TOO MUCH FUN!

This weekend was so great! On Saturday, Nicole and I went hiking with BBBS. We met at the Audobon Society and went into Forest Park. We had a guide, who was very knowledgeable and let us go off the trail. We even fished! I'll post some pictures later on tonight!

We also found out that we are going to California for Memorial Day weekend (thank you, Wade & Evie). That means I'd better let these alabaster legs see some sun in the next few weeks! They won't know what sunlight is! I'm kind of nervous about going, just because I'm faaaaar from my weight goal, and there's going to be a lot of time spent outdoors. Wade & Evie have a boat & they love to go out on the lake. They also have a pool so we'll spend time lounging. I don't want my weight issues to diminish the fun of being together! I'm sure I'll buck up and rise above, as usual. I don't let too many things stop me from having fun! :-)

BEST. HUSBAND. EVER.

Yesterday was Greg's birthday. We went to McGrath's Fish House to celebrate; hence the fish on his head. He sure is a good sport. I love him so much! Here are just a few of the qualities I adore in him: kindness, gentleness, great listener, compassionate, safe, fun, reasonable, persistent, consistent, & loving. Happy Birthday, Dovey!

HI-LARIOUS!

Ok, my coworker just got here & she told me the FUNNIEST thing! Ok, so she went to a lot of effort to find the TV channel that the Beavers game was on last night. She finally found the station & settled in. The game was supposed to start at 7:00 so she started watching at 6:50 - just to be safe. Then, as sometimes happens in Portland, it rained so there were rain delays. So my friend & coworker, who by the way is NOT a sports fan, was annoyed, but thought "It'll be worth it." The sports announcers kept saying, "10 more minutes, 10 more minutes." FINALLY, at 7:28, my friend heard the stadium announcer say "Please remove your hats and stand for the singing our our National Anthem by Charlotte Kammer." My friend sat up in her chair. She positioned her cats so that they could watch. Her eyes her big with anticipation. Then........THEY WENT TO COMMERCIAL!!!!! Guess how long the National Anthem is? 1:30. Guess how long the commercial break was? 1:30. When the commercials were over, all my friend saw was my backside walking off the field! Too funny! So much for my big debut!

GOOD MONDAY

Book club was so good last night. I got to meet jojo's friend, Wil from the Dominican Repbulic. He seems so nice. I always marvel at those who speak 2 languages. He endured us talking fast and gossiping. He's from the Domincan Republic so I can only imagine what he was thinking while we were jibber-jabbering!

We are reading "A Heart-Breaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggers. It's a memoir. I like it because he is sardonic, self-effacing, and uses humor to deal with tragedy. Dave is about my age so I can relate to a lot of what he's writing about. For instance, he auditioned for the first cast of MTV's Real World. He didn't make it, but the whole subject made for very interesting conversation last night. Why do we blog? Why do we put things on Facebook that we would never tell people in person? What is it about "being real" that we only feel safe doing on cyber space? And is that truly reality? (aw geez, I sound like Carrie Bradshaw now...) I believe this is a multi-facted issue. Some of the factors are: children (yes, including teenagers) come home to empty houses after school, more people are in urban areas where a sense of community may be lacking, people just want someone to listen to them, and churches are not community hubs anymore. I think all of this leaves people feeling extremely lonely and vulnerable. In many ways, it's "safer" to have an email conversation than one person-to-person. It lends itself to a disconnected connectedness, or as I would call it, a false connectedness. Anyway, I love conversations like this and my book club friends are awesome to talk with!

We had a birthday cake for Leeeeeeeeza. It was delicious! Jenny From the Block made it. It was white cake with white filling and white frosting. Think Leeeeeeeeza has a thing for all things white?? If you only knew...... Then we had strawberries to cut the sweetness of the cake. The frosting alone was 2 cups of butter and EIGHT CUPS of powdered sugar! Holy sweetness, Batman. But oh so good!

All of the goodness from yesterday has spilled over into today and I am feeling really good. Tonight, I'm singing at the Beavers game. I gave them a list of demands: a star ryder, if you will. Thankfully, they saw the humor in it and said they would drop everything to accommodate me. I told them everything is as it should be! Here's a copy of the ryder. Please to enjoy...

• A golf cart to take me from the side area to the field (air conditioned, of course)
• The scent of gardenias to go before me, wherever I go.
• A 2 quart bowl of pistachios. IMPORTANT: all of the shells have to be partially cracked. It is unacceptable to have a pistachio shell that, try as you might, won't come open because it's not properly cracked.
• A personal attendant to take my chewing gum before I sing and to give it back to me after I sing.
• 4 feather pillows for my seat, as well as a protective canopy so that adoring fans won't bother me.
• Unlimited 1-liter bottles of Diet Coke, hot dogs, & ice cream desserts.
• A wardrobe attendant to make sure I don't have any wardrobe malfunctions.

"WEIGHT!" I'm still in the 290s!

Huh?? What??? I haven't worked out for 3 weeks (will be getting back on the horse tomorrow) and I've lost weight?? I'm now at 290.7. I've got a long way to go, but I honestly didn't know if I could lose any weight, what with my PCOS and all. I have to say, Metformin is a God-send. My doctor told me it would help me lose weight. I had a hard time believing him because I didn't understand what Metformin did. But the doc was right.

The benefits of weight loss are well documented. Specifically, for me, there's a really big benefit: I have TWO EGGS right now!!! So Greg and I will be busy this weekend! Doctor's orders - what are ya gonna do?? :-) Pray that this is it. Maybe we'll even have twins. The last time I ovulated, I only had one egg so I feel like our chances are better this time.

I'm reuniting with friends tonight and I'm so happy. We need each other, folks. Call someone today who you've been meaning to call but haven't gotten around to it.

Make a free ecard - it's easy!

LOOOOOOONG DAY

I got to work today at 6:30. EARLY! And I'm working until 4:30. I need to make up time that I missed due to my cold last week. I would take sick time, but I'm already 0.84 hours in the hole because I used it for the time I took off for my Lasik surgery. Why doesn't every place of business just give you a chunk of Paid Time Off at the beginning of the year and you can use it as you see fit? That makes the most sense to me. We have an accrual system. But my workplace doesn't always do things that make sense. For instance, last Friday, we received an email from HR at the corporate office. Attached was a memo titled "Exercise Plan." I got excited. Was it going to be a discounted membership at Bally's? An in-house incentive plan? Something free? It was none of these things. It was a formal memo stating that if you wanted to take an extra 1/2 hour during your day to exercise, you could. Sounds good, right? Then it went on to say that you would have to make up the time during that week. So I mean, unless you have a really strict boss (I haven't heard of one in our organization), you could already do this if you wanted. My coworkers and I all laughed. Even our BOSS laughed. Someone said, "I would be embarassed to write that memo." I agree. So I'll continue to just go to the gym after work like I usually do, thank you very much.

ME - WITHOUT GLASSES!

My friend, Judi, and I just went to the MAC counter at Nordstrom. I HIGHLY recommend it. We both got makeovers and we look fierce! I didn't bring my camera with me, but when I got home, I snapped a shot. Please to enjoy.... Oh! And if you go to the Clackamas Nordy's, be sure to ask for Robin - she's great!

Encouraging Words from a Loving Friend

Be good to yourself this weekend...try to rest and relax and watch somesappy movies and take a nap and give your hubby a backrub and fix a reallygood dinner and sit out on your deck in the 79 degree weather and have some iced tea with fresh lemon in it and count your blessings and don't spend any money and feel virtuous about it

and then decide to spend "some" money and buy a little pot with some mint, parsley and chives to put on your deck and use them to cook with and put some of the mint in your iced tea and sleep in really really late and

Set the timer to 26 minutes and you and Greg go as fast as you can to seehow much you can get cleaned up in 26 minutes and then STOP and go back out on the deck and have some more iced tea.

Then do that thing where the neighbors have to call the police

And have a really good weekend 'cause you deserve it!!!!!

CREATE

Wanna create
Wanna feel something between my fingers
Something woven
Something paper-y
Something to hold and manipulate
Until it's a new form.

Wanna feel hot and cold
Wanna do that thing
That awakens me
Sustains me
Infuses life in me
Life is short - create.

PLAY BALL!

I got a call from the Beavers yesterday and I'm singing the National Anthem on Monday, April 21st! If you can't make it, you can see it locally on Portland TV. It's going to be on the FSN network. Every cable company has different channels, but on our TV, it's channel 34. Fun times!

UPDATES

Lasik:
I had an eye appt yesterday and my vision is improving! :-) My doctor is happy with where I'm at. I asked him if it it realistic for me to expect to have the same concise vision as I had with my glasses. He said, "That's my goal and it's totally realistic." YES!!!! I'll see him again in a month, at which time we'll decide if enhancements are necessary. If they are, we'll do them at the 3 or 4 month mark. I was just so thrilled that my vision is getting better! I went out and bought my first pair of NON-PRESCRIPTION sunglasses after the appt! I was so excited, I was literally jumping around. Ya see, I hadn't wanted to buy any cheapie sunglasses because I thought it was a possibility that I would have to wear prescription glasses again. So purchasing the sunglasses yesterday symbolized my faith in the process!

Weight Loss:
I have officially lost 9 pounds since January. Yes, it's been slow. And I have a long way to go, but I'm very happy with my progress. With the Lasik, I haven't been to the gym in a good week, but I will get started up next week. I knew the process would be slow. My dad was good to remind me that the weight wasn't gained over a 3-month period, and it's going to take time to lose it. He's right. Plus, my PCOS makes it difficult to lose any weight. So I consider 9 pounds a major thing!

Baby Making (not for the faint of heart!):
Just kidding! It's nothing gross! Just wanted to let y'all know that I'm starting my 2nd round of Clomid today. Eggs, start dropping! I need ya!