Monday Mumblings

I surfaced...but I am not done. Hayden and I worked for several hours trying to unearth the carpet in Gary's old office area...we succeeded in finding the carpet, but we still have tons left...the desk hutch is packed with things we can't even begin to deal with....actually most of the stuff was put into boxes and taken to the new office for Gary to go through....Gary will not be happy when he returns.....I hope he gets it done soon. I need those boxes to continue with this project.

Gary and I are stacker's...I have gotten better at tackling my stacks every week or two...Gray on the other hand rarely goes through his stacks and stacks....I will just have to do some fancy forcing to get him to do this chore....if not the new office will look like the old office with in a month.

Hayden planned new uses for the loft while helping me clean....his ideas are decent for a 15 yr. old boy...of course they center around his gaming and other activities. I think moving the gaming consoles to the loft would be a great idea.

I waited and waited and waited and waited for the letter from Elder Call....what is a mother to do. I fret over the one I am not with...isn't that just like a mother?....it finally came, very late.

It was great to hear from him and about NZ. He mentions how behind they are from the USA quite often.

I love the quote on my daily calender this weekend; "Life is largely a matter of expectations" That is so true. If we didn't have expectations what would we live for. I like most am always looking forward to the next thing....as a kid I had a cousin who would be calling her friends to plan her next event during the current event.....

Yeah!!! Miss California USA- I was so glad that someone with integrity almost won a beauty pageant. She was first runner up and this is probably why. When asked about legalization of gay marriage. She said she was glad we live in a country with choice, but personally she was raised and believes that marriage is between a man and a woman. It would have been so easy to go with the liberal crowd, the popular answer, but she stood true to her beliefs. The questioner was an openly gay man who was not pleased with her answer.

I too am glad that we live in a country where we have choice and freedom of speech. God has said that marriage is between a man and a woman. Who are we to tell God he is wrong.

I am glad that I have a new week ahead of me...In church we talked a bout recommitting....I know it is something I have to do every day. I know the secret of getting ahead is getting started....I am a person of action!

Hey, Spring, please stick around for awhile!

MCC

Saturday Special

Okay, so my Internet was out for a day. What a disaster....I did everything I could on my end and then called the Internet company who told me nothing was wrong on their end, but will send out a service person between the hours of you have got to be kidding and never. If I didn't have a problem with the service every afternoon and a big problem once a month I would call and cancel the service, but I want a 'professional' to take a look at "there is not a problem."

Enough of my rant...

Spring is back! Have you ever noticed that you begin to sound like a weather man in spring...discussing the highs and lows of the weather? I guess if I didn't want to sound like a weather man I would move to a place that didn't have weather changes...don't like that idea.

Today is loft clean out! Yes, I know I have said it before, but after two plus months waiting for Gary to claim his stuff I have had enough, it has to go today!

Obviously I am putting it of because I am currently blogging...but I will get to it, I have to, I can't take it any more.

So here is the before...what a mess!

Time to roll up my sleeves and dig in. I have Garbage sacks, dust rags and tunes going......... If I'm not out by Monday call 911.

MCC

Wednesday Weigh In

I am an over eater.....yes, I gained some weight back.....not good, but the first step is admitting to the truth.

ok, ok, ok, so spring break is no excuse to mess up your diet, but I did it anyway....I had a candy feast and now I am paying for it, in pounds and in other physical ways. You would think I would learn from my past mistakes!

Getting back on track.....this is the hard part.

I have been to the gym regularly but now I seriously have to find a diet plan with menus that I can follow and not feel cheated with. This diet has to be family friendly....we all can use it.

Everyone keeps telling me to follow Weight Watchers, it is easy, you can practically eat what you want, etc...it is a great plan, no question, but am I up to keeping track and following through...I still need someone else to create a great menu plan for me...I am not good on my own....I keep asking what's for dinner, and looking for things to snack on. (Thankfully I have a bunch of tasteless crap and stuff that has to be combined with other things to make it palatable in my pantry).

I have a splitting headache. This is the third day. I am still coming down from my candy high.....stupid Reese's Eggs.

Back on track, I can do it, I am strong, I can do anything, I am invincible...I am woman.

MCC

Chattter

April Showers!
Drip, Drip, Drop......the rain is coming down. At least it looks like April and not winter rain...but the snow is supposed to follow.......

I have decide that my weight loss program and my life need more positive affirmations....I am coming off a bad week of dieting....that is no dieting.
So, now is the time to kick it! I am the best, I am doing this for my health, I am strong, I am invincible, I can do anything....I am woman! (What ever happened to Helen Reddy?)

My book group is reading/just read- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, It is a great book! I am so glad that I read it. I discovered unfamiliar happenings from WWII. I figured out what a lost art letter writing has become...the book is written as a series of letters. I think letter writing makes us better thinkers and writers in general. I am sorry that we don't write "real" letters anymore. I guess I could change that and try to write more real letters for corespondance.
I hope we have a great discussion about this book tonight.

What is for dinner...ahhhhh, I must be getting back to normal. I don't think I have even thought about asking what's for dinner in a very long time. I must be springing awake myself after the dreary winter. Maybe I will blossom and no longer have to wonder what is for dinner.

MCC

Monday Mumblings

I am so glad that Easter is over....just because of the candy! I must look like a Reese's Egg, I've eaten so many of them...and we bought less candy than in years past.
This year we didn't do the hard boiled decorated egg thing ....maybe I need the real eggs to counter act the PB eggs?
So now I will have to wait until Halloween to participate in the candy gorge. Megan, Lauri and I have decided that we are going to go no/limited processed sugar.......please get me something salty.

For Easter I wanted to make a carrot cake...I know cute, bunnies and carrots....However, I don't make carrot cake. So I looked for a recipe that looked good and made it. The Frosting was to die for....very sweet and creamy...don't you just love the day glow carrots? The Cake was okay, not great. If it hadn't been for the frosting it would have been a waste. My sister-in-law loved the frosting on the strawberries I had sitting out. I am now in the market for a moist delicious carrot cake recipe.

Spring Break...we didn't do much. Hayden got to sleep in until 10:00 am everyday, LUCKY! My body won't let me sleep past 8:00 am, and that is only if I go to bed late.....long gone are the days of all nighters or even very late nighters....and I don't think I'm that old. Back to Hayden....he got his driving permit! Watch out. I had the opportunity of taking him out driving for his first time, for real. What an adventure. I had forgotten what a new driver is like....too much gas, slamming on the breaks and sharp turns....my life passed before my eyes. He got better with time. I keep telling myself that the benefit is that when he can drive legally I will no longer have to be around to shuttle him from location to location....my little boy is growing up.

Back to real life and my schedule. Ah, just a few more weeks until summer.....I know what happened to Spring?
I have decided to forget spring, after all it seems to have forgotten us.
MCC

SPRING BREAK!

Friday Things and Thinks

Friday has arrived ....and with it more rain and snow!?!?!Okay, so I want spring to return, but in the mean time I will have to amuse myself with things and thoughts that make me as joyful as spring.

All Shook Up-- definitely made me feel joyful and spring like.

We took the family the Hale Center Theatre In Orem to see All Shook Up last night. This

musical is scored by 25 songs made famous by Elvis Presley. The story is set in middle America in 1955, but the themes of the story are as old as time....You can definitely find the mix ups and mayhem associated with Shakespeare's comedies, Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, As You Like it and A Midsummer Nights Dream. The cross dressing aspects of As You Like It and Twelfth Night, Cause this musical to be a real fun comedy. It is fluffy and light, with a happily ever after ending.

I wasn't as familiar with the Elvis music as I was with the plot's inspiration, but I did love the songs and how they author intertwined the lyrics to make the story progress. I decided to see what the Broadway reviewers said about this show since it is one we missed in our New York journeying.....they didn't really love it, but I found one review that said "Were it staged in a pint-size theater with cardboard scenery and a campy young cast, All Shook Up might be a moderate hoot"....which it was at the HCTO. The only thing that bothered me about the whole production was that the had changed up some of the song order form the Original Broadway Cast recording and synopsis that I have....but I got over that. Apparently that is how it was changed for the national tour.

The Little Lady Agency--- Hilarious book series by Hester Browne.I found this series because it had a recommendation from Sophi Kinsella who wrote the Shopaholic books..... Set in Great Britain, but the second book is in the USA, is about Melissa Romney-Jones who runs an agency called "the Little Lady Agency." She is hired to help men sort out their problems, advise them on the real reasons they are social misfits, and tries to dress and shape them up a bit so that they can them take care of things on their own.

Good Food-- Strawberries, yummmmm!

I made Strawberry Cheese Cake Trifle for a get together we are attending to night. While cleaning the strawberries i think I ate a cup of them....my belly aches.

This is a great desert to show off with, it taste great, and looks pretty.

Strawberry Cheesecake Trifle

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

8 oz sour cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

12 oz. Cool Whip. thawed

4 Tablespoons granulated sugar

1 Angel Food cake, torn or cubed into bite size pieces

16 oz. frozen strawberries

Mix together cram cheese, and powdered sugar until fluffy; add sour cream, vanilla and almond extract.

Gently fold Cool Whip into cream cheese mixture: gently stir cake pieces into cream cheeses mixture; set aside.

Combine berries and granulates sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Layer in a large glass bowl 1/4 of berries, then top with 1/3 of cream cheese mixture; continue layering; finish with berries.

**Fresh Strawberry option

Clean and slice 4 cups of Strawberries.

Make Strawberry Danish Dessert prepare as for pie filling; set aside and slightly cool. Add Sliced strawberries to Danish Dessert. Use this berry mixture in place of the frozen berries and sugar.

Off to find more spring like things.

MCC

Thank You For The Cleaning Lady!

That is what I wish I was saying to my family, but alas I am not.....I AM THE CLEANING LADY...and I am not happy about it!
Why can't we clean up after ourselves? But we don't....we all need a maid to follow us around.

My Bathrooms are sparkling clean...one of the worst jobs.
My carpets and windows are clean, bedroom, family and living rooms tidy, kitchen slicked up and the laundry almost done....yes, I know very superficial...I do this so I am not embarrassed when you drop by unannounced.....and most people don't look in my drawers and closets....thank heaven for that!

As a kid I hated to clean up....I still do, but I enjoy the results of the clean up more than the chore itself.....My mom and Eugina would probably have a heart attack if they heard me say this.
I am really good at the surface cleaning thing, I want to do the deep cleaning. I start the deep cleaning, but that is where I become sidetracked....deep clean projects are long and require decisions, which I am not very good at making.

March was to be a month of action...that means a month to get things done....well it didn't happen. Since spring has decided to stay away a little longer I guess that I am getting a re-do on my month of action....

Off to find a short deep clean project to tackle....
I am so thankful for that cleaning lady.
MCC

I'm the April Fool...Wednesday Weigh In

Okay, so I didn't loose 10 lbs....I wish I had....I could have if I wanted to cut off an appendage or two...but no, I am not that desperate. Coming off my birthday week 10 lbs. wasn't going to happen. I ate out 5 times in the past week, had birthday cake and Reese's Eggs....we had an extra bag after sending a package to Elder Call.....really good, but not good for the weight.
So, how much did I really loose......nothing....which is better than the gain I could of had.

As for April fools Day...I am not a good joker practical or otherwise so nothing too clever from me to anyone....the biggest joke I have seen today is still the weather.....
MCC

YEAH!!!

I did it. I lost 10 lbs. this week.