Life is good!

Back from Italia.
Loved it!
I would live there in a second.
Unbelievably, only gained 2 pounds after a week of cruising and a little over a week with famiglia.
Food was AMAZING!
But we are back.

So incredibly busy at work, and more often than not, in the office. No time for much else, and everything is being neglected. Not everyone, just everything else. But this means I have a job. Having a job helps pay for my home. And pays for food on the table. And pays for kids' Christmas presents. And pays for fun nights out with the family. And pays for gas to to get all the places I need to go.

I have a roof over my head.
I have a full belly.
I have a healthy family.
Life isn't good.
Life is GREAT!

Maintaining It or Losing It? How About a Little Pick Me Up?

I've been doing Weight Watchers, but really, just trying to change my eating habits all together. I've been doing pretty good, if I may say so myself. I've lost my 5%, and working it on down to my 10%. Well, I reached my 5% on Monday, and so, for those of you who don't know WW, you then set a new goal. I set my next goal at my 10% from the starting weight. Now, I looves my WW app on my iPhone. With the new plan it make it possible to stay on track. I would be lost without my app. The problem is, I have to use it. And I haven't. Since Monday, I lapsed in to the lazy zone.

Well today I went to my handy dandy app to get back on track and my daily points target changed from 29 to 35?? What, I can eat more now? What's up with that? I looked everywhere to figure out why I suddenly had 6 extra points. Sometimes I find it hard to meet the 29 points, so I wasn't overly ecstatic about it. I finally broke down and called their 800#. Crapola, when I met my 1st goal, it switched me to maintenance mode, instead of weight loss mode. Hmph! My app failed me.

Well, I've been maintaining for a few weeks. It seems every weekend there was some party or something to celebrate, the shower, Audrey's party.... So although I did great through out the week, I was getting it all back on a party day. At least it was a minor loss every week, .2, .3... You get the drift. That last 1.5 pounds to my 5% took forever. But I made it, and now I'm back on track. I think.

Speaking of points... I made tiramisu for the 1st time. I actually made 2. #1 was with the regular savoiardi cookies and I think I overly doused them in the espresso, it was a bit soggy, but all the flavor was there. The 2nd one I used 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 vanilla savoiardi cookies and it was perfect! So much work, I tell you. But it was fun, and now I know, less liquid is better. Mike was lovin' it. He's the one that kept bugging me to make it. I know I won't get too points crazy, because I don't care for tiramisu too much. It's good, but overly rich for my taste. Give me a baguette any day over a piece or tiramisu.

Tonight, London Broil slow cooked in a delectable mushroom sauce, with fresh herbs over risotto, and .... hmmmm ... asparagus? Surprisingly low in points the way I prepared it. I'm eating some baguette with it, since I ran a lot this morning.

Now, off to drop the boys at church and to pick up some fresh bread and asparagus.

Big Talent, Big Lips, and Pink Toe Nails

Talent show is done. It was GREAT. Hunter did so well. He came out a little shy, but it took no time for him to feel at home. Here's his 1st appearance.

The Flip was great, but I was a little record happy and missed the last 2 joke sessions. He appeared 4 times, once was the talent show finale. I got them on my iPhone, but I'm louder than Hunter.

AJ's soccer day in the sun was fun, and long, and windy, and hot. There was no parking, save for a mile away. Mike and Hunter went to church 1st while AJ and I went to check in. I walked a mile, with chairs, and camera, and blanket, and cooler... Then, I made sure everyone was slathered in sunscreen. Except me. I got burned to a crisp. And we lost all 3 games. 

So now, I look like some bad Beverly Hills face job, overly tanned leather face. Super big swollen glossy lips from cold sores. Big monster cold sores. Big monster lips. Looks like I had collagen injections. So painful. I'm overdosing on L-Lysine bills, and Vitamin E, and Vitamin C, and slathering on the Lysine gel. And it hurts. But my raccoon white eyes are just fine. 

So Jake Jake is back, helping the boys in the garden. They are getting the garden area ready for planter boxes. They're doing it for me. My boys are so good to me. Jake Jake has been back a few times. He loves it here. His eyes are still super goopy infected. I hate it. I want to get him drops, or whatever he needs. But I know his people do pay him some attention. I know this because there is proof. Pink sparkly proof. Pink sparkly toe nail proof. He's comfortable in his manhood. Sierra, on the other hand, doesn't take him seriously anymore. 

Tonight... 

Back to the talent. 

Going to a Sharks game. 

Fan appreciation night. 

They've been on fire. 

So psyched. 

Mike wants me to wear something that covers my lip. 

I'm thinking I'll leave him at home.

Flippin' Cute!

Got my new Flip! So stinkin' cute! So easy to use!

Next week is the talent show and Hunter will be wowing us with his comedic talent. So glad I got my Flip in time.

Saturday, indoor soccer game. Sunday outdoor soccer starts with 3 games. So glad I got my Flip in time.

Got flipped off in the car the other day. She was getting on the freeway at 20 MPH. Yes that was 2-0! So I was a little close to her trying to find my opportunity to go around. Well psycho followed me around and then stopped to scream at me. Wish I had my Flip then. Instead, I flipped her off right back, which is odd, I normally wave back. Not that I frequently get flipped off. Just that I don't let people get in my emotions like that.

Hunter is wanting some chicken and dumplings. So funny because I've only made once or twice before, and it's been years. So tonight, chicken and dumplings it will be. Because he wants it, he will have to make it. It will be punishment for making me drive back to school today to take him a clean shirt and pants, since he spilled milk this morning eating his 2nd breakfast. And then he dropped the clean shirt I brought in to the toilet. So forcing the kid to make dinner will be a good revenge. However, cleaning the dishes would be even better. Hmmmmm. So glad I have my Flip to actually film him doing some labor.

Hopefully next post will have a little Flip action. Until then, I'll just be Flippin' out.

Peace

When it rains...

Man, did it dump on us.  It poured buckets, then it hailed, then it poured and hailed, then the lightening shot across the sky with almost simultaneous thunder claps. Insane, crazy, psychotic storm. The back ditch filled up in just a matter of minutes. It climbed in to the grapes. The front street flooded up. We're surrounded like a big moat. I hope Jake Jake is in his house, safe and warm. 

And what did we do? We made lasagne. Well, AJ made the sauce. I made the noodles. Fresh mozzarella, all fresh herbs, sausage from the butcher, delicious. I gained 5 pounds just smelling it cooking, and another 15 pounds eating it. But I was so proud of that young lad working at the stove. And he tore those fresh basil leaves like a professional chef. He measured and threw in the ingredients for the pasta, but then ran off to play a couple games of chess with his Dad. Mike 1 - AJ 1. And Hunter, well, he ate homemade fettuccine and drank carrot juice, no sauce for him.

What a great night. Now it's time to settle down, pack for Audrey's, and watch a Bones repeat. I love that tomorrow is my favorite day of the week, Friday!

A little bit of this, and a lot of bit of that.

Meet Jake Jake. His name is Jake, but to us, there is the one and only Jake, the perfect chocolate dog. Jake Jake is our neighbor, but he loves us. His fence has more holes than a slice of swiss cheese and his massive frame can squeeze himself in to the tiniest mouse hole. His name should be Jerry, but it's Jake. To us, it's Jake Jake, as in Jake the 2nd. He loves us so much he's visited 3 times over the past week. We love him back. He's the perfect dog, he comes to visit, but then he goes home and we don't have to scoop massive horse size poop, or feed him what I'm sure would take a trough full of food. I worry about him. He has eye infections, which his breed is prone to. Do his people have drops for him? Are they not worried about his constant escapes? Do they let him in the house and give him loads of attention? I'm afraid to ask his people because I don't want to be the nosey neighbor, so we just walk him home. Me in the car, him trotting next to me. It's been a few stormy days since we've seen him last. I hope he's being a good boy. 

I'm on the decline weight wise. So happy about that. Getting a little exercise and food obsessed helps. My food obsession is more about being fed well. I want food with substance, flavor, happy happy. I'm no  foodie, I couldn't even pretend to know my way around the chic food scene. I'm just thinking, if I stop cramming mediocre crap down my throat, think of all the food I won't eat. Problem... I cook mediocre crap. So I've turned my poor family in to guinea pigs for my cooking experiments. Now, I'm not trying untried combos, I'm just trying to learn how to make the normal everyday stuff, but with some flavor and more freshness. The grocery store is just about a daily stop since I started buying for just what I'm cooking. I don't stock up, and I'm terrible about planning ahead. But it's fun, and the kids are getting the bug. The kids, as in AJ. Hunter doesn't care about a thing unless it's chicken nuggets or hot dogs. AJ wants to make dinner all by himself. However, I'm a bit concerned with his knife work. I'm thinking I'll be the sous chef. For now, it's just me trying to learn to cook. I did fine before, but now I'm doing it with flavor, although not always good flavor. I want to learn how to make a few things really well. I'm bombing on the cupcakes, but rocking the icing. I'm an intermediate pasta maker, but need to learn a good sauce to go with. Thankfully, the in-laws keep me well supplied in freshly jarred sauce. Lasagne is probably the one thing I made that was great the 1st time. Tomorrow we will see how it comes out the 2nd time. In the meanwhile, AJ and I just sit and watch Food Network and the cooking channel and bet on how will make the final round of Chopped. It must be helping because this weekend Mike actually suggested I learn how to make tiramisu, which shows he has some confidence in my abilities.    

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan sorta jumped up and slapped me in the face. My heart broke a thousand times as I watched the horrors unfold on tv. It reminded me that nothing I own really matters. Just my family and loved ones. All of them. Every single one of them. I want to see them as much as I can. Last weekend, I took the boys to San Francisco for Vanessa's shower. I LOVED it. Vanessa is such a beautiful mom to be. Natalie's kids are growing so quickly and each one of them so amazingly beautiful. Tia Lety has not aged a single day since I last saw her. She always looks so beautiful and it was great in the evening when most people had left to just sit and catch up with her. We stayed at Dad's and it was so wonderful to have that extra time with Nanny. I just can't get enough of her. Today is her 92nd birthday, and there is not a day that goes by that I am not so thankful for the times my kids get to spend getting to know her. I'm so happy they've had those moments. This weekend, I'm heading down to LA. The boys' Aunt Frankenstein is coming to CA and we are stoked to see her. Hopefully Pinky will make it up over the weekend so we get to see her, too. The boys' are psyched, but me, way more. I can't wait to see Pica Chica's green hair, and give Sid Vicious his 16 spankings.  

Tomorrow the boys get passports, we have a talent show dress rehearsal, I hit the gym, finish laundry, and make lasagne. Oh yeah, and squeeze in a full day's work, homework, catechism, and a bit of at home soccer practice, since official practice is at the same time as catechism. Wow, I'm tired already, but really thinking about that lasagne.