weight Watchers journey . . . at least until I'm at my goal. I think writing about it helps me keep focused. Or maybe it just keeps my hands busy so I can't hold a fork! Either way, I think this blog might turn out to be a good weight loss tool.

And . . of course, I'll be discussing my BEAUTIFUL daughter Kayla . . . and my equally-handsome husband, Larry a lot as well.

At 6 years old, Kayla is turning out to be such a good kid. Oh . . . she has her moment. She is NOT a morning person AT ALL . . which really sucks because I am. She is very well-behaved at school and always puts a lot of effort into whatever she does. Of course, she is incredibly impatient . . just like her momma!

And then there's Larry. The pics a few years old (and that's Kayla on his shoulders). I really lucked out with this one. He puts me and our family at the top of his priority list ALL the time. He takes such good care of us and treats me far better than I deserve some times. He is the most versatile person I know. He can build a fence, fix a car, put down a floor, cook really well, take care of the house when I'm overburdened at work . . . and the list goes on and on. I always wished I was like that. I know how to do a few things well . . . but Larry seems to do well with everything he tries. He's such a perfectionist too. He may not be the quickest . . . but when he does a job he does it right. He always complements me and let's me know how proud he is of me. In general, he just makes me (and us all) feel special. We have our moments . . . but he is my love and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

That's my general introduction. Now back to work!