Finding a Weigh Out of Fat and Whining

Okay, okay, okay. I know I'm a whiner. To be honest, I'm a whiner from waaaaaaay back. It's sort of a way a life with me. Matter of fact, I guess you could call me a genuine Whine-O. I would say that I'll try to do better in the future, try to not whine about every little thing that happens in my life, but well, then I'd just be a lying whiner instead of just a plain ol' whiner and that would make me even worse, right? I suspect I'll always whine so what's the point of trying to deny it. At any rate, I'm at the point of my latest crisis when even I'm sick of hearing me blubber so I guess that means I need to move on now. Cars and cousins are just a part of life and grousing about either won't change the circumstances surrounding those subjects. At long last, I've arrived at the "suck it up" stage of this particular whine. So YAY me. LOL
Now on to "weightier" issues. I'm happy to report that I've lost another 1.6 pounds for a grand total thus far of 41 pounds. I'm pretty darn pleased with myself about this (ha! Talk about an understatement!). I got a comment on my previously referenced "big whining post" from Vee, asking if I was learning what to do when stressed instead of eat? I have to tell you, I hadn't even thought about it until she asked! But you know, there was a time not so very long ago when I would have buried my face in chocolate cake or maybe a bag of Hershey kisses or even a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos when faced with as much stress as we've been through the past few weeks. Without trying to sound like a cheerleader for their program, I have to give credit to Weight Watchers for my not doing that anymore. WW has taught me how to eat and, more importantly I think, they've taught me how to have a healthy emotional relationship with food. I no longer look to food for comfort or solace. I eat because my body needs the fuel, not because I'm feeling depressed or anxious or happy or sad. I'm so glad that Vee asked me that question because I feel much more confident in realizing through actual actions that my relationship with food has changed so dramatically. If I could impart one piece of advice to anyone trying to lose weight, it'd be to learn that food is fuel - nothing more, nothing less. That's not to say I don't want my food to taste good, because I do, but I don't plan my days around food anymore. I don't plan my life around food, other than to eat it because I need the fuel for energy. It's incredibly liberating to not be focused on food 24/7 (and here's to this being a life-long attitude and not just a phase, eh?). Heck, I'm even able to happily focus on other things these days...things like my husband, my hobbies, my home, my clothes... speaking of clothes, let me tell you this; the other day, I was telling Randey that I had tried on a pair of size 8 Levi's and actually got them on! SIZE 8s!!Okay, so it wasn't pretty, but that wasn't the point (*smile*). The point was that I was able to put them on my body and zip them up without rupturing anything. And despite my arse looking like a twisted balloon (strange little creases abounded!), it was a thrill to be able to do that. And maybe in a month or so, those size 8s will fit like they're supposed to. Maybe. Hopefully. (Hey! It's a goal! Don't judge.)
Before I leave, I want to share a picture of the Halloween tree. Yeah, it's the same tree I posted about and called my Fall tree, but I decided to dress it up for Halloween now. I had these "witch shoes" from Hobby Lobby last year. Don't know why I bought them, other than they were on sale after Halloween. They have little handles on them so maybe they are to hold candy or flowers or something, who knows. Anyway, as I was staring at them, trying to think of where to put them, it hit me: I needed a pair of Halloween tights to stick into the shoes! I found some at Wal-Mart, stuffed them with fiber-fill and set them up under the tree. Then I found a totally cool witch hat for the topper. And if I had those gorgeous feather-trimmed witch gloves I'd bought Maddy a couple of months ago, this tree would have arms as well as legs! (Yeah, Jake was pretty grateful those gloves are with Maddy now, too. lol) So what do you think? Too much?

Special Thanks and Special Deliveries

I'm trying to get all caught up with things...I've got so many blogging friends to thank, so many blogging strangers to say hello to and so many blogs to just go read! The support and friendship shown by you, my blogging friends, during our family's recent loss of Joey was unbelievable. And the kind thoughts and prayers of total strangers that left comments...well, my gosh. I'm touched beyond expression at that. And of course, I've missed reading your blogs and knowing what's going on in your lives. I would like to specifically thank Kat, Tammy, Susie Q, Julie, Cassie, Annie and Pam for mentioning Joey's passing on their own blogs and asking people to share a prayer for our family. If anyone else mentioned it and I didn't say so, please don't take offense. I haven't really had a chance to read everyone's blog since Joey passed away so any omission is unintentional. I would also like to thank all of you who left condolences, on my blog, Aunt Sandi's blog, as well as Joey's website. You are all so kind and so very, very appreciated. Thank you.
Also, I have some gifts to acknowledge. My good friend, Karolee hand knitted this lovely red scarf for me. It's the most gorgeous thing you've ever seen and I'm so happy to have it. Not so happy that I would allow my picture to be taken, however (lol). I'm looking even rougher than normal here lately (and that's saying something, believe you me) so I made Kaleb wear it for the picture. You can tell how happy he was to pose, can't you? I know, I know. The boy has "JOY" written all over his face. But try to tear your eyes away from him for just a second and admire the scarf...beautiful, isn't it? Karolee also sent a lovely gingerbread ornament as well as a box of Breast Cancer Awareness tic-tacs. And for a bonus...her lovely daughter made the card. I had to laugh when I saw the card because Karolee's always talking about how "un-creative" she is (funny coming from the woman who could probably knit an entire wardrobe for an entire family before breakfast every single morning!). I was going to send her an e-mail, asking about this pretty card when she beat me to it by telling me that her daughter had made it. I hope she remembered to tell her daughter just exactly how impressed I was with it! And Karolee, thank you again for the scarf. It's been too warm to wear it so far, but I've kept it handy so that I may touch it whenever I walk by. It's softness and warmth have reminded me of what great friends I have, thanks to blogging. Your gift, your work, your kindness have most certainly left their mark on me.
Next, I received this package from Sophie yesterday. The timing of this package could not have been better. I was having a sort of "down" moment when I heard the mailman honking his horn, indicating that I had a package from someone. I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened it. A Nutcracker! Sophie has a wonderful memory. She remembered that I had a bit of a Nutcracker collection that I put on my mantle during Christmas - I'd posted a picture of them way back in the middle of summer. And this little guy is going to be the "jewel" in my collection because he's from such a special friend. I smile everytime I see him (he's already sitting with the pumpkins that have been lining my mantle since September). And did I mention he also played music? Isn't that great? Oh and she also sent a box of Yorkshire tea (simply wonderful, by the way) as well as some Marmite (that I haven't been brave enough to try yet! lol) and a box of OXO Beef (and just as soon as I figure out what to do with that, I'll do it!). Thank you, Sophie. You are simply the best! I'm thrilled silly that you thought enough of me to send these things and again, the timing couldn't have been better.

And finally, I wanted to show you the cool Halloween things I had won for Pea's Birthday. Yeah, I said that right. Pea gave away gifts on her birthday. What a nut! But I'm pretty darn happy she's such a nut because look what I got...this sweet little pumpkin box, a Halloween cone, some pumpkin napkins and a card! I actually received this a week or so ago (time is sort of running together for me, sorry), but didn't get a chance to post about them before I left. So sorry I'm late with this big thank you, Pea, but please know how much I love these things. They made our home even more festive for Halloween.

Okay. I think that's about it for today. I can't wait to catch up on what ya'll have been up to lately. I apologize for not visiting and not leaving comments...especially after ya'll have been so kind to me and my family. Please know that I am very thankful for each and every one of you, though. You guys are THE GREATEST!

Hope You Have a Spooktacular Halloween

Our little family had a quick pumpkin carving extravaganza yesterday. Well. Maybe not such an extravaganza, per se, but we did go into a little carving frenzy. Randey did the ghost pumpkin on the left, Jacob did the vampire preparing to bite the woman's neck, I did the witch and Kaleb did the skull face. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really care for carving pumpkins. It wasn't as fun as I'd envisioned. Randey and the boys, however, loved doing it. So what's that mean? It means they're totally and completely in charge of any and all future pumpkin carving for this particular branch of the family tree. Sorry guys, but count me out! This one below is the pumpkin Kaleb carved a couple of weeks ago, as practice. Jacob did one too, but his sort of fell apart. Mainly because he cut where he shouldn't have. You know, to tell the truth, I don't think pumpkin carving is really Jake's forte' either. His first one fell apart and his second one...well, look closely at the picture above. He actually carved the pattern sideways...that's why his pumpkin is laying on its side. Funny, huh?
I had meant to post some of these next pictures a few at a time in the week leading up to Halloween, but circumstances prevented me from doing that. This is Desiree' dressed as a bride. A pretty unhappy bride, judging by the look on her face. Jake and Kaleb were dressed as a pair of dice. This is probably my favorite costume of theirs. They were so flippin' cute.

This is Nick and Des back in 1987. Nick was such a good big brother when Des was born. So sweet. He was obviously dressed as a convict and Des was dressed as a ghost. She didn't like that costume, either.
Here's Des as some sort of witch. Strange. She seemed to love that costume. The boys were ninjas and they really thought they were cool.
Okay so this was not a banner year for costumes. We sort of went with what we had for the boys. They were still pretty darn cute, though.

Here's Des dressed as a cheerleader. She was so adorable that year. You've never seen a kid happier with their costume than she was with that one. The boys were indians and they so loved their feather headdresses.
Here's Des dressed as a giant baby. I think she was in 6th or 7th grade that year and, if I remember correctly, she was going to a Halloween party at a friend's house. Jacob was a bloody waiter (a costume he truly thought was fantastic) and Kaleb was a bloodied Nascar driver.
This is Des with one of the Hutchinson girls back in 1988. The Hutchinson's lived down the road from Aunt Ginger and Uncle Mike and they babysat Des and Nick quite a bit. Great people. This is Kaleb as a mummy. Not my greatest idea for a costume, I must admit. I think I should have thought a little more about how to keep the wrapping on because the more Kaleb walked, the more his wrapping trailed behind him. Good thing he was wearing something under all that stuff, I'll tell you that. He might've had to "streak" home otherwise.
And finally, here's Jacob as Quasimodo, the Hunchback. He was such a cutie that night, too. Heck, what am I saying? I seem to think all my kids were cute every Halloween! lol

I hope all of you have a fun and safe Halloween. We'll be sitting on our front walkway this evening, passing out the candy and sipping hot cocoa...pretending we're shivering from fright and cold. (Which may be a stretch since it's supposed to get all the way up to 81 today!). Happy Halloween All!

Halloween 1989

Halloween 1989 was great for us. My sister and her husband (who many of you know is also my husband's brother. Yeah, think that over for a second and you'll work it out. lol) lived in Niceville, Florida and we lived in Valparaiso, Florida (these 2 towns are right next to each other - I mean right next to each other. Our homes were probably only 2 miles apart). Living so close to one another, naturally our families got together to take the kids trick-or-treating. My nephew, Joseph, was dressed as a Mad Scientist. Nicholas, my oldest son, was dressed as the Hunchback. They were both 9 years old for that Halloween and, if I remember correctly, they had a fabulous time that year. So much laughter, so many smiles. Gotta love it. My niece, Megen, age 4 1/2, was dressed as a Jack-in-the-Box. She was the cutest little thing you ever saw. (Check out how long her braided hair is in the picture. That kid was born with more hair than most humans grow over a lifetime. lol). And Desiree', who at the time was 2 1/2 years old, was dressed as, what else?, a Christmas present. She was hysterically funny because she kept tripping over her own feet, but once she'd fall, she couldn't get herself back up because of the box she was wearing. I know, I know. We were all wrong to laugh at her like we did, but good grief...it was just so funny. All you could see was this box with a head, 2 arms and these short little legs sticking out of the bottom, kicking for all they were worth. Funny stuff. Oh hush. You'd have laughed, too, if you'd seen her!
And just so you don't think I laughed at my daughter with no idea of how that would make her feel, let me tell you this little story. Joseph and Nick were Cub Scouts that year and their troop decided to have a Halloween themed meeting that month. Complete with costumes. Yeah, everyone was supposed to dress up, including the parents. Well, being relatively young and extremely foolish, we all took them seriously and dressed up. Sherri was smart. She dressed as a Bunny. That meant she wore pastel pants and a giant sweatshirt with a big cotton ball pinned to her butt and a headband with cute little bunny ears. Oh, and she drew whiskers on her face, too. Randey and Ken (Sherri's husband, Randey's brother. Come on now, keep up!) were really smart. Randey dressed like a hunchback. Which basically meant he stuffed a pillow under his shirt up by his shoulders. Ken dressed as a mummy. He just had a bunch of torn pieces of sheet wrapped around him. Me? Oh I went all out. I mean, all out. I had a bridesmaid dress that I never actually cared for (just look at it...all us bridesmaids looked like giant fluffs of cotton candy wearing those things!) and a pair of Randey's BDU pants and an old shirt from the thrift store. I combined all these things and went as Half Man/Half Woman. Complete with mascara painted full beard and moustache and one honkin' thick eyebrow (I was trying to look manly on that side, remember?). And guess what? We arrived at the meeting and no other parents were dressed up. None. Nada. No.Body.Else. And to top it all off, they looked at us like we were insane. What the heck? Randey and Ken quickly "removed" their costumes (i.e., the pillow and the torn strips of sheets) and Sherri thought about removing her tail and ears until I threatened her with her life. Still...she only had on tiny little ears, a fluffy little tail and thinly drawn whiskers. I, on the other hand, looked like a complete freak. That was the last year I ever dressed up for Halloween. There's nothing like little children pointing and snickering at you while their parents gaze at you with smirks and even a little pity to make you realize that the time for dressing up has come and gone. One good thing that came of it, though. I finally got rid of that horrific bridesmaid dress! lol
**Correction*** Randey informs me that he was the mummy and Ken was the hunchback. You can understand why I was confused, though, right? I mean they were out of their costumes so fast (those sniveling little cowards!), it's hard to remember exactly who wore what. Apparently, I've blocked out more of that evening that I thought I had but, honestly, who could blame me? lol

Menopause Madness Mondays and Halloween Pictures...Practically a Match Made in Heaven!

It's Monday! I've been really bad the past two Mondays about the Menopause Madness post, but I think I'm back on track. I was trying to think of what to say in this post and started to wonder if maybe I wasn't running out of steam about the joys of menopause. I don't want to sound like a broken record. In fact, I'd like to come up with some positive things to write about menopause, but thus far, I'm drawing a blank on that one. Ain't nothin' makin' me happy about menopause, I gotta tell 'ya. So what's my current biggest gripe about this particular little wonder of nature? Well, I'll tell you. It's the weight gain. I've packed on a few pounds this year. Oh, who am I kidding? I've packed on a lot of pounds this year. I can't tell you exactly how many because I refuse to come within 30 feet of a scale. This is absolutely ridiculous, demoralizing and just plain humiliating. I've gone up 2, count 'em 2, pant sizes since this time last year! I can't even begin to explain the joys of being grossly overweight and having hot flashes at the same time. Talk about good times. Just last night, I slept with the ceiling fan on, the stand fan on (2 feet away from me and pointed directly at my torso) as well as the air turned down. And I still felt like I was baking alive. I'm about 3 degrees away from emptying my freezer and standing in it myself. (I'm kidding, of course. My fridge/freezer is a side by side. No way I'd fit in just the freezer section!). But I've got my eye on this jumbo size cooler at Wal-Mart that I think will do nicely....
How about you guys? Anybody else suffering from weight gain and horrific heat? Or am I all alone is this misery? Come on, peeps...tell me I'm not alone!

Moving on (before I get so worked up that I spontaneously combust!).... Since Halloween is creeping up on us, I thought I'd post a few pictures every now and then of my kids Halloween costumes over the years.

These three pictures were taken in 1991. Nicholas was Dracula, obviously. Yeah, we had a hard time convincing him that the Count actually wore jeans, but I think he turned out looking pretty flippin' cool!
This is Desiree' as a clown (duh, right?). She was adorable. I have to say, we made a lot of our kids' costumes. We had to. We couldn't afford to buy them all a store bought outfit every year. Back in 1991, Nick was the "lucky" one. We bought his cape. That was pretty much the extent of our Halloween Costume Budget for that year. lol This clown costume is one that we made. You guys already know I don't sew. Can anybody guess how this costume was held together? Good old hot glue, of course. lol We had a heck of a time getting her into it without tearing the "seams". By the end of the night, she had so many safety pins holding this thing together that she never could have made it through a metal detector. But man, she was cute, wasn't she?
And here's little Kaleb (I was pregnant with Jake...no pictures of him this year!). It seems so clear to me, but maybe I should explain, just in case anyone out there can't tell...Kaleb was dressed as a bag of M&M's. (We thought we were so clever! ha) The sides of his costume were hot glued, too, but I did use fabric glue to hold on the lettering. I'm not a total moron, you know. lol