Things to Do Today

figure out how to use WordPress for one of the sites I'm supposed to manage (Booo! I'm a Blogger girl!)

attend meeting with our PR firm to figure out how to "do" PR. Heh.

write an article that's in rough -- really rough -- draft, started by someone else.

try to block out the noise from several loud people in the office. hrm. only drawback so far. at least they're NICE loud people, though.

read and study some company literature I've been meaning to read and study since Monday.

be thankful that my Orientation days of all-meetings, all-the-time, is DONE!

watch The Office tonight and know that I have the BEST manager of all time, now. (Not compared to my previous mgr, only to Michael Scott.)

try to workout again tonight. I've given up on "30 straight days." It's impossible. Am changing to the "plan to workout EVERY day" mindset -- the one where you assume you're going to workout every day, but if something comes up and you don't/can't, no biggie, you're working out tomorrow anyway. Don't know if it'll work. I've historically NEEDED the mental boost of "whew, tomorrow's my day off." We'll see. I AM down to 141.5 lbs, though, (a loss of another 1.5) and I feel good. Clothes seem to fit and/or be too loose.

Good China

This morning I'm treating myself. I'm using a wedding china cup and saucer for my coffee. I'm eating a toasted English muffin with cream cheese and tomato slices, salt and pepper. I'm going to do a quick little yoga session, gather my things, and go to work.

All of these things give my heart a little flutter.

Two days down, 28 to go

I have never done 30 consecutive days of ...anything, that I can recall. Well, except 30 days straight of EATING and SLEEPING. (Funny side note, a friend of mine once ate nothing but PIZZA for dinner, for 30 consecutive days. Can you imagine? I would never try that because I'd hate to forever ruin my relationship (BFFs) with pizza!) So me doing 30 consecutive days of working out? Is going to be a straight miracle.

I'm sore today, just like I requested. Heh. So far I'm able to do about 5 Man Push-Ups before I retreat, whimpering, back to my knees.

Speaking of my knees, they hurt. I am certain that I need new shoes. All the jumping. And the butt-kicking. Sheesh.

Wanted: Playtime

You guys, FINALLY FINALLY I can talk about something big! and important! like a job-change! because I finally announced it to my company and it's no longer a Dooce, but... I can't talk about it, I don't have time. I'm trying to finish things up here, and am seriously excited about starting there, but right now life is rushing around GO GO GO like I do. I WISH I could blog more often. Hmphf and a whimper.

For now, a list:

• Did I tell you that I am going to be working with, and for, an old friend? She and I worked together years ago when we were both single, and we palled around (pal'd? pal-ed? how in heck do you spell that word?) going to movies, spending lunch-hour out together frequently (disposable income, remember?), going to museums on weekends... I am having fun remembering that time in my life and I am so happy to get to know her better, again. We didn't exactly lose touch, but definitely haven't been friends of a "daily" sort for 10 years or so. (OLDNESS, by the way. When ten years has passed between then and now! Gah.)
• Our Disney trip. Let me just tell you! The Animal Kingdom Lodge is Super. Cool. There weren't supposed to be animals on the savannah (which the hotel room balconies overlook) -- they had told us they were doing maintenance last week. But guess what -- there WERE animals on the savannah. Waking up, the first thing we did was pull open the curtains to see if the giraffes were out yet. Giraffes! Pre-dawn! That is why they call it "magical." We did Animal Kingdom Park Thursday, Epcot on Friday, and Magic Kingdom on Saturday, and yes I do hope to post some pictures soon. I'm still half there in my mind -- getting flashbacks of times we spent at the Biergarten in Germany at the World Showcase, waiting for the Disney bus, and standing in line at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. Lots more to write about the trip so stay tuned.
• KT's first birthday! I guess second-kid syndrome applies and she won't get a lovey-dovey letter from Mama like her brother did, but I assure you we have celebrated well. We had a beautiful and scrumptious cake delivered to our hotel room and made sure she had some in her hair, for posterity you know. I still can't believe a year is gone, and I wonder if we will ever stop thinking of her as The Baby. She is so precious, and my goodness, did SO WELL on an exhausting trip; such a joy. She's learned a few signs finally! "More," and "Drink," and "Night-Night." She's walking like crazy -- Daddy calls her Frankenstein. She's embraced the sippy cup (we thought she never would), and last night ate PEAS for dinner. Real Peas, and she swalloed nearly every one! A girl after my own heart. :)
• Finally, an update on the 30-Day Shred: I still haven't started the 30 consecutive days. I'm hoping this will be Night One. When I watch Biggest Loser on Tuesdays I feel guilty so I usually workout. Am anxious to feeeeel the buuuurn again so Bring It, Jillian! I apparently walked off another pound at Disneyworld. So, 143. Woo! And still MONTHS before I have to appear in a bathing suit. I'm optimistic!
  

Happiest place

A power blip at my office just erased a whole page's worth of a post. Rrr. Stupid me, composing and not-saving in TextEdit instead of Blogger. Lucky you, though, this will probably be shorter than originally intended.

I'm late for a phone conference and my mind is on my suitcase, packed up and home and ready to get on the road to Disney for the rest of the week/weekend. But I have something to share:

I'm starting a new job on the 23rd. I'm leaving my comfort zone, my friends, my career stomping ground, and taking on a new challenge. I'm excited about it -- it's in my field (writing/editing/web content), but in a very different context, so "challenge" is an appropriate word. My commute is officially 5 days away from NIL. My new office is 6 miles from home, with AJ's school on the way. And that fact was about 70% of my decision. I'm so relieved that we can concentrate our family life in one town instead of sprawling all over the metro every day. (Now if only my dentist would move to Marietta, too...)

In short, all the typical phrases apply: It's a great opportunity, it's the right direction for moving my career forward, I'm going to feel challenged but have something to offer, the location is perfect, and it feels like all the stars lined up to put this into my path right when I need it.

So we're taking the family to Disney. It's mostly to celebrate the 1-year birthday of KT! Can you believe it's been a year?? Neither can I. I hope she'll giggle and clap and kick her feet, and look at the pictures years later with a smile, even though she won't remember the trip. For me it's a fun way to end this 2 months of waiting, wondering, planning, interviewing, stressing (really stressing), talking, and finally telling. I'm happy.

It CAN be done...

This was posted today at Bodies in Motivation.

I want to go... to there.

Am going to have to up the ante, and really do this for 30 days straight. Overall I lost 4 pounds in January, yes (1 pound per week on avg, the healthy rate), but would love to lose more. I've been stuck for nearly 2 weeks now, and not motivated, either.

Taking measurements tonight. Woo-hoo for great stories like that one.

Taking a bite outta crime

You may remember some angst, a few months back, about AJ being bullied at school. There's been a small update.

When we had our parent-teacher conference a couple of weeks ago -- DH attended, I couldn't make it due to being employed on the other side of the world -- we were given glowing, spectacular reports. Naturally. ;) The one thing his teachers said they still struggle with is getting AJ to stand up for himself. Which was music to his Daddy's ears, actually, since he's been trying to convince me of that all this time.

I get it. They're right.


Well.


This past week, AJ told me a little story from the back seat of the car.

"Mommy, before you came to get me today, E. told me he was going to bite me."

"Oh, really? That's not very nice. What did you do?"

"I bit him."

"YOU bit HIM? Really? Wow... did you get in trouble?"

"No.... E. did."

"Why.... why did E. get in trouble?"

"Because. After I bit him, I told the teacher."

"You told the teacher you bit him?"

"No. I told the teacher he bit me."

"Wait... AJ? DID he bite you?"

"Yes, after I bit him. I bit him on the tummy [Ed. note: how, exactly?] and he bit me on the shoulder REALLY hard and it HURT."

"And then you told Ms. J.?"

"Yes."

"...Okay then... it sounds like you handled it..."

So, hee hee. I wanted to encourage him for listening to what we've told him, that he needs to stand up for himself, but... well, he didn't exactly start the fight, but he sort-of jumped the gun on defense. :)

Ah, heck. I'm proud of him. This E. character has been a troublemaker from Day One. I'm kinda glad he got taken to task. I was slightly avoiding E.'s father's glance the next morning at drop-off, however.

New Layout, Trader Tyooos-blogivers-day

You like this one? I like this one. The blue flowers might be a TAD distracting, but it's better. It's quite "me," I think. You people who know me IRL, feel free to agree or dispute. :)

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Here's what I threw together last night for dinner. We had a roast chicken the other night and I'd saved a LOT of meat.

Cobbled-Together Tetrazzini

half-box of angel hair pasta, cooked
1 TBSP butter
1-2 green onions, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 soup can water
1 chicken bouillon cube
few dashes garlic salt
1 cubic inch or so Velveeta (optional)
1 cup-ish diced chicken
shredded Cheddar

While the noodles cook, saute the onions in butter for 5-8 minutes. Then add soup, water, bouillon cube, salt, and Velveeta, and cook over medium heat 'til cheese melts and everything blends well. Drain noodles, and mix them with the soup mixture. Add chicken and stir, then pour into an 8x8 dish. Sprinkle Cheddar over the top, and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

This recipe is Not Diet Friendly, obvs, but very Comfort Friendly. Picky AJ ate it reluctantly, which in my book equals success. (He didn't gag? I win.) KT played with a spaghetti noodle.

I served it with a cucumber salad (for me), watermelon (for the kids), and garlic toast (for hubby and kids). Mmm-mmm, good.

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I think that blogging has almost ruined me for writing. When something like this post counts... yikes. I actually started hello, self when I first become a web content manager, as a way to practice my writing skills. Unfortunately, now when I'm faced with a 'real' writing task like submitting something for our company newsletter, I fret and fret over it. I can still do it, but it's laborious. It FEELS harder because this is so easy, and so regular, that it has become the norm. I'm slightly concerned about that; I don't want to lose the "real" skill.

Other skills I've lost in the last 4 years: The Ability and Time to Scrapbook. Good Breath Control when singing. The Ability to have more than 2 Adult Beverages at once.

Skills I've gained: Meme-ability. (Man, can I ever produce a MEME.) Confidence to type to strangers. (I used to be very scared to leave comments. Now I've de-lurked all over the place, and with a photo, too!) Confidence in my parenting skills, sometimes. Or at least the knowledge that other people do stupid things as much as I do. The ability to carry many pounds of baby and accoutrements. (That one's unrelated to blogging, but critical to life.)

I didn't start this post intending to wish myself a happy blogiversary, but guess what? It's mah birthday! *whooooosh!* I just made a wish that we'll celebrate it again next year. :) Thanks for being so awesome, lovely readers and friends.