Robby turns 5 years old today!

I Love You!!!… and you will ALWAYS be my baby.

Sorry I have been a bad blogger lately. Life has been a roller coaster.. to say the least. I have been SO stressed out and busy this past two weeks, I cant even remember what day it is half the time. I tried to take Robby to school on Friday ~ thinking it was Thursday. Today, I have looked at my cell phone 20 times or so.. just to find out what day it is. gah.

Robert hasn’t been working much. His truck was broken down and in the shop most of last week. Then when he finally got back to work.. the most disturbing thing happened to him. Friday morning at about 3am, he was woken up as his truck was being lifted off the ground. Apparently the Wal-Mart in Hereford Texas no longer lets the truck drivers park there over night. Of course, they can spend their money there.. just not park. Oh, and if they do, the tow company will sneak its truck up there while you are asleep and lift your truck BEFORE waking you up. That way, they can charge you OVER $500 to SET IT BACK ON THE GROUND, so you can leave. Fought that charge all day Friday, getting nowhere.. yet. Oh, and for the record… last week it was “Truck Driver Appreciation Week” at Wal-Mart. Pfft. That night alone they nailed at least four trucks. They have parked there .. AND SPENT MONEY THERE EVERY TIME.. for years. I don’t know what I am going to do yet, but I will figure something out.

Im still working on the portraits. Have one finished, and the other one is started. Has to be finished this weekend. Hope I get my mojo. Currently, my mojo is freaked the hell out and stressed. My lovely TOM arrived hard core.. and I was in so much pain for a few days, I took half doses of my hubby’s vic0din a few times. I think the stress lately made everything worse. I haven’t exercised because of that.. which has also made me moody.

and…

We finally got the bill for Robert’s kidney stone nightmare in Colorado. I almost wet my pants… $5400 due. Good God, we need to get insurance soon. He still has two more.. and from the way he described them to Mom ~ from what he saw on his cat scan, they are BIG ones. She said if they are as big as he is desrcibing, they may eventually have to be blown up. That would totally sink our ship. *breathe*

The van is still fried. After Robert having two weeks of shitty loads… getting that looked at is put on hold for now. Hopefully now that his truck is fixed, he can run like a crazy man for a few weeks and catch up. Meanwhile, Mom is hiring me to paint her house. She is having a bunch of work done after a HUGE hail storm a while back completely jacked it up ~ and one of the jobs she needs done is painting. YaY! I have a job! er.. Sorta. But it WILL help!

Im so used to us having a long string of bad luck. Im stressed, but not all “whoa is me” about it. I know things always work out.

Now for my food lately.. pfft. I haven’t been good. But I haven’t been bad either. I did have a hamburger and chips Saturday night… and a cupcake. We celebrated Robby’s 5th Birthday that night ~ had Mike and Trisha & all the kids over. Trisha is his new woman (of about 3 months? or so) and I LOVEEE her (..so does my MOM)! She is so awesome! I know, I know ~ I can’t believe I’m saying that either! Me? Like someone he dates? But yeah.. I really do. She is really nice, sweet, strong, funny, cute .. etc. Her kids are awesome too! All four of them! Im really happy for him.. he deserves it.

Anyway, I didn’t behave with foods that night… but didn’t go all crazy (though I SO could have!)… and haven’t been strict the last two days either. More of a portion control thing. I can see the sodium buggin my body from it all. Swollen hands and feet. My body is not happy. I will be back at it 110% tomorrow. TOM is leaving, Robert is back to work, and the kids are back to school tomorrow. Routine is GOOD!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I will check back in tomorrow ~ toodles!!

• Im alive. Sorry I haven’t posted lately..
• I was at 167.5 Monday.
• Robert has been home all weekend and all week so far. His truck is in the shop.. and he has been on the computer a LOT. Not that I have had much time to get on anyway..
• Working on the portraits.. have one that is half finished.. and I actually have until September 5th to finish and frame them both.
• This week, I have a shirt design to do for my daughters class (by Friday morning)…
• I have updates to complete by September 1st on one of the web sites I maintain..
• Doing my regular mom/wife duties that are 10x MORE when hubby is home..
• Getting exercise in.. with extras when possible.. feeling GOOD about that!
• Eating has been GREAT.. even after my husband went to the store at 8pm Tuesday night to get ICEFRIGGENCREAM.. then proceeded to eat it while I sat 3 feet away pedaling my ass off on the bike in frustration ~ 15 miles I might add.
• I RAN on the treadmill yesterday for 10 minutes straight ~ walked another 30 in there too ~ PLUS 12 miles on the bike last night!

Gotta go… I will catch up soon (as soon as Robert goes back to work and I have some time.).

Just throwing that out there because it seems like this week has been longggg.

This morning when I was dropping my kids off at school, Trey was almost hit by a car. He jumped back the last second.. inches from getting hit. I screamed at him when I saw the car coming, but the windows were up so he didn’t hear me. He didn’t look BOTH ways! OMG! The guy in he little car was cruising pretty fast through the school zone. There are kids everywhere on that street in the morning, so its COMMON SENSE to go really slow. I am changing my route tomorrow so I drop them off on the other side ~ their door facing the school. I was still shaking when I got home, went to pour Robby a glass of milk and I dropped the WHOLE gallon of milk. The jug cracked and I had milk EVERYWHERE. gah. Bad morning.

I found out yesterday that the TWO portraits that I have to get finished soon.. uh, I have one week. Im stressing. I can only draw when I am in the mood. I started it this morning but was too busy thinking about everything else I had to do. I REALLY hate it when I put things off. Hopefully I get the bug and can get at least one finished this weekend. When I am in the grove.. I can rock out a portrait in about 5 or 6 hours. Other times, it takes weeks.. for one. I have two.

After I dropped Robby off at school at noon, I decided I better get some of the yard work done while I had the chance. It has been raining in the midwest for the past few weeks and only recently has cleared up. My grass in the back yard is almost a foot tall! I brough the weedeater up from the downstairs, only to discover that there is no string. grrr. This is a trademark of my husbands. He is a cronic non-refiller. lol. It’s a serious condition. Sooooooo.. I called him, because I know how to do it, but couldn’t get the stupid cover off.. thought maybe there was a trick. Nope. Just muscle. Figures. He did apologize up one side and down the other for leaving it like that. Yeah, ok. I mean, he has only mowed the yard twice in the past year.. so this isn’t really a “habit” ~ but typical. heh. I love to mow, but I hate using anything after he used it. Its either broken, empty (when it should be full), full (when it should be empty) or missing. I guess I should be thankful he didn’t use speaker wire this time. Last year, we ran out of string, so he used speaker wire and burned up the weed eater motor. *shakes head* Its always interesting around here.

FINALLY… after wrestling with the stupid cover.. I used the HUGE ASSED plumber’s wrench and got it off. Took me 16 thousand tries to get it in there right (I had no example to go off of) and got the trimming done. YaY! So I go to get the mower out… and he didn’t dump the bag when he used the mower last. Not surprised. I ran that to the dumpster.. and went to check the gas. No gas in it. grr. Went downstairs and grabbed the gas can. No gas in there, either. He used it all when he was running fertilizer tanks for his job (so he didn’t have to stop at the gas station) and I distinctly remember his promise to fill it back up for me when he came back. pffft. After this discovery, he called. More “sorry honeys” flying when I was sounding irritated and told him all of the fun I had been having… but had to cut him short because I had not gotten much done in the past HOUR AND A HALF. Crap! Had to go get the gas can filled… came home and I finally was able to mow.. and did. YaY! Had enough time to do the front yard before I had to take a shower and go get the kids. I will have to do the back tomorrow. After we got home, I was outside sweeping the sidewalk, and looked at the yard and noticed that on my SECOND go-over ~ where I do the diagonal way (I always have to go over it twice).. I still have a HUGE unfinished triangle of grass at a higher length. doh. Have to get that tomorrow. I’m exhausted thinking about it.

Yesterday, I went to town and cleaned my mom’s basement. It helps her out and she pays me a little too. A good deal both ways. Today, every muscle in my arms and shoulders hurt. I think its her vacuum.. it weighs 5000 pounds, I swear. We just bought a new one the other day and I LOVE it. Its a cheapie too… and LIGHT. I think its self propelled!

Did 15 miles on the bike last night. Im scared that the 167 I was was just a fluke.. but it was still 167 this morning. *whew* Will do 10 - 15 miles tonight too. Feeling go0d! Oh, and *whispering* I put progress pictures up. There is a link over there too >> Not that I want the world to see my chub disappear, but I know how motivated I get when I see others succeeding in their progress pictures.. and hope maybe I can contribute too. I have 32 to 37 pounds to go. Maybe less depending on my muscle ratio. I KNOW I will get there. So if you want to follow the progress in pictures.. well, its there. Oh, and yeah.. I blurred my face because I always have a goofy look goin’ on. haha. :)

Time to go. Gotta figure out what to make for dinner.

Guess who rode their bike for 25 MILES yesterday?? Me! It was split up into two parts, but still.. !!! At 1pm, Robert and I watched a movie and I rode for 15 miles. Then, last night.. I rode again at my regularly scheduled time for 10 more miles. My legs were tired. I also ate perfectly and got ALL of my water in.. was a great day. My body was VERY happy when I went to sleep last night. I will NEVER eat like I did Friday night through Saturday. ICK. I felt so gross.

OH.. by the way.. guess who saw 167.5 on the scale this morning?? ME!! I hit my 20 pounds. Whats kind of funny is that technically, I hit 20.5 pounds lost on THE 6 week mark. When I first started, I didn’t start on a Monday. I had a pig fest (you know what I am talking about ~ the last meal.. lol) on the 7th of July.. and started the very next morning ~ Tuesday.

Anyway. I had to toot that horn. I am shooting for 158 by September 29th. This week and next, I will attempt to give myself two extra days of cardio for 30 minutes (on top of my 6 days on the bike for 10+ miles).. AND two days of weights. I am getting ready to get in the mill in about 30 minutes. I have so work to finish on the computer and a load of laundry to fold first.

Robert is home again today (and very restless ~ however, he is sleeping right now). His truck is still broken. We went to town yesterday and bought a new vacuum. I know better than to take Robert along. He is a budget buster. We bought WAY more than a vacuum. The good thing that came out of it is that I bought some new underwear! YaY!  I had no choice. Robert said either I pick them out or he would. He was sick of seeing my 10 year old drawers ~ most of which are falling off my ass now since I have been loosing this chub. ha. If I let him pick them out, I would be the one picking 24/7.. out of my rear! He would have bought thongs or lace or some other unpractical (porn-like) kinds of undies. gah. I need comfort man!! All is good now and I have some cute undies now.

Better get. Its been so long since I have been on the treadmill.. I hope it still works for something other than a clothes hanger. heh. I hope everyone has a great day.. and stay away from the polish sausages with nacho cheese at the convenience stores. They are the DEVIL.

It has been raining here for the past week. I was REALLY happy to FINALLY get some rain. Now I am sick of it. We are growing mushrooms in our yard. I’m ready for some sunshine again.

My weigh-in this morning was nice. It was only a 1.5 pound loss, but I was lucky to have that. We went with Robert to Colorado Friday night.. and needless to say, the healthy choices in food while on the road in a big truck.. well, they weren’t there. At ALL. Im not even going to confess what I ate.. it was bad. I paid the price for it.. and still am this morning ~ even after eating back on track yesterday. I was sicker than a dog Sunday night. I have never in my life looked forward to chicken and lettuce as much as I have these past two days. Bleh. My body hated me this weekend. So, seeing 1.5 lost this morning was amazing. I will get back to cardio today. I crave it. I was hoping ti hit my 20 pound mark in 6 weeks.. but came up short. I hit 17 pounds.. and that’s nothing to sneeze at. I will bust my ass to hit 168 by next Monday. Then I can keep at it from there.

Everything is breaking down around us. Robert’s truck Friday night, WHILE we were with him ~ was breakdown #2 (I will get back to breakdown #1 in a minute). The alternator belt burned up on the way to Colorado. We were stuck for 6 hours waiting for someone to come fix us or jump us.. or save us. LOL. Trey was with my brother here in town, so it was Robby, Ashley and I with Robert. The kids were so restless because we wouldn’t run anything that would suck juice from the battery. We sat in silence ~ no radio, no cb, no tv… nothing but coloring books. It was pouring rain in Colorado too. Finally, another company driver, who was on his way back home, stopped by and gave us his belt.. and then he had to run off his batteries all the way home. We had to climb a pretty big mountain ~ more winding than steep ~ to get to the place where we had to drop the load. It was scary to me. I closed my eyes on the way down. LOL. Going up was no problem because we were loaded and could only climb going 20mph. It was beautiful too. I just don’t like mountain driving. When I was about 16, I had a dream that my mom and I drove off a mountain and died. Ever since then, they scare the crap out of me.

The van is breakdown #3. We are getting ready to sell it, and now have to wait and see whats wrong with it. The electrical system is taking a shit.. and now the “check engine” light is on non-stop. bleh. This morning, the vacuum died ~ breakdown #4. YaY. AND.. a little while ago, I put some clothes in the dryer and the dryer is squealing really loud ~ breakdown #5. YaY again. I know there are a few more.. but can’t remember what they are at the moment.

Back to breakdown #1..

Robert called me Thursday morning around 10am.. he was on his way back from Colorado. He was in a LOT of pain.. couldn’t hardly breathe.. and I have never ever heard him like this. He was almost yelling, the pain was so bad ~ he was looking for a place to pull over. I told him to call me when he was stopped.. and he did. He couldn’t get comfortable.. said his side and back were in fire. Hearing him like that was so very scary and there was nothing I could do. I told him to lay down for a while, thinking maybe it was gas pains or uh, backed up from sitting still for so long. He called me back 30 minutes later and was in even more pain. He said it was so bad, he couldn’t move without shots of pain making hm curl up in a ball. He finally called the ambulance and they came and got him.. took him to the hospital. The gave him some pain medicine.. did all of his work-ups and figured out that he had passed some kidney stones. Only one had come all the way out.. but they had all moved down to his bladder. By that time he was feeling better.. so he took a cab back to the truck and headed home.. knowing he had 2 more to pass eventually.

He still hasn’t passed them.

I better get my booty moving. I want to have all my chores done before Robby goes to school at noon ~ so I will for sure be able to exercise.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Week 5 Weigh-In: 172.5  (one week to go!)

I don’t know what my problem is.. but I am just crabby today. The scale pissed me off right away.. that probably didn’t help. Friday morning I was at 172.5 and feeling good. Was hoping to hit 172 or MAYBE 171 by Monday. Friday night, I skipped my cardio because I was mad at my husband and pouted instead of working out (don’t ask). Saturday morning I was down to 170.5 and was saying WTF all morning. I mean, I missed a meal and skipped my cardio the night before.. then lost after being stuck at the same number for most of the week?? AHH~ Weird! So Saturday night, I did my cardio and ate perfectly that whole day, only to see 171.5 Sunday morning. Up a pound? LOL. By now I am just shaking my head and cussing at the scale. Ate perfectly all day yesterday, got my cardio in last night.. even did 13 miles when I was only shootin for 10. This morning.. I was back up to 172.5. OMG. Pass me a cookie. I might lose 2 pounds if I eat it. haha. Just kidding. effin’ scale.

The kiddos go back to school this Thursday. I am trying to get laundry completely finished.. get hair cuts done.. school bags together and everything done before then. I decided I was going to ONE round of cardio during the day ~ 3 days a week. Even if I can get an extra 30 minutes in there for 3 or 4 days (that precious time slot where I have no kids 4 days out of the week~ Whoot!).. it will help. My body is getting WAY too cozy with doing the same thing all the time. The bike riding is getting easier. I need a bigger challenge. Been there, done that.. but at this very moment ~ its hard to change it up because it WORKS and I am in such a perfect routine. You know how I get about routines. Time to mix ‘er up and get ‘er done.

I have tons of eBay to finish up today ~ yes the same batch I was planning on finishing last week, but didn’t. Plus, Im getting rid some of my bigger clothes that I have in-grown (lol.. whats the opposite of out-grown?). I figure, if I get rid of them ~ I better not get bigger or I will be runnin’ around nekkid. yikes!

Oh yeah.. I have taken a few progress pictures.. and will post them soon. I have one more week on this first round of the 6WBMO.. and I think it will probably take me 3 or 4 rounds (or more?). I may post some progress pictures in a week or so. I think that’s more exciting than the numbers.

I will be back later… gotta finish cleanin’ the kitchen, then Im off to take 5 bazillion pictures for these eBay lots.

Toodles~

TOM is here and right now I feel like crawling into bed, turning on a fan, snuggling under my blankets and going to sleep. I feel so crappy. Since I cant do that.. Im being whiny instead. lol. Eating has been a challenge today. Not eating the wrong foods.. but eating in general. Its hard enough to eat when you feel crappy.. but eating every 2 or 3 hours when you feel like this, is just… icky (I cant even think of a good word to describe it).

I enrolled Robby for school yesterday. Cried on the way home. Enrolled the other two in Middle school today. Cried on the way home again. WTF? lol. Stupid TOM. School starts next Thursday. WHERE did the summer go???

I exercised last night.. barely managed to get 10 miles. I HAD to do it because Im not sure if I will have it in me to ride tonight or tomorrow. Day 2 & 3 on TOM just kicks the shit out me emotionally and physically. Im on my feet all day doing my daily stuff.. and by the time 9pm comes (my normal planned time).. exercise is the last thing I want to do ~ while feeling like this. 

Robert found out today that his “huge loads” aren’t going to happen as expected. Stupid fuel costs are making companies turn to the railroad more for what the trucking industry used to cover.. so his company is getting the shaft on the number of loads they were given out this season. Robert was able to grab one or two loads.. and that’s going to be it. Now, after knowing this, do you think he has let up about buying an ATV or whatever it is he wants this week? No. He tried to talk about it again a few hours ago but with my mood, he stopped that conversation fast. doh. Smart man. My head hurts just thinking about it. AGAIN.

Enough bitching for one day. I will hopefully be back in a chipper mood in a day or so… please bare with me. 

Hey! That book I was talking about the other day ~ Deceptively Delicious ~ where you can hide the veggies in the foods… I have it now!! An AWESOME reader, Nancie, sent it to me the other day (thank you thank you!). I am really excited to try some recipes in it. The boys are leaving for a few hours tonight to hang out at their surrogate grandmother’s house… so Ashley and I are thinking about trying out a few recipes tonight. I cant wait to see if Robby eats it! I will keep you posted.

Nothing more to write about today. Hope you all had a GREAT hump day & OH!.. thanks for the comments in the last post ladies! Ya made me smile BIG

Weight: 

Week 4 weigh-in… 174

That’s a 3.5 pound loss for last week! YaY! I didn’t hit my 15 pound mark, but I am VERY happy with that loss.

TOM should be here any moment.. and I am having constipation issues (HEY ~ I warned you in the “about me” that I might talk about this.. lol). I have to get something for that today because its a tad painful and not making my mood any better. I expect to see a huge drop either this week or next.

I am almost into virgin fat. LOL. I love saying that. By ‘virgin fat” I mean, the last two times I lost real weight and gave it 110% ~ I only got down to 164. In 2001 - 2002 I went from 260(ish) pounds to 164 pounds. In 2005 I went from 210 pounds to 167 pounds. So, I have yet to see a number lower than 164, and when I do.. it will be virgin fat. hehe. That’s 10 POUNDS from where I am now. You have no idea how weird it is to say that.. and see that it WILL happen.. and then some. I am so ready to get there.

Exercise:

This week I rode my beloved bike for 84.6 miles. Even while Robert was home.. rode all three nights for 15 MILES! YaY!

I will try and and match or beat that this week.. and add two more cardio workouts in the daytime.. maybe a video. Something. Its been 4 weeks.. and if I don’t change things up a bit.. my body will not respond as well. I know this from past experience.

Gotta go make some lunch for the kiddos now. ~ more later…

We haven’t done much this weekend. Yesterday we went to town and played around for a while. Robert dropped Ashley and I off at the Goodwill and he took the boys to go look at 4 wheelers. That debate is still on-going. I think he has decided not to get the Suzuki. I say think because every day, he changes his mind. I just want to get something.. ANYTHING soon so that subject of conversation can go away. Its like having a kid who begs for a new toy every day.. all day. LOL.

The Goodwill store had a dollar sale yesterday. I bought two HUGE bags full of stuff for $25. A bunch of different sizes of items. One of my favorite scores of the day was a purple suede skirt. OMG its nice! Its nice and out there all at once.. just like me. hehe. I also bought about some jeans and shirts that I will put up on eBay. Aeropostale shirts in perfect condition ~ tween size. Those sell REALLY well… a pair of Abercrombie jeans ~ like new. I left VERY happy. It takes a while to find the good stuff, but when you do, its like winning money on a scratch ticket.

I have done very well the past few days with the program.. may hit my 15 pounds lost on Monday. Maybe. If not, I will be damn close. IN FOUR WEEKS! Yeah.. Im a little stoked. Robert is tripping a little. lol. He ate a little better last week (more fruits and water while working) and dropped 5 pounds. He has also been eating fairly well this weekend.. compared to normal. I think I may be on to something.

Wednesday or Thursday.. while anticipating the weekend coming and knowing that I have my “slips while Robert is home.. I made a deal with myself. I decided that instead of beating myself up over a cheat or a slip this weekend, I would give myself permission to do so, as long as I kept it under control. Funny thing is.. after doing that.. I ended up not cheating AT ALL this weekend. doh. Yeah, been right on plan every day.. except for skipping my mid-morning snack yesterday. That is it. AND! Both Friday night AND Saturday night, while watching movies with the family.. I rode my bike ~ 15 miles each time. Now THAT is a Non-Scale Victory for me! I hate to exercise in front of them, but as they sat and ate pop-corn.. I was dripping sweat and burning calories, enjoying the movie. The smell of the popcorn kind of made my stomach hurt.

My TOM is fast approaching, so I have been extremely tired today. I can feel it. I think I might take it slow and easy tonight with my cardio. I don’t want to skip it.. but am having a hard time staying energized today. bleh. Instead, I have been lounging and even fell asleep while my daughter put 100 braids in my hair. ZzZz.. I still could sleep another few hours..

but its time to go figure out what to make for dinner. Gotta get my butt moving. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Ill be back tomorrow.