Wake up call

Saturday I was getting dressed for our Kings Dominion excursion. I pulled on my DKNY jeans (1 of 2 pair that actually still fit) and proceeded to put on my socks and tennis shoes. As I was working my foot into my shoe, I heard a ripping sound. I pause and try to figure out where the sound came from. I check my shirt to see if I'd ripped a sleeve or the hem. My shirt checked out fine. I then looked down at my jeans and moved my legs around. That's when I saw it. On the inside of my right thigh, a hole near the seam. I sighed and got up and took my jeans off. I felt like crap and wanted to crawl into bed and feel sorry for myself. I knew this was going to happen eventually. I have two pairs of jeans that I wear. I bought them 2 years ago. All of my other jeans are either too tight or I can't get them over my hips. Rotating the same two pair of jeans, there's going to be some wear and tear especially with my fight thighs rubbing together when I walk But the thing is, I refuse to buy new jeans. I have at least 10 pairs of perfectly good jeans in my closet that I'm currently not wearing. And why? Because I haven't lost the weight that I've been pledging to lose for the last 5 or so years. It's frustrating and this hole is the punch in the face that I need. I'm over it. The second pair of jeans is going to only last for so long. I have a $90 pair of Lucky Brand jeans that I haven't worn in a year and a half because they are too tight and cut off my circulation. What a waste!

So my tendency right now is to go hard and extreme. I know that's not the way to go about it because it would mean I wouldn't be able to stick with it. Right now I'm telling myself that I should start working out twice a day, 7 days a week and eat a super low-calorie diet. None of this is realistic and it's doomed for failure. Instead I'm going to make a promise myself that I'm going to consistently workout and eat healthy. Slow and steady is the key to successful and long-term weight loss. This hole is going to be a constant reminder of my goal and what I need to accomplish. I'm going to dig those Lucky Brand Jeans out from the back of my closet and hang them up so that whenever I'm in my closet, I will see them, looking pretty much brand new. And know that I will be wearing those jeans again...SOON!

Kings Dominion

Yesterday was my company (ICF International) picnic. The picnic was held at Kings Dominion. Darrius has been looking forward to this for over a month. Earlier this week I checked the weekend weather. It was showing rain for Saturday. Uh-oh. I was hoping they were wrong. I continued to check the weather daily and it didn't change. I told Darrius about the rain and he asked if my job could move the picnic to Sunday. Ha! I wish. The idea of being out in the rain for numerous hours was not how I imagined I would be spending my Saturday. Also Saturday was the premier of the Halloween Haunt. So of course Darrius wanted to stay for that.

We made our trek to Kings Dominion - me, Alfred, Darrius and two of his friends (Jaylin and Jacob). It rained all the way there. I wanted to turn around by the time we hit Fredericksburg but decided to keep on trucking. When we arrived at Kings Dominion, it wasn't raining but it was overcast. I prayed that the rain would hold off for as long as possible. The boys went off and did their own thing (as 11 yr old boys do) and me and Alfred went to the pavillion to get some FREE food. LOL!  The weather held up pretty well. It drizzled off and on. I only got on two rides - The Scrambler and The Ricochet. And I am ashamed to say that I screamed on the Ricochet. I am not a thrill seeker and rollercoasters are not my friend. The Ricochet wasn't even a big rollercoaster. But I acted like a punk anyway. Oh well. I provided Alfred with some entertainment and laughter.

 

Alfred and Darrius in line for The Volcano.

Around 5pm the drizzle turned into a steady rain. We stuck it out for as long as we could. We stayed until after 7pm so that the boys could see a little bit of the Halloween Haunt. By the time we left we were all soaked. Wet, tired and with aching feet we made our way back up 95 and headed on home.

Scary clowns set up around the park. I hate clowns. They've always scared the crap out of me.

They had smoke coming out from all over which made it difficult to see. And combined with the rain, it was hard to take any pictures.

I would love to go back to the Halloween Haunt and experience it in drier weather but with the cost and the drive, I don't know if it's really worth it. If someone has any tickets they'd like to give away, I'd be more than happy to take them off your hands!

Living Dead in Dallas

This is Book 2 in the Sookie Stackhouse series. The book starts with Sookie finding Lafayette dead in the backseat of Andy Bellefleur's car. Sookie learns that Lafayette had recently attended a sex party and thinks that may have led to his death. In the meantime, a new supernatural being is introduced. Sookie is attacked by a maenad and Sookie and Bill go to Fangtasia to seek help and information from Eric. In return for his help, Eric asks Sookie to use her gift to help find a missing vampire in Dallas. Road trip! 

The majority of this book is centered around Sookie being in Dallas looking for the missing vampire and dealing with the fanatic religious group Fellowship of the Sun. We learn about other supernatural beings when Sookie is rescued by more shapeshifters (the kind that howl at the full moon). When Sookie returns to Bon Temps, she still has to solve Lafayette's murder. Even though in the first book, Sookie laments having her gift (or disability as she calls it), in this book, it comes in handy and makes her valuable to a lot of people.

Season 2 of True Blood is based on this book. Again, I was confusing the TV show with the book (since the season finale just aired a couple of weeks ago).  I'm looking forward to reading Club Dead - Book 3. I won't have True Blood to muddle my mind and will be able to read it with a clear head.

The book was a little slow in some parts but I finished this book a lot quicker than I'd expected. I think because I just wanted to get it over with so that I can read Book 3.

Fall into Reading Challenge 2009

I found another reading challenge for me to join. Oh boy! Happy days!!

This is how the Fall into Reading Challenge works:

This challenge is hosted by Katrina from Callapidder Days. I found the challenge post via Bookmagic.

1. Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like. (Also, feel free to modify your list during the challenge if it’s not working for you.)
2. Write a blog post containing your list and link it to this post.
3. Get reading! The challenge goes from September 22nd through December 20th.
4. Check out other participants' lists and add to your own to read someday pile.
   

Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you. But remember: this is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this fall and enjoy it!

Still here

Okay, so I didn't participate in the 5 miler last Saturday. I'm really bummed and disappointed in myself.  I was tempted to give up this ruse of becoming a runner since I wasn't making the progress I expected due to my inconsistent training. But then I thought about it. I'm not going to let this get me down. I'm still determined to become a runner and to run a 5k. Come hell or high water.

I went to the gym this morning and ran a little. I've realized a break - no matter how short - is detrimental to my training. I can't afford to take too many consecutive days off. It's a constant setback. So my training schedule is going to be this: Run/walk every other day for 20-25 minutes (50% runnning with 50% walking to start) and build up from there. Hopefully this will help me with staying consistent so I won't feel like a failure.

Darrius' first picture

I was cleaning out my closet and came across my pregnancy journal. While I was flipping through the pages, a picture fell out - my sonogram. I'd thought I lost it. I remember the day I had the sonogram as if it was yesterday. I was so anxious to find out the sex of the baby. My doctor said, tentatively, that it was a girl but she wasn't 100% sure because she couldn't see the "kibbles and bits" that clearly. She might as well have told me, "Yes it's definitely a girl" because I started telling everyone I was having a girl. Surprise! It's a boy. I think subconsciously I suspected I was having a boy because I did not have a girl name picked out.

I have several more closets to clean. I'm anxious to see what other treasures I will find.

Too much loss

I am ready for this year to be over. There has been too much death. For me personally it started in April when my uncle (my dad's brother) died of sickle cell anemia. His death was unexpected and heartbreaking. And this summer has been wracked with celebrity deaths. It was bad enough to lose two icons on the same day - Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.  I'm still recovering from the loss of MJ.  But to end the summer with the passing of Patrick Swayze is just too much.  We knew he was fighting a tough battle and the odds weren't in his favor but his death was still a shock.  I read that 95% of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within five years. But knowing that statistic didn't lessen the blow when I found out via Twitter that Patrick Swayze had lost his battle with cancer. 

I became a Swayze fan when I saw him in The Outsiders.  His role was minor but I swooned when I saw the older man amongst the teeny bopper actors.  At that time I was all about Ralph Macchio but I kept my eye on Patrick Swayze. The next movie I saw him in was Dirty Dancing. And that's when I really fell in love with him.  It was all over! I'd never seen a white man move like that!  I then watched every movie that Patrick Swayze appeared in. From Youngblood (I love Rob Lowe to this day!) to the North and South miniseries. (I miss miniseries. Network television needs to bring them back), Roadhouse, To Wong Foo and Point Break. And then there's Ghost. I hate movies that make me cry but I fell in love with Ghost. It was the perfect love story. After seeing that movie I couldn't get enough of Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers. And the ending. The wonderful, fantastic ending when Sam finally goes to the "other side" and the music starts playing. Molly starts crying, she had that one tear fall down her face. And then Sam says the BEST LINE EVER-

"It's amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you."

 I'm tearing up as I type this. *sigh* .

For me this has been tough. I don't personally know these people but like I said in my Michael Jackson post, when I watch Swayze's movies, I'm instantly taken back to being an innocent, pre-teen girl who searched teen magazines for pictures to add to my collection on my wall. I miss those days, when life was all about school, your friends, and hanging out at the mall. It makes you take a look at yourself and question your own mortality. And you realize you're getting older and as much as you want it to, time is not going to stop.

RIP Patrick Swayze. You may have never won an Oscar or was given the credit you deserved as an actor but you left behind a great legacy. And you will be missed.

True Blood Season Finale

Summers are known for warm weather, vacations, barbecues and bad television. But thankfully cable televion has changed all that by offering new shows to chase away the summer lull.  Many cable shows start their new season during the summer. My summer guilty pleasure is True Blood on HBO. The show premiered last summer and personally, I thought it sucked.  It had a rough start. The first couple of episodes were unbearable. The southern accents were terrible as was the acting. The storyline moved too slowly. I just knew I was going to remove this show from my Sunday night viewing schedule. But around episode 4, True Blood found its footing and is now one of my favorite shows to watch. Last night was the much anticipated season finale. After an exciting build up all season with the MaryAnn/Sam plot, I just knew that the season was going to end with a bang. Instead it went out with a wimper and fizzled.

*Warning! The rest of this post contains spoilers*

Birthday celebration

The birthday girl

Today we celebrated my niece - Julianna - 8th birthday. Her birthday was actually on the 3rd but with grandparents out of town that weekend, we had her birthday celebration a week late. The kids partied in their usual style -burgers and hotdogs, beating the crap of a Spongebob pinata, topped off with cupcakes and ice cream.  It was the perfect Sunday.

Mmmm....cupcakes with purple icing. Yummy.

 

My crazy brother with Spongebob.

It's that time of year again

I had a nice long break from sports this summer. I loved having my Saturdays back. Now the break is over. School is back in session and you know what that means - Fall sports! For Darrius, it's soccer. Today was the first game of the season.  The weather sucked. It was overcast, windy and chilly. And the game was at 9am. Thank goodness I could walk to the field from my house. I'm so happy about that! The boys do not like the color of their uniforms; the colors are a little girlie. So to combat the girlie-colored uniforms, they came up with a non-girlie name for their team - The Assassins. They had a great first game. They won 9-2. Darrius scored a goal off a corner kick. I was so proud. The first half of the game he played left mid-fielder. Second half he was a defender. I hope the weather is a little bit better for next week's game. If not, I'll be watching the game from the inside of my car.

Darrius getting last minute coaching from Coach Rick

I haven't given up

Even though my 5k training has been horrifically inconsistent, I'm still planning on running a 5k race THIS YEAR! I found a couple of races in late September (don't know if I'll be ready) and October (will be ready).  So don't give up on me yet!  My intentions are good; I just need to get focused.

The procrastination and laziness ends today! I worked out (and ran a little) yesterday morning and worked out again this morning. Two days in a row I woke up at 4:20am and dragged my tired, weary behind to the gym. See?  Consistency! I'm getting there.  I won't pat myself on the back yet.  I still have a ways to go. But I will get there.

Promise!

I'm so not ready...

I've dreaded the day where I start realizing that Darrius is no longer "my baby".  I've been in super-denial ever since he turned 10 last year. Reality gave me a little smack in the face today.  Here's the story: For the last week or so, whenever the commercial for the movie Jennifer's Body appeared on TV, Darrius would say, "I want to see that movie."  I'd look at him strangely and ask why. It's a horror movie and it's rated R.  Darrius is not a fan of horror movies.  He won't even watch them in the daytime.  And he knows damn well he can't see an R-rated movie. So I found it strange that he expressed interest in seeing this one.  Over the next several days, the commercial would come on and he would say it again - he wanted to see that movie.  I didn't get it. Why is he so pressed to see Jennifer's Body??  This morning I finally figured it out.  I had a "duh" moment. He wants to see Jennifer's Body because Megan Fox is in the movie. He wants to see Megan Fox's body cause I seriously doubt he's interested in her acting skills (or lack thereof). This explains why he liked Transformers 2 so much. It had little to do with Optimus Prime and the Decepticons.  I'm sure he loved the action and the fight scenes between the Autobots and the Decepticons. But it was Ms. Fox that had caught his eye. I was happy that I finally figured out why he was so interested in that movie.  And then it started to sink in.  My son has a crush/the hots for Megan Fox?  She's so...sexy and sultry and grown up!  She has tattoos and wears skimpy clothing! What the hell?

Lazy is a Four Letter Word

I haven't blogged because I haven't been running. I've been a lazy SOB. And I'm ashamed of myself.  No excuses, no reasons. Just plain ol' laziness.  It happens to me too often and I need to couteract it. I have no willpower. When the laziness comes over me I can't fight it. I won't  fight it. Tomorrow's a new day. A day for me to attempt to fight off the laziness and drag my behind to the gym.  I do know this - I won't be running in the 5 miler next Saturday. I won't be in any kind of shape to run even half of it. I do plan to walk though. I figured that's better than nothing.

I'm going to slink off in shame. Hide my head and try to get my act together.

It's TV Time!

I love this time of year - television's new Fall Lineup.  I'm excited that the bad reality shows (some of them) and reruns of my favorite shows are finally off the air.  I can now get back to some serious TV watching.  I've checked out the new Fall lineup and have already scoped out what I'm going to watch and DVR.  There's not many new shows that caught my eye this season.  Maybe the midseason replacements will be more to my liking.

MONDAY

1. ABC:  DWTS - This cast of celebrities is the biggest group yet for DWTS. Unfortunately, none of the "celebrities" interest me.  I don't recognize half of them.  I may watch the first night for curiosity's sake but I doubt I'll stick with throughout the entire season.

2. CBS:

 - HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother) - I started watching this show last season and I loved it.  My favorite character is Barney played wonderfully by NPH (Neil Patrick Harris). And I love Alyson Hannigan as Lily.  I've been a fan of hers since the Buffy days. 

- Big Bang Theory - I love this show and I am not happy that CBS has moved it to the 9:30 timeslot. I loved the pairing of BBT with HIMYM.  That's an hour of great comedy.  How dare you CBS!

3. FOX:
- House - Still one of my favorite shows. I've watched house since Episode 1.  And I've stuck with it when Fox moved the show to different days and time slots to accommodate American Idol.  The season finale was a true cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what the new season will bring.

4. NBC:
 -Heroes - I've completely given up on this show. I didn't watch last season and have no plans to watch this season.  Besides it conflicts with House and HIMYM. My DVR can only take so much!

TUESDAY

Nothing appeals to me except the Biggest Loser. I first watched the Biggest Loser last season and was instantly hooked.  To possible add a new show to my Tuesday night palate, I'm going to watch the premiere of the new Melrose Place even though I don't have high expectations for it.  I tried watching 90210 last season and could barely sit through the first episdoe.  Sometimes it's better to not mess with the original.

WEDNESDAY
1. CW:
- ANTM - This is my Wednesday night viewing staple. I love this show even though Tyra gets on my nerves. Mrs. J is what keeps me watching. He is hilarious.  It'll be interesting to see who, if anyone, will replace Paulina Porizkova.

2. FOX:
 - Glee - I loved the pilot and watched it again when it re-aired last week. I hope the hype doesn't diminish the quality of the show.

THURSDAY
1. CW:
- Vampire Diaries - Riding the wave of Twilight and True Blood, a TV show has been created based on the Yound Adult books by LJ Smith. I've never read any of the books but I will be watching the show. I just hope that it's better than the Twilight movie.  I am not happy that Smallville has been bumped because of this new show. I won't be surprised if this is Smallville's last season.

2. ABC:
- Grey's Anatomy - I've almsot given up on this show. I'm about 83% done with it.  I'm giving it 3 episodes to pull me back in. If not, then sayonara suckas!

3. NBC:
- Community - I love Joel McHale. I watch The Soup religiously. I can't wait to see his new show.
- The Office - I watch it mainly online. If Grey's doesn't get its act together I will be switching to NBC at 9pm.

FRIDAY
1. CW:
- Smallville - I love this show. I'm probably a small minority of people that still watch it. I can't believe it has been moved to Fridays. That's the kiss of death.
 
2. FOX:
- Dollhouse - This show got off to a slow and rocky start but ended with a bang. Thanks to dedicated Joss Whedon fans, FOX decided to give this show another chance. I can't wait for the season premiere. I'm one of the few people that don't go out Friday nights so I'll be watching it live.
 
SATURDAY - No TV
 
SUNDAY
1. CBS:
- The Amazing Race - A Sunday night staple. I love the fact that you get to see different parts of the world as the contestants race to the next pitstop. Hopefully the contestants are likable.  I hate it when the show has too many obnoxious contestants. If they do, I won't be watching it.
 
2. NBC:
- Sunday Night Football - no explanation needed
 
There aren't many new shows that I plan on watching.  Maybe once they air and I watch them online, my interest will be piqued.  For now I'm going to stick with my old faithfuls.
 

Extreme Makeover - Blog Edition

Ever since I started my blog, I've tried different templates and fonts and color combinations to give it some flair.  I  could never get it to look the way I was imagining it.  Why perusing one of the blogs I follow - Samster Mommy - she created a post talking about how she had her blog made over using The Blog Fairy.  I was immediately interested.  I went onto The Blog Fairy's website and saw that she offered free headers and backgrounds as well as 'a la carte' items or a full head-to-toe makeover. After months of procrastinatinng and trying to create the perfect "look" for my blog myself, I decided to give up and contact Emily at The Blog Fairy.  She was really prompt in responding to my email.  After emailing back and forth with my ideas, she came up with the perfect look for my blog.  It took less than a week.  I am very happy with it.  And the price was extremely reasonable. 

Thanks Emily for all of your help!

Morning Chuckle

Today it's back to reality for many of us. Summer vacations are over, it's back-to-school for teachers and students and if you're in the DMV, it's overcast, rainy and cool.  I'm having the Monday Morning Blues on a Tuesday.  To lift my spirits, I surfed the 'net trying to find something to brighten my morning. I found this comic on http://www.bored.com/.  It made me LOL so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

To Do List

I am a procrastinator. It's a habit I've been trying to break.  But old habits die hard.  While attempting to get a jump on my Fall cleaning today, I realized that I have a lot of unfinished projects.  In the hall closet, there's a bag full of pictures that I was organizing so that I can start scrapbooking.  I may have cut and pasted two photos.  I started this project over 2 years ago.  It's still in its beginning phases.  Another one of my projects was to scan all of my pictures and then burn them onto a CD.  I have loose pictures all over the place.  My goal is to organize the photos by theme/event, scan them and then put them on a CD.  I can then box up some of the pictures or use them to create more scrapbooks (even though I haven't finished my first one).

In theory these projects are a good idea.  And then I start working on them and get bored or distracted.  Or I get overwhelmed by the task.  My goal for the remainder of 2009 is to write down all of the projects I want to start and set a date that I want each task to be finished.  I hope by this time next year, I will have put a dent in my list.  Or at least finish my first scrapbook.

Darrius at AMA Pro Racing

This Labor Day weekend, Darrius went his first weekend trip without us. Darrius went to the AMA Pro Racing in Millville, New Jersey. I didn't know much about it but it sounded like something Darrius would enjoy. It's sport bike racing on a track. Darrius went with our friend Chris and his son Jaylin. Darrius had a chance to meet a lot of the racers and get their autographs.  He was also on TV!  The races aired on the Speed Channel and while one of the Speed Channel reporters were interviewing a racer, Darrius was in the background.  He was hard to spot at first but I spotted him after 10 seconds.  The hat he was wearing swallowed his entire head!

Darrius with one of the racers. This guy came in third place on Saturday.

Darrius, Chris, Jaylin and Ricky Gadson (Drag Racing Champion)



They were giving away hats and Darrius got them autographed by some of the participants.

 

Darrius called me Saturday and told me to watch/record the Speed Channel at 7:30 because he's going to be on TV.  If you look closely, Darrius is standing next to the dude with the shirt on his head and Jaylin is standing behind Darrius. This was at the end of the race, where the winner was being interviewed. Darrius finally made it on TV! :-)