Sunday, March 22, 2009

Alohaaaaaa

My dear sister-in-law just graduated with her Master's degree and has been working and going to school for years, without much of a vacation, except for down to our hometown to entertain my children whom adore her and vise-versa. She decided to go to Hawaii for a 10 day vacation by herself. Last week when she was here visiting for my daughter's 5th birthday she asked me if I wanted to Hawaii for a few days. YES!!! After much researching on airline tickets, and with the help of my dear sister who, in her other life, is a vacation planner, found tickets that had previously disappeared, and/or been jacked up $100-200 for the same flights. My parents also contributed by giving me an early birthday present (cashola) and said I should do it. My husband also gave his blessing, so when the ticket price mysteriously came back down to a good price I snatched it up! So, I'm going to Hawaii in 2 weeks.
Thankfully, my dear in-laws prayed over me last week, and since then my headaches have mostly disappeared (Thank you Lord!).
Since we usually plan vacations about a year in advance, it hasn't really set in that I am actually going in just 2 short weeks. I haven't really had the chance to get excited yet because it still feels like forever away. The other day I scoured nearly every store in town looking for a few new things to take with me, but I had no luck. A few days later I did pick up a new cute pair of jeans (not really what I need in Hawaii, but fun nonetheless). I also got a cute top which will be perfect for Hawaii. Otherwise I plan on living in my swimsuit, and a pair of shorts.
So, I have 2 weeks to get myself in the best swimsuit shape possible! Strangely, despite my poor diet and lack of working out for the last 7 weeks due to the headaches, I managed to lose weight, which is unheard of for me, but I'm thankful that I didn't totally blow it!
If you're on facebook, I plan on updating while I'm in Hawaii with real time pictures of my view :)
ALOHA!!!!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Flabby Cat, and the new kitten

We've had our cat Daisy for nearly 10 years. We got her when she was 8 weeks old, and have loved her dearly ever since. She is a fantastic cat! I've always loved cats, and after years of having just 1, I thought it might be fun to have 2 :) . Daisy used to be beside herself whenever we were gone for a weekend. She would follow us around for days, meowing incessantly. Also, if she thought she was alone in the house, she would howl and howl in the most pathetic way...you'd think someone was torturing her by the sounds of it.
My husband is not a cat lover. However, after he agreed to get Daisy, he fell in love with her too. Before agreeing to getting a cat he laid down ground rules saying "okay, you can get a cat, but it has to be an inside cat (as to not get dirty and bring in bugs and stuff from outside), I will NOT feed it, I will NOT change the kitty litter, and it may NOT sleep on the bed". We brought Daisy home, and the first night he is feeding her, changing her kitty litter, AND she slept on the bed. It's pretty much been that way ever since. Daisy is spoiled, and whenever someone comes over they mention how fat she is. We hardly notice because we are used to her fluffiness. However, a recent visit to the vet confirmed that she was overweight. Poor thing.
I've joked several times over the years about how Daisy needs a playmate, to which Steve has laughed and said NO.
Last fall, I mentioned to Steve that I had seen a flier for a really cute kitten, and he asked questions (as if he might not say no). Shortly after this he was going to be leaving for a week long class in Seattle. I heard him telling someone about his trip and how he might come home to a new cat. Hmmmmm.
So, while he was gone and the kids were in school I went down to the local stray cat rescue and perused the kitties. Long story short, I came home with a 6 month black kitty named Gabby. Gabby thoroughly enjoys Daisy, but the feeling is not mutual. For about a month after getting Gabby Daisy was MAD, and I mean completely out of character, totally pissed off kitty. Growling when we picked her up, or petted her too long. She refused to sleep on our bed anymore, and there were none of our nightly cuddles in bed. I felt really bad!!!
Plus the kitten is a night owl, and likes to kneed everything and nuzzle your hands and try to get under the covers...all of this at ungodly hours of the night. We had been locking her in our bathroom, which was working out fine until she starting trying to claw herself out. I really thought I was going to have to return her...it just wasn't working out. Then we decided to lock her in the laundry room, which has worked out so much better.
Anyway, Gabby really enjoys chasing Daisy throughout the house! They tear through the house, sliding around the kitchen like cartoon characters. Usually this ends in Daisy growling and them swatting at eachother. It's actually pretty comical. Then they will lay next to each other by the fire and be just fine. Daisy is back to sleeping with us and nightly cuddles, and in general is back to her old self.

AND, the funny thing is that she has lost 2 pounds!!! All you need is someone to chase you (sprints) several times a day...and someone stealing your food while you are not around, and you too can lose weight. I told Steve that this was a good workout plan, to which he volunteered to chase me around if I wanted. To which I replied that I was pretty sure I could out run him, so maybe it would be a good workout plan for him. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

What...I have a blog?!

Long time no see! I can't believe it's been 2 months since my last post. I'm sure I'm pretty much talking to myself now as anyone who was reading my blog has long since given up on me.

To sum up the last 2 months, I was doing great with my workouts and eating for a good 3 weeks, until I starting having pesky daily headaches. This has pretty much derailed all workouts except for the 2 Pilates classes I teach each week. It's no fun to run or do any cardio when you have a headache! Still trying to figure out why I'm having headaches, but so far no luck. Very frustrating!

Also been thinking a lot about how to get everything done in life. How do I work 27 hours a week, keep my house clean, spend time with God, cook healthy meals, read to my children and have quality time with them, workout, be a good wife, get enough sleep, AND keep my sanity? Seriously, it is not possible to do it all!! Every day I think about how I might be able to do better, but then I have a headache and all I want to do is sit...which pretty much cancels out all activities above. I'm still working on the solution, but I think I've narrowed it down to the fact that I just need more energy. I'm working on figuring out where to get it from. More on that later.
I'm just really glad I'm not a type A personality who feels like everything needs to be perfect all the time, because that would be exhausting!

Other than that, I am REALLY looking into forward to warm weather and lots of sunshine! I'm hoping both come soon!