Flop

So close to the end and I blew it. Day 24 came and went without a post for NaBloPoMo. Damn.

Day 23

Just got back from dinner at my in-law's house. It was very nice, except J pulled one of her "Ewww, I'm not eating that!" routines. I was proud of Hubby and I - we stuck to our guns and didn't let her substitute for something else. Unfortunately, she stuck to her guns too and just went to bed without having any dinner.

My entire body has become progressively more pained as the day has gone on. The workout DVD that I did last night, truly did kick my butt. I liked it and I know that I'll do it again. I'm just hating life right now, and I'm getting ready to make some serious love to a bottle of Motrin.

I volunteered to do a pumpkin pie in addition to the apple pie and sweet potato casserole that I was previously assigned. I'm excited. I've been finding (or at least trying to find) more time to spend in the kitchen lately, and getting ready on Thanksgiving will be fantastic. I'm trying to focus more on the food than the fact that we will have four additional people staying at our house on Thursday and Friday night, while we only have one bathroom and a non-functioning bathroom. The camping continues...

Day 22

Up 2.5 pounds this week. Total suckage.

Bought the 30 Day Shred DVD today. Wow did it kick my butt. Yeah, I suck at cardio.

Took J to see the Madagascar sequel today - it was pretty cute. The best part was hearing her laugh out loud very loudly. I don't think that there is any sweeter sound to a parent than the sound of their child's laughter.

Only one more day left to the weekend and I'm so glad that it is a short week. I did my shopping this afternoon for Thanksgiving. I'm in charge of apple pie and sweet potato casserole. Yum! Looking forward to it already.

Day 21

New preschool for J checked out great - I'm pretty excited for her. Lots of paperwork to fill out, but we're thinking that she'll be able to start the week after next. Our favorite part? The teacher in the 3 year old classroom called her over and let her do a fingerpainting project with the rest of the class while we were visiting. She was THRILLED (mommy and daddy were too!)

J and I headed out afterward to get her hair cut, then did a little shopping. Last stop was at SuperTarget where J threw a bloody fit when we were checking out. Something unintelligible like "I'm [scream] not [sob] ready to [scream scream SCREAM] go yet!" I could see the look of pity from other preschooler moms, as their well behaved children sat calmly in the cart and watched J like she was possessed. Yeah. Swell end to an otherwise great day.

Hubby has been at work since lunchtime, and I'm not upset because I had to tackle "the mood" all day by myself. I just decided that a home-cooked dinner wasn't happening. The pizza delivery guy should be here any minute.

Day 20

J and I just got home from our recent Thursday night ritual: Dinner at McDonald's. Hubby has been taking Ruby to obedience school on Thursday nights, and since the 40 minute drive to pick J up doesn't put me back home until 6:30, an easy dinner is always in order. It never ceases to amaze me how much chicken McNuggets, apple dippers and chocolate milk can excite a three year-old. It's like Christmas!

Now, we're back home and I just checked out the progress on our master shower. Awesome!! My cousin is doing a fantastic job and so far I'm thrilled with our tile choice. We learned today that the floor tile will not arrive until December 1st, so the camping and chaos in the house will continue a little longer than I'd hoped for. Still keeping my fingers crossed for a transformed house by Christmas. Please, please, please...

Two-thirds of the way through with NaBloPoMo! Ten days of busy worked, holiday packed, extended family fun to go!

Day 19

My drive home started me thinking about how sometimes I wish to be anywhere but "Here" Don't want to be at work - where sometimes I'm doing the same stuff over and over, and sometimes I have too much to do that I don't have time to come up for air, don't want to be home - where chores always outnumber the number of hours in a day, don't want to be in stuck in traffic - for obvious reasons. I spent my lunch hour at Barnes and Noble - trying to absorb all of the wonderfulness of the books and the peace and quiet (and Peppermint Mocha Twists) that I could before heading back to work.

On the drive home this afternoon, I was thinking that it would be nice to win the lottery, so that I could go anywhere: not somewhere where I 'had' to be, but somewhere where I wanted to be. A list of those other places started...

1. Italy - the history, the food, the beauty
2. Paris - the one day tour de force last March didn't cut it
3. At a cool playground that J would think was the best thing ever
4. In the office of the most well-respected and talented gastroenterologist ever, so that my dad could be made well
5. In the library of my new home, curled up in the most comfortable chair, reading 50 books that I had been longing to read forever
6. At the spa, being treated to a facial and pedicure
7. At the office of my yet-to-be-determined favorite charity, helping however I could

My mind was in free-float, thinking of all of the possibilities.

I guess the mood is a continuation of yesterday's. I'm kind of in a funk, and will need to dig my way out of it soon. Bear with me for a little while longer though - the daydreams are kind of fun.

Day 18

Obligatory post - Day 18.

I've been in a wicked mood tonight for some reason - anxious, jumpy, tense, impatient. I'm sure that my husband thinks that I'm nuts. Not sure what my deal is - just craving some "me" time I think.

Going to bed and hope that I wake up in a better mood in the morning.

Day 17

Mondays - I love Mondays. Not! But it's almost over and we get to move on into Tuesday, just like Monday never happened.

I'm writing to you from my kitchen. Because that is where our home PC now sits. Our shower is now torn apart and is a mess of former termite-infested wood (surprise!) and insulation. Not bathing in there any time soon. We have told J that we are camping and we must all share her bathroom. She's not overly thrilled, since it meant that we had to move three-quarters of the bath toys out, so that Mommy and Daddy would have room to soap up each morning. She'll get over it.

We're still planning on touring preschools this week. I'm favoring one over the others, and I haven't even been there yet. Does it count that they have a cool website?

We've also been discussing how to get J to give up her "woobie" blanket that she has had since she was about 3 months old. It is about twelve inches square and she is hopelessly attached to it when she sleeps, and when she just needs some chill out time. Our problem is that she sucks her thumb when she has it - and that is the only time she sucks her thumb. I'm starting to notice one of her front teeth sticking out farther than the others, so in an effort to minimize the cost of orthodontia ten years from now, we think that it might be time. She's got a lot of change coming up soon - not being with my sister, new school, etc. - I'm afraid if we throw in the woobie removal too, that it might throw her into a tailspin. Timing will be everything, I think.

Weight loss last week was even - thankfully, it wasn't weight gain. I had a pretty indulgent night out on Saturday night, and haven't been totally on the bandwagon the past two days either. I think that the Halloween candy is going to have to go, I'm sorry to say. I successfully avoided it for a whole week, but I'm starting to try and justify a piece here and there, and it's not good. I'll have to remove the temptation, I think.

Well, off to enjoy our three bedroom, one bath home for the evening. I'm missing the extra square footage already... Say an extra prayer that this remodeling stuff will be quick and painless, ok?

Day 16

Not much time to write - have to go have family movie night. Its Peter Pan tonight :-)

Day 15

Empty master bedroom closet - check!

Empty office - almost check!

Disaster of a guest bedroom, containing contents of aforementioned master closet and office - check!

Wondering what the hell we're getting ourselves into by re-flooring the majority of the house - check!