Watermelon Yogurt?

I got the new Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt in Watermelon. I thought, I like watermelon and yogurt. Plus, it's nice to have a little more variety. I mean it is yogurt after all. I finally had some over the weekend. Let me just say that while I like watermelon and yogurt, I do not care for the combination together. It doesn't taste bad necessarily. It's got a pretty good watermelon taste. It's not strong like a Jolly Rancher. It's also not a totally fake tasting watermelon either. It's just the combination of the flavor in a yogurt texture. I'm glad I tried it, but I won't be sad when this seasonal flavor is gone. They also have canteloupe. The store didn't have that one. I'm not sure I'll try it now. I think for melons I'll have the real thing.

~j

Where does the time go?

I can remember as a child thinking time moved so slowly. It seemed forever before school was out and it was summertime. It seemed forever for Christimas to come around again. It seemed forever before I was 16, 18, 21. Oh, now to have time move that slowly again!! Now I feel like I blink and it's another week, month, year. It's just two short weeks before my birthday. The big 4-0. I so do not feel 40! Well, at least in my mind I don't. =) It seems like this year has sped by. It's about half over and I feel like it just started.

So what's been happening since my last update: I lost 10.8 lbs in June. The last couple of weeks I have been hovering right around the same weight. Up a couple pounds and then back down. I hope to break out of this mini plateau soon. It's steady going. Even though I feel like the weight came on overnight and wish I could lose it that way, I know it didn't. Just gotta keep going on.

Cozumel Cayman Islands Jamaica

As I mentioned, I have the big 4-0 coming up. Well, my mom has the big 6-0 on her next birthday. So to celebrate that, I'm taking her on a cruise for her birthday. It's something she mentioned she wanted to do, so we're doing it! I made the deposit on the cruise this week. We're set to go January 31, 2010 out of Galveston for 7 days. We'll see Cozumel, Cayman Islands and Jamaica. In fact, we'll be in Jamaica on her birthday! We've got a little over six months to get ready for the cruise. It sounds so far away, but it'll be here before we know it. If anyone else is interested in going, let me know. I got a pretty good deal through a travel agent. I mean who wouldn't want to stand in the ocean or lay on the beach in January??

As for my birthday, I don't think I'm going to do anything. I really don't want to think about this birthday at all. There was talk of a girls trip to Vegas, but that fizzled out. And it's just as well. July/August is always tight financially for me because I have to renew lots of my court reporting stuff; software support, machine support, organizations, conventions. Why does it all have to come due at the same time?? LOL But, I am not going to totally let this birthday go by. I think (almost positive) I'm going to buy a big screen TV for myself. I know I'll use it. LOL I'm just trying to convince myself it isn't a totally frivolous expense and I shouldn't do something else.

Let's see. I guess that's about it. We do have lots of birthdays this month. Ashley, Brad, Ron, Mark, and me. Plus, I'm sure there's a couple I forgot. So Happy Birthday to everybody!!

~J

It's been a while

I didn't realize how much time as gone by since my last post! The time has flown by. Mostly just working and trying to stay caught up with the demands. With school getting out this week, it's slowing down a bit. The first part of summer can be slow sometimes. I just hope not too slow!

Project Me has been chugging along. It's not been too bad. I need to really get on the exercise wagon, though. I've never been one of those people who enjoys working out. Although, I guess that's no surprise! I do feel stronger, better, healthier when I'm working out. It's just easy for that to be one of the first things that I put aside when my schedule gets hectic. But I need to get it going more consistently. For the month of May I lost 18.6 lbs. Not too bad! I know I probably won't match that this coming month, but I want to see another good loss.

On the homefront, I had to replace my hot water heater. Thankfully, it had a small leak (who knows for how long) that I eventually noticed and was able to get it out before the whole thing burst and flooded my house with 50 gallons of water! Mark F (neighbor/plumber extraordinaire) & Felix fixed it right up! The plus is that I have GREAT hot water now. Before it was hot, but not hot-hot (even at the near highest setting). Not so now. I actually have turned the temperature down a bit. LOL

Most of you probably know that Courtney had to make a tough decision this past week. It's a decision I hope to never have to make, but am preparing myself in case I have to. I hope that I can be as strong as Courtney (and Joe) have been. I know that I will miss Pagan. She was such a delight. Court asked me to come over and take some pictures of Pagan and Hana together. She's posted some of her blog. Here's a link to the others: Pagan & Hana

Well, I better get back to work......

J

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

First off, a Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday to Courtney!! Today is her actual birthday.

We also had Josh's on Monday. Angela's is tomorrow. And Baylee's was either yesterday or it's Saturday or it's Monday, depending on who you ask! (I think it's Saturday.)

So a big Happy Birthday to everybody!!

Also, Ashley's surgery went fine. She got to come home the next day. So now I'm wishing her a safe and speedy recovery!

Have a great day, y'all!

One Week In

So Saturday ended my first full week of Project Me. It actually wasn't too bad! I thought giving up Diet Coke would be much harder, but it wasn't. I've been drinking lots and lots of water and Crystal Light. I even used my elliptical three times, 30 minutes each time. I'm working my way up to longer and more often. And I didn't cheat at all the entire week. I've been keeping track of all calories with the iPhone app Lose It! It's really helped me see where my calories are going and how I'm doing for the day. So my total loss for the first week was: 10 pounds exactly! Too bad I can't do that every week! LOL

Since I was in town Saturday, I went to a birthday party/dinner for a friend at Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant. It was family style eating for the whole group. There was sooo much food. Of course, all of it loaded with calories, but all soooo yummy! It was a five-course meal. I did indulge a bit. I was afraid I had wrecked the start of the second week of Project Me, but this morning I had to sneak a peek at the scale and I was down another .8 lbs from Saturday morning! So hopefully I didn't wreck the week.

Otherwise, just worked this weekend at home trying to kept caught up. It never fails that the atty's schedule is not schedule I was planning to do something! This week looks to be busy, too, which is great. Gotta stay busy!

I want to wish Josh a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And I'll be thinking about Ashley tomorrow for her surgery. I know everything is going to go exactly according to plan!

Back to work...........

After the rain

So it's finally stopped raining! Actually yesterday was pretty nice. Although, a little cool. There's been so much rain. There's a greenbelt with a stream down the block from me. The city is in the process of excavating it and improving the whole thing. Well, with all the rain, the water totally went out of the banks and was covering the bottoms of some of the heavy equipment they left out there. Saturday afternoon people were down there checking it out, I guess looking to see if the equipment was staying in place. As far as I know it did. There's a big hole they've dug out, though, it sure filled with a bunch of water! It's going to be really nice when it's done.

Sounds like the Wedding Location Scouting Party had a good time. I know Angela will know the place when she sees it and the wedding will be wonderful wherever it is. I'm hoping to get to see Angela before she heads back to LA. I'll have to check with them and see if there's time! Sounds like Courtney has her busy!

Movies: Saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night with the Whaleys. Pretty enjoyable. I do like Hugh Jackman. And Ryan Reynolds. It helps to have seen the other X-Men movies. Although, this is more of a prequel. Julie hadn't seen the others and was lost. But, really, the plot wasn't that complicated. Did go to the newly remodel theater over by me. Saw it on the big Diginal 3DX screen. Very nice theater. Comfy leather chairs, huge sceen and great sound.

Project Me: The weekend is over and I did well. No cheating and no diet soda. The no diet soda is tough, but I'm trying to stick with water or noncarbonated drinks. I'm tracking all my calories with a handy app on my iPhone (lose it).

The annual convention this year is in Washington, DC. They've finally released the info on it and I've booked my room and airfare. It's at the Gaylord National hotel, which is on the Potomac. This has been in the semi-planning since last year. Going for four nights. Sounds like a long time, but when you think of all the stuff to see in DC, and still attend some of the convention, the time is going to fly by and I'm sure I won't get to see everything I want to. May just have to do another trip there. That's Aug 5 through Aug 9. My friend Mary Ann is going to tag along even though she's not a CR just to see the sights (and half costs!) We travel well together, which is nice. The must-see list is: Nighttime tour of the monuments; the Smithsonian (American History & Natural History) Museums; and possibly the National Zoo. Doesn't sound like much, but the Smithsonian alone could take up a huge chunk of that. And that's only going to 2 of the museums! We looked into doing a White House tour, but you have to get your congress person to put in the request, and you have to have 10 in your group, and then even if it's okay'd, the day before you have to call and make sure they're still doing tours, etc, etc., etc. I'm happy just seeing the exterior of it. So yet another reason for Project Me! Lots of walking and sightseeing ahead.

Gotta get back to working on depos......

Project Me

On May 1 I started Project Me. I should have started it much sooner, but coulda, woulda shoulda at this point. It's about getting healthy and in shape. I'm going to be 40, yes, 4-0 in a few months!! I can't believe it. I sure don't feel like it! Where's the time gone? And Project Me has been on my mind for a while, but I always let it get pushed back, because, let's face it, it's not going to be fun. It's going to be hard work. But I've got to get some control. The last couple of years I've just given up on myself I think. I just didn't care really. Well, as my birthday keeps approaching and I'm just uphappy with myself and where I've let myself get, I realized something had to change. So now it's Project Me. It's going to be a change of ways, a new lifestyle that has got to stick this time. I'm not fooling myself. I know this is going to be hard and take a long time. But I've got to do. I just do. Going into day three and it's going good so far. Just one day at a time!

I'm going to put a spot on the right and I'll update it as I lose weight. I'm not ready to put up my starting weight at this point, but maybe one day? This will help me with accountability, knowing y'all are reading this, and maybe I won't make as many bad decisions and keep on track.

Now, what about those storms yesterday?? Crazy!! And the Cowboys' practice facility! Wow!! Glad no one was killed. Easily could have happened.

I went to the wedding last night. It, of course, had to be inside as it had rained all day. It rained most of the way over there. Then as I got closer, it cleared up and it didn't rain anymore. The wedding was at Fossil Creek Country Club. A beautiful place. Even being inside, the view behind the bride & groom was beautiful. It was a very nice, short ceremony and then onto the reception. It was an open bar, and you could sure tell some took advantage!! Great night of people watching. One cool thing. They had a photo booth there. You went in and had four pictures on a strip and at the end it had the bride & groom's names on it and the date, I believe. The kids sure enjoyed going in there! And many of the adults, too.

Go Mavs!

Rainy Day

Got a call early this morning (well, not too early) that my job today was canceled, which is good and bad. Would have liked to have the pages, but it's raining and all I want to do is sleep!! I can hear the little rain falling and it's still kind of dark out and I want to go crawl back in bed and snuggle with Rowdy. But, alas, I cannot. I still have much work to do .

Got an email from Bath & Body Works. They've introduced their new scent White Citrus. I had picked up a preview travel lotion a couple of weeks ago. I really liked it. I asked if they would carry it in the oil. The sales clerk wasn't sure. The picture to the right was in the email. And, of course, the oils are NO longer on sale. So now the wait is on for the next time the oils are on sale! We had to wait for the sale to get Butterfly Flowers & Pineapple Orchid (both great) and so now we must wait to get White Citrus. For those wondering, it's a nice, clean, subtle citrus scent. It's not like Lemon Pledge (although, there's nothing wrong with that).

Enjoy the rain!

Another One Bites the Dust

What is it with me and mailboxes?? It seems I have lost yet another one! I didn't even know it. I came in late last night in the back and haven't been out front today. Julie called me to let me know. Her and the kids were driving by and saw that my mailbox was gone, again. The post survived this time, but the actual mailbox is dented up and it snapped off the top. So now I'm off to get a new mailbox and attach it to the post, again. We'll see how long this one lasts.

J

The Morning After

Actually it's not too bad for me! LOL I was designated driver (by choice) of my little group last night. The bachelorette party ended up being pretty fun. I'll be honest and say I wasn't really looking forward to it, but we had fun. We went to dinner at Ama Lur at the Gaylord Texan. It was pretty good. Then on the The Glass Cactus for some dancing. The plan was to stay until maybe midnight. Well, we finally left at 1:15! They had live music and the band was pretty good. Plus, we were able to get Jenna (the bride) up on the stage during Ice Ice Baby and she showed off her impressive dance moves! I have to say there must have been a Cougar Convention in town last night. Oh, my, the people watching! And outfits!

As I mentioned, my friend Lori asked me to come over and take pictures of her daughter Emily & her date for prom. Emily & Matt were such sports! The hardest thing was trying to get them to be semi-serious. Theyre a very cute couple. Here's a couple of them:

Anyway, there's a few more at my flickr page, but not all of them. Now I need to get to work on some depos.

J

Weekend

So I have the big bachelorette party this Saturday. It should be fun/interesting. It's all taking place at the Gaylord in Grapevine. There's, like, a whole day's worth of activities. I'm just going for the evening activities, though.

Also, Saturday I'm going to be photographing my friend Lori's daughter Emily. She's going to the junior prom. They want some fun pictures of her getting ready and then all gussied up. I've been wanting to do pictures of Emily for a while. She's a cutie and such a sweetheart. She was at the birthday party last weekend and brough her boyfriend for all the game-night girls to meet him. He was very handsome and such a gentleman.

Otherwise, I'm just going to be working this weekend trying to stay caught up, if not ahead, on work. And I finally had to the turn the AC on. I tried to hold out as long as I could, but it just wasn't happening any longer. I would just lay in bed at night hot and couldn't sleep. So when I got home from my depo yesterday and it was 80 degrees inside, I switched it on. It cooled right down and feels great now!

J

It's been a while

Got an email that from Ashley that the Dietz are blogging now. I've added a link to their blog on the right. It'll be good to keep up with them, especially those kids! And I'm thinking super positive thoughts for Ashley and her upcoming surgery. It's going to go great! I just know it.

Went to the Lake Easter weekend. It was really nice. I took some pictures of Kyndall. She wasn't so sure at first, but then warmed up. She's quite the ham! She had a new puppy she brought with her, Abigail. A little Yorkie mix, I believe. I didn't think Nana was going to give Abby up. She sure didn't want to let her go!

Bath & Body Works has their oils on sale. (Yes, the sale is still going!) I went last week and stocked up for myself & mom. Found out the White Barn that was near me had closed down. Bummer! Not to worry, though. There's still one reasonably close. Courtney was kind enough to get the oils to her mom to get them to mine. LOL I didn't tell my mom they were coming, so she was very surprised and excited to get them. (Thanks, Sis & Doug, for delivering them!)

Pagan spent the weekend over. She's such a good girl! Her and Rowdy get along great. They just ignore each other. And she's very polite, always letting him go in and out first, get the first treat.

Otherwise, just working and watching TV. Yeah, that's about it. I had a meeting to report Monday evening. Told to get there at 6:00 p.m. My part of the meeting was at 10:40. Yes, 10:40. I got home around 12:30 a.m. Oh, what fun! Then I had a depo Tuesday to get out and to go to. I really like my sleep!! It just throws me off if I don't get a good seven hours.

Movies: I did see Sunshine Cleaning this weekend after the birthday party. It's a smaller, indie film. It was good, but a little sad, too. I was expecting something a little more uplifting/funny. I did like it, though. Amy Adams is in it. She's a really good actress. Saw a few previews for some indie films upcoming. Some good, some not. Also, saw a preview for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. While I'm not totally sold on it, it does have Matthew McConaughey in it, who is yummy, if not the best actor, and Jennifer Garner, who's a girl crush. Not sure if I'll see it in the theater.

TV: I'm trying to stay away from Idol. I know I've kind of gotten Courtney into it. I will say that I do DVR it and go back and watch the performances, but that's it. Last night was interesting with Disco. Very loose interpretation of what's Disco apparently. I really liked Kris's version of She Works Hard for the Money. And, of course, I liked Allison. Adam, while very talented, I just don't know if he's a singer-singer. I can see him doing musicals or even acting. Wasn't sold on his song last night.

Also, there's a new show on called Harper's Island. It's on CBS on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. Only 13 weeks long. There's been two episodes so far. Very campy, slasher horror type, but entertaining. At least to me. There's a mystery, so of course I must solve it! LOL There have been two episodes so far. If you click on the title above, you can watch those two episodes.

Finally: You may have noticed the new background (I know Court has). I found it at Smitten Blog Designs. There are some cute free ones. They're not as easy to apply as the ones from Cutest Blog on the Block. It took a couple of times to get it all right, but I do like it.

Off to cook dinner..........

J

And it's still cold!

It had gotten warmer and then yesterday, it decided to cool down again. And the wind! I'm surprised my poor trees have kept any of the new leaves/growth coming out. The wind has been brutal up here.

Nothing much happening. Just been working. I did go shopping last Tuesday with Court & Hana. (Court blogged all about it) We had a great time. Hana is such a little sweetheart.

I dog-sat my friend Lori's dog, Kenzie. She was the best dog! I hardly knew she was here. Lori came and got her yesterday. Kenzie was very happy to see her mama!

I saw Sex and the City movie this weekend. It was pretty good. I hear there may be another one in the works. I kind of like how this one ended and I'm not sure I want another one. It felt complete at the end.

TV Talk: Let's see. I'm all about The Food Network lately. I'm watching Chopped (it's soooo good.) If you haven't watched it, check it out. I'm also getting into The Throwdown with Bobby Flay, which is strange because I usually don't care for Bobby Flay all that much. But the Throwdown is pretty good. And Ace of Cakes started a new season, so I'll be catching that, too.

Movie Talk: I also watched Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond. I really like Daniel Craig as James Bond. Just not sure I cared for this movie. It seemed like one long action sequence with small breaks to try to string a story together. Yeah, the action was cool and all, but just so much of it.

That's it for now.

J

It's Cold!

It's cold! Why, oh, why is it cold?? I woke this morning to a text from Court that it was snowing at her house. My reply: Well, you do live up north. Of course, that got me out of bed to see if it was snowing at my house. Nope, nada, no way. But it was cold. And the wind was blowing, like it has been all week! My heater has even cut back on the last couple of days. So glad I hadn't turned it off!

Well, I didn't get any pictures of the new stadium Thursday. The office I was going to had moved. Didn't learn that until I got to the old place. Plus, it was so overcast.

Today I had two depos to go to and get out today also. I was able to get the first one done in between the first and second because it was so short. However, the second one lasted a bit longer. I got home and got it all done and sent by 10:00. Not too bad. I was supposed to go to a couple's wedding shower, but I worked instead. Lots of extra $$$ on expedites.

It was great to see mom blogging again (love the look of the blog) and see Josh's pictures. So cool he hiked up to the Hollywood sign. I liked the one he's going to frame. Very cool!

Til next time..........
J

I'm baaaaccccckkkkkk

So I'm back. Yeah! LOL Really, I was reading Court's blog and she remarked how no one else was blogging anymore. True, so true. Thankfully she keeps it going and we're all able to watch what's happening in Hana's World.

Here's a quick update for the past couple of months:
1. Mom is better. What an amazing thing the human body is!
2. Went on a cruise vacation. Had fun!
3. Had the flu, computer got a virus
4. TV watching
5. Work, work, work

That about sums it up. My thought is to at least post once a week. It'll just be musings and whatnot, maybe sharing a picture or two, a movie review here or there, and some TV talk.

Today's musing: I love the rain when you get to stay home. I know we need the rain and all, but the best way to enjoy it is just getting to stay home and not out driving in it, or walking in it. Walking in the raining getting soaking wet is not enjoyable, at least to me.

TV talk: I'm trying to resist American Idol. Although I've seen some of it, I'm not watching watching it. Also, so-so about Dancing this round. Semi-watching it. Loving the new series Castle. Watch it if you haven't yet.

Movies: Well, the only time I left my house and work this weekend was to sneak in a movie (or two) Saturday night. Saw I Love You, Man. It was funny. I enjoyed it. Then we saw The Wrestler. Wow, what a depressing movie. Yet, it was really good. Mickey Rourke was great. Although, I gotta say his face will never look normal again.

So, I'm heading out to Arlington tomorrow for a depo. It's going to be over by the new stadium. I'm going to take my camera along and see if I can't get a few photos of the new shrine.

Til next time....

J