27 August 2008

Thursday Thirteen - 15th Edition

I am participating in A Walk In the Park to Cure Kids Cancer and I am trying to raise more money using my blog than my husband can raise using his friends on MySpace and Facebook, for my Thursday Thirteen, I decided to list the 13 Six Flags locations that are participating in this great cause!

  1. Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (Louisville, Kentucky)
  2. Six Flags America (Washington, DC/Baltimore, Maryland)
  3. Six Flags The Great Escape (Lake George, New York)
  4. Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, Texas)
  5. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, California)
  6. Six Flags Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
  7. Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey)
  8. Six Flags Great America (Chicago, Illinois)
  9. Six Flags Magic Mountain (Los Angeles, California)
  10. Six Flags New England (Springfield, Massachusetts)
  11. Six Flags Over Georgia (Atlanta, Georgia)
  12. Six Flags St. Louis (St. Louis, Missouri)
  13. Six Flags Over Texas (well, we Texans always like to remind you that everything is bigger and better here, so I thought that it deserved a second mention...besides, Thursday Twelve just doesn't have the same ring!)

In all seriousness, this is a GREAT cause and if you are interested in sponsoring my walk, please click HERE and make a secure donation. Let me know if you donate as little as a dollar and I will enter you in a drawing to win a hardback copy of my favorite Christian fiction book! Either way, please leave me a comment wishing me luck at beating my husband at the fundraising!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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A Walk in the Park

David and I have done lots of talking about what more we can do to help others while teaching Kirstyn valuable lessons and well, while having some fun. I think we found the perfect event for our family to participate! On Sept 6th we will be part of Six Flags "A Walk In The Park" to raise money to cure kids cancer! I am excited to be walking and trying to raise some money and I also have to say that I am very thankful that I am not walking for any specific child, just for all of the children that are affected by this horrible disease!

Now, David and I tend to be very competitive when we make up our minds to do something like this... See, since David is also walking, he is supposed to raise money too. We now have a little contest going to see if I can get more $$$ from the blogging world or if he can get more money from his many friends on Facebook and MySpace. Please help me win!!! You can support me by making a secure online donation using your credit card. From my page, click one of the 'Sponsor Me' buttons to make your gift. For donations of five dollars or more, you will have a chance to win one of twelve trips to Cabo San Lucas courtesy of Worldmark by Wyndham.

If you are interested in joining me for "A Walk In The Park", or for more information about this event, Cure Kids Cancer and Six Flags Friends, please visit their website. The walk is on Sept 6th so stay tuned to learn how much we raise as a family and of course there will be pictures of us at the walk!

If you donate ANY amount of $$$, leave me a comment and I will put you in a drawing to win a hardback copy of my favorite Christian fiction book!

Also, would you consider mentioning this GREAT cause on your blog and linking back to my donation website so that I can prove to my husband that the blogging community is much stronger and more generous than his list of "friends"!

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So Big and So Busy!

Kirstyn has been very busy the past few days. I am just running around trying to keep up and remember to take pictures so that I won't forget all of these moments!

First, on Friday night we went to her "Going to Big Church Party." See, at our church, when they are four they start going to worship with us so that they can learn and model how we worship. Anyway, on Friday night we went to this party where we had a short pretend worship service so that we could role play how we would act on Sunday. They got to witness a "baptism" and learn that there is nothing magic about our water, they got to taste the grape juice and stale crackers that we use for the Lord's Supper so that they understand it is not about what it is but about what it represents. Then they got to have cookies and lemonade with our pastor and other ministers. Kirstyn really had a good time and was very excited on Saturday morning at 6:30 am when she arrived by my bed with her "Big Church Bag" they gave her on her arm all ready to go to church. She was a little disappointed to learn that she had one more 'after bed' before going to big church but was then excited to get to watch Scooby Doo so that I could catch another 30 minutes of sleep (I know, Mom of the Year...brain rot here we come...I need my sleep so that I can be nice!!!)!


Then, Sunday arrived and she got to go to Big Church! She was very excited and did VERY well during the service. The 4 year olds were all invited to the stage at the beginning to sing "Jesus Loves Me" with the pastor. Kirstyn really enjoyed watching herself on the big screen!

Yesterday was also a very busy day! First in the morning she had "Meet the Teacher" at her pre-school. David took her to that so that he could also meet her teachers and so that I would not have to miss my Weight Watchers meeting. She is very excited and thinks that her teachers are "really pretty and have cute shoes."

Then after that, we had an exciting 'Girl's Day' planned. We went with her friends Trinity and Mabrie and their mommies to Sweet and Sassy, a hair salon for little girls, to get the girls all haircuts. After their haircuts we took them to lunch together. Kirstyn kept saying that she wanted her hair cut short so I had them cut it just short enough to make her happy and so that I can still put it up in pig tails or a pony tail when she has dance and school. She hates having any hair on her face so I knew this was important. Even during the haircut she kept saying "itchy nose, itchy nose" because her little baby hairs were touching her face.



Then we went to the office to show off the new hair-doo to Mimi, Grandpa, and Daddy. That is where she received her last surprise of the day.... a DVD that she has been asking for for MONTHS now... Ariel's Beginnings. We have already watched it and I have to say that it was pretty good but the beginning of it had the 'classic Disney' treatment of the mom (aka Nemo's mom, Bambi's mom, etc)...

Tomorrow she starts her last year of preschool because next fall she will be in Kindergarten. I really can't believe that the time has gone so fast and she has gotten so big!
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26 August 2008

Tell All Tuesday - Week 20

Today is probably the most exciting post that I have done to date! Today I had a great weigh in! I was down......are you ready for this number.... 3.8 pounds! I am in ONEderland!!!!! This is very exciting for me because I am pretty sure the last time I weighed this little was probably the summer between 5th and 6th grade! This weigh in also allowed me to celebrate losing my second 10%! Yes, that is right, I have now lost more than 20% of my body weight.
Also today, a lady in my WW meeting mentioned that she had heard of a woman that gave her husband a WW star sticker since he had been encouraging her. He put the sticker on his laptop and looked at it often knowing what his encouragement had meant to his wife. Today she gave ME a sticker for encouraging her. That meant so much to me to get a BRAVO sticker for encouraging someone else! I have never really thought of myself as an encourager before today! THANK YOU for letting me encourage you and for making my day!

Now, for continued focus... I am now down 5.6 pounds in 3 weeks so that means I have 14.4 pounds left to loose in the next 17 weigh ins to make sure that I reach my 20 pounds in 20 weeks! I can definitely do that! Keep chanting or praying or both with me.... 20 in 20! 20 in 20!

Thanks again to all of you that stop by and encourage me on Tuesdays! Keep up the kind words...your support has made a big difference to me in this journey. Some days are hard and I am wanting to make bad choices and I will take the time and go back and read YOUR comments to help me find my resolve! Thank you!
*Update: I just realized that my Tell All Tuesday posts all about my accomplishments fit in with the Tuesday Toot...plus, I just love the name! Anyway, my future Tell All Tuesdays will be Tuesday Toots (ahem)!

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20 August 2008

Where did that come from?

Okay, first, if you have a very vivid imagination you may not want to read this post. I mean, I still want you to be able to look me in the eye!

When I got out of the shower last night I was stretching my sore arms and then, I saw it! I was so excited that I just had to share this find with David. I quickly went into the kitchen, after putting on some clothes of course, don't want the children in therapy this early... Anyway, I immediately said "look" and pulled up my shirt. As you can imagine David's eyes were wide and his mouth was open and then he said, "at what?" Because you see, I had not pulled up my shirt as high as he was hoping for me to... "LOOK", I said! Again, there is David with the what? So, I had to show him....

I have a rib cage and you can see it! I don't know if I have ever seen it before! This is great reassurance to me that I really am losing weight AND inches! Now, gotta find the hip bone and then the six pack that I am sure are hiding under there just waiting to show off!

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19 August 2008

Tell All Tuesday - Week 19

Okay, well my scale is a little bipolar today. I was up this morning at home 4 lbs from just yesterday! Why? Well, I think it is because of the weight lifting class that I took last night before my regular one hour aerobics class. The last time I was this sore from that class I was up on the scale. Anyway, so today at Weight Watchers I weighed in up 1.2 lbs. You know what that means... that means next week I will see a big number with a minus sign in front of it, I just know it! I am still on my 20 lbs in 20 weeks mission... 18 weigh ins before Christmas... do you have your goal set and a plan for achieving it?

Today in our meeting we talked about the importance of setting attainable goals and about how important it is to celebrate those goals. I couldn't celebrate a loss today but I could celebrate the fact that I spent over 10 hours this week at the gym working very hard at changing myself! We also shared today about how something someone has said has inspired us or encouraged us. Two people mentioned me and it brought me to the edge of tears! That meant so much to me!!! You know, I had to decide a while back that I could either sit in the meeting and just listen and be jealous of other successes or I could be transparent and allow myself to be encouraged by the meeting and by the other members. I am so glad that I have chosen the later because I have already made some friends that I wouldn't trade for anything! And by being transparent I can be encouraged and motivated to keep this journey going....I have already come to terms with the fact that I will be a part of a WW meeting until Jesus comes back...I just can't wait until I get to attend meetings for free as a lifetime member at goal weight!

So, today I leave you with the quote that Suzy ended our meeting with today:
"It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward." -Chinese Proverb

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18 August 2008

Tagged

I was tagged on Thursday by two bloggers that I really enjoy reading to do almost the exact same meme. Check it out... I haven't been tagged in forever to do a meme and then all of a sudden, I am tagged on the same day with almost the same meme. hummmm... guess I better play this time!

Stacie's Madness tagged me to do this meme:
Here are the rules...It's pretty self-explanatory, no? Let's call it The 10-For-10 Meme. Tell us/me/the world 10 interesting/random/quirky/normal/silly things about yourself...things you're looking forward to, things about you personally, whatever you want.

Sarah in Disturbia tagged me to do this meme:
Six Unspectacular Things About Me
First you post the rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

So, I am going to combine the two into one! If I tag you, you can choose which rules you want to follow!

  1. If I am having trouble going to sleep or going back to sleep in the middle of the night, all I have to do is get an ice pack out of the freezer and make a neck roll out of it. This brings my body temperature down and I can go right back to sleep and I sleep really well like this. I even do this in the winter!
  2. I have not developed pictures since Kirstyn's 1st Birthday! Good thing I have decided to start digital scrapbooking instead of paper scrapbooking.
  3. I love to watch the Food Network. I like all of the shows on there...especially Good Eats, Dinner Impossible, 30 Minute Meals, Paula's Party. Oh and you should know that Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives is a dieter's porn!
  4. I do not iron. I hate to iron! I think all clothing should be wrinkle resistant! I purchased a can of spray starch when I moved out of the dorms into my first apartment in 1998...we just ran out last week! We would still be using the same can if it wasn't for my mom and grandma ironing things like my curtains each time I have moved!
  5. One of my favorite movies as a child was The Chipmunk Adventure. My sister and I used to sing the songs and act out several of the scenes. I mean, we loved this movie! Well, last year I was able to find it on DVD and bought it for Kirstyn. Imagine my delight when she LOVED it too! She loves the music and yesterday was acting out one of the scenes from the movie using her barbies! We are watching it right now as I type this while James is taking his afternoon nap.
  6. I always have a big cup with me. Usually it is a Sonic cup full of water because I wash them out and then use them until they fall apart! I feel lost if I don't always have something to drink within reach. I usually have my daily water intake checked off my food journal before 11 am.

Okay, well that is probably way more information about me than you ever dreamed you wanted to know! Now, I guess it is time for me to tag a few fellow bloggers:

  1. Kristy at Cherish The Moments (she finally confessed to being one of my blog stalkers...so now I am able to follow her blog too!)
  2. Amy at Super Healthy Kids (I am so glad that I found this blog! She reiterates many of the things I am already doing...guess I should have mentioned my need for reassurance...anyway, she has some great ideas, recipes, and even contests!)
  3. Jill at The Diaper Diaries (She really cracks me up! I started reading her blog several months ago when she first did this post.)

I hope yall play! I can't wait to get to know each of you just a little bit better!

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17 August 2008

Happy Birthday Mom!



Today, August 17th, is my mom's birthday. For her birthday weekend, mom and dad came to our house for a visit. Kirstyn loves to celebrate birthdays and was very excited to have Dee Dee and Pappy here. We made reservations for Resturant Week at Texas de Brazil for Friday evening. We really enjoyed the resturant and had a great time at dinner! As we are leaving my dad popped off and said, "for that price you should have taken more pictures!" My mom rolled her eyes and told him to shutup and she kept walking toward where the valet was waiting. I laughed and immediately handed my camera to some guy walking down the street. The random man is obviously not a photographer but took a picture of my dad and me anyway! If you don't know my parents they are a funny mix! My dad is very casual and jokes around lots while my mom loves to enjoy finer things and is usually pretty quiet and reserved. For example, The Redneck Tenors is a perfect example of thier 'mix'...my mom loves classical music and my dad loves to listen to Larry the Cable Guy!


My mom also got to enjoy some tax free shopping this weekend. Then this morning, Kirstyn woke me up to get me to fix a cup of coffee for her to take to Dee Dee in her bed. I broke out the travel mug with a tight fitting lid, and off Kirstyn went to wake up Dee Dee. Kirstyn also had me get started on making Dee Dee a special birthday breakfast of waffles and fruit. We topped off the breakfast suprises with a big Happy Birthday balloon at the breakfast table.


Happy Birthday Dee Dee! We are very glad you chose to spend your birthday weekend with us. We love you!!!


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13 August 2008

Thursday Thirteen - 14th Edition

Since I have set myself a goal of losing 20 lbs in 20 weeks, I decided that I needed to continue to refine my plan for making this happen.

First, I have a quote that is going to be very helpful to me in the next few weeks:
"The only difference between a wish and a goal is a plan!" Check. I have a goal and I am refining my plan to make this weight loss wish a reality!


Second, one time in our Weight Watchers meeting our wonderful leader Suzy passed out calendars and told us to write down our upcoming events that would present eating challenges so that we would make sure to save our flex points and prepare. What a great exercise! I decided that I needed to do this for the events I am aware of that are between now and my 20th weigh in on December 23rd. So here are 13 obstacles that I have identified.

  1. Restaurant Week (We have reservations at Texas de Brazil for my mom's birthday!)

  2. Ranger Game on Dollar Hot Dog night (~ahem~ I will have to practice portion control rather than thinking about the great deal I am getting!)

  3. Best of Texas Festival at Six Flags

  4. Hoo Rah Days (my mouth starts to water while thinking about the yummy Mexican Street Tacos and Kirstyn always wins at the Cake Walk!)

  5. Taste of Arlington (walking - grazing - walking - grazing)

  6. Halloween (the real problem is that this holiday seems to last a week! Kirstyn and James will have a playgroup party, attend a church festival, and we will all go to Grandpa and Mimi's country club for a big costume party...yes, we are already planning our costumes!)

  7. Kirstyn's 5th Birthday (the "BLT's": Bites, Licks, Tastes while preparing for the party are what will get me in trouble!)

  8. Thanksgiving

  9. Black Friday Shopping (thus, eating on the fly!)

  10. Holiday in the Park at Six Flags

  11. Sunday School Christmas Party

  12. Family Christmas Celebration in Arkansas (this always includes Birthday cake in addition to all of the Christmas candy and desserts because we have so many December Birthdays - my nephew Logan 12/12, David 12/20, me 12/25, my Aunt Marilyn 12/27, my cousin Meredith 12/29, and then my cousin's wife Aneta on 01/01)

  13. David's 30th Birthday (we usually celebrate our Birthdays together and this year is the big Three Zero for both of us!)

What obstacles do you have between you and your weight loss goal?

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



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Purple Pedicure Princess

Kirstyn got to go with Mimi on Tuesday while I was at Weight Watchers to get a pedicure and manicure! Mimi said that they were the only two customers in the salon so they really treated Kirstyn special. They changed the television to cartoons, put a pillow behind her back in the massage chair, and massaged her legs and feet. Mimi said that when they were massaging her feet that Kirstyn's eyes got very heavy and she almost went to sleep! They also took the time to add glitter and pictures to her nails. Kirstyn was so very proud of how pretty she looked and how special she felt...can you see the glow in her eyes?


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12 August 2008

Tell All Tuesday - Week 18

I have a smile on my face that will not stop! I weighed in today down 3 pounds! YEAH! 20 pounds in 20 weeks...HERE I COME! I am so proud of all of the hard work and dedication I am putting into this. I have reached a weight that I have not seen since Jr. High....soon I will be to that 5th grade weight!

So now I have a little rant...
I have been watching some of the Olympics and I have to say I am completely annoyed by the McDonald's chicken biscuit commercial. Have you seen this commercial. There are all of these perfectly sculpted athletes holding chicken biscuits talking about how yummy they are to start the day! PLEASE...you and I both know that you cannot eat chicken biscuits (10 points!) and have a 6 pack! Furthermore, if one of those athletes ate one of those things, they would probably have the runs for a week...I'm just saying...

Now that I am done with that, another commercial has me excited! I cannot wait for the return of The Biggest Loser! I love this show! I love seeing the before and afters. I love seeing all of the hard work they are putting into changing their lives. I love how motivated I always feel after watching their weigh-ins. Are you as excited as I am for the return of this show?

Oh and look....




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10 August 2008

Tumbling Camp

Kirstyn spent last week participating in a Tumbling and Dance Camp. She was so excited to wear a leotard and attend camp each day. After the first day she came home talking about snack time (we were told to send a healthy snack and bottle of water each day). She told me, "Mommy, ALL the girls had a healthy snack, no chips or candy or anything junk!" That made me very proud that she was happy and noticed that everyone around her was making good choices.

Then on Friday they had a big Olympic performance for the parents to attend and see all that they had spent the week learning. Kirstyn performed a jazz dance, a ballet dance and a gymnastics floor routine.


After their performance they were awarded a Gold Medal and a Super Camper Certificate.




She had a great week and is now campaigning to attend dance and tumbling there again this fall.



While Kirstyn was at camp, James took the opportunity to get some work done at the office!


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07 August 2008

A Little Trashy

Okay, so here's the deal. James LOVES to throw things away! He will put anything into the trash that he can pick up and carry there. If we are missing something we know that we should look in the trash to see if James was cleaning! Well, because of James' love of throwing things away, I bought this great new trash can that for over a month now has kept James completely out of the trash! Well, that honeymoon is over! Today James took his dirty diaper to the trash and threw it at the trash can. When the trash can didn't open for him as fast as he thought it should (aka - I wasn't right there to step on the foot pedal to make it open for him.), he decided to do some investigation and I grabbed my camera off of the counter to record him in action!


Okay, he's got it! He is stepping on the pedal. This took a few tries because he kept having his hand on top of the can thus preventing it from opening, but finally he lost his balance a little and got his fingers under the flaps! When he saw what he had done he immediately grabbed the two flaps with both hands and opened the trash can all the way!


And since this trash can closes slowly he was able to pick up his diaper that had started this adventure and get it into the trash can! He shoots....He scores!


And now I get to start checking the top of the trash can before I throw things away for any treasures that James may have disposed of for me!



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05 August 2008

Tell All Tuesday - Week 17

Okay, so today's weigh in is nothing to be bragging about because I was up 1.2. I think it is water and I will have an amazing number next week. See, anyone that has been doing WW for a while will tell you that there is always one week per month where you just go in not expecting anything great because it is that time of month! I know, you are thinking about my emotional eating...well, I stayed within my points anyway and I worked out 5 hours total last week so I am working the program and will continue to see change!

Now, I have also decided to set a goal for myself. I have 20 weigh in Tuesdays between today and my 30th Birthday (December 25th) so I am going to set a goal to reach before my birthday. I want to loose 20 lbs in the next 20 weeks. I think this is a reasonable goal considering I will also have Halloween, Kirstyn's Birthday, and Thanksgiving to enjoy along the way. Also, that 20 lbs will mean two things to me. First, it will put me one pound lighter than I was in the 5th grade (a number I will never forget since the nurse said it out loud in front of some other kids when she was lining us up and weighing and measuring us.)! The second thing that will do is it will leave me with only 30 pounds to lose on my 30th Birthday!

So, please plan to cheer me on for the next 20 weeks.... I know I will need the encouragement to make it to this goal! Chant with me... 20 lbs in 20 weeks, 20 lbs in 20 weeks!

Do you have a weight goal you want to reach before Christmas....it is only 20 weeks away!

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01 August 2008

Just one of those days...

Okay, so I am having one of THOSE days. Yes, you know the one...the one where you would really like to have a drink before noon but you have these little children following you around demanding things like food and water and clean diapers!

It started out bad cause over night we had one of those Texas summer storms that includes lots more thunder than rain. We really need the rain, not so much the thunder, but anyway, I didn't sleep well and neither did the kids. I might have slept better but my friend Tracy and I decided to try out a new class at the gym yesterday and my shoulder was so sore that every time I moved it woke me up. Anyway, I am sleep deprived and frustrated but I decided that I would get ready to go to the gym again anyway.

Well, I was ready and going to be early when I got a phone call from a friend wanting to talk about something I had said. Yes, my big mouth gets me in trouble a lot. We worked that out and she felt better and I am glad about that cause what I said was not meant to be hurtful in the first place. But well I don't really feel better. I feel like I hate that in order to not hurt peoples feelings that I have to camouflage the real me. You know, I guess it would be better to be opinion free or be unsure of my opinion so that more people would feel happy to be around me, but that is not me and will never be me. I have a genuine heart and love for others and I want people to tell me if I have hurt their feelings, I want to be approachable. I just often feel like I would have to do a lot of tiptoeing to keep from hurting anyone. And again, not really me. So, I spent a good part of my morning crying cause I felt bad and frustrated and a little bit helpless.

Then, I did finally make it to the gym, not early, but on time for my class. It was a totally new routine which would have been lots of fun if I hadn't had so much on my mind. Then ten minutes before my class ended, they came and got a couple of us saying that our babies were being fussy. Well, I think the truth was that they had a lot of kids in there and it is Friday for them too. Anyway, they got a couple of us that have very busy little boys and made their mornings better. So, I had to leave before getting to do any of the ab work or stretching. ugh. Two things I need the most.

Then, James fell asleep on the way home. That would have been great except that Kirstyn, after being told to be silent on her way in decided to scream and surprise my grandmother which woke up James! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I called David crying and he told me that they weren't busy at the office and that I should bring the kids to play with he and Mimi so that I could just sit for a minute. I thought that this might be more trouble than its worth but agreed. I talked to my mom on the way here and that made me feel better too. Then when we drove up at the office Kirstyn realized that the donut shop was still open! Mimi gave her a $5 bill to go over there by herself (it is right next door to our office and they know her). Anyway, she picked out a donut for each of us, even a little donut hole for James. What a kind little girl. So, I proceeded to EAT every. single. bite. of my glazed donut (bye bye 6 points) and enjoyed it immensely. Kirstyn was very proud of her 4 donuts and 2 donut holes and the fact that he gave her 3 monies back for her one! And James took a long nap! (Yes, Jennifer, the 6 point donut will be on my WW journal that I will be showing you on Tuesday...who knows, I may say bye bye to all of my flex points before the day is over...)

Guess the donut and this rant was just what I needed cause I feel better already! I probably would have kept all this stewing inside except that I felt inspired by my new bloggy friend Tara's honesty the other day so I gave this rant a try but I am too lazy to mix in cute kid pictures. Maybe this day will get better! I hope you aren't having 'One of these days'! TGIF!

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