7 Quick Takes Friday

1. And the winner is...


bessieviola!

Whom I adore, and not JUST because she told me I'm great. ;) bessie vee, email me thrash428 at yahoo dot com with your address and I will hook you up with some swag! :) I didn't state any rules of the Pay It Forward, like the winner has to host one of their own. Not required, fyi. This is just something fun for me.

2. I stopped yesterday morning at Dunkin' Donuts and bought myself an everything bagel with cream cheese for breakfast. YUM. I haven't had a bagel in ages -- I stopped allowing myself to eat them. There was a time, years ago, when I put on about 15 pounds, and I think bagels were to blame. I stopped at Einsteins at least twice a week back then. This is what happens when you're single and have income to burn. Anyway, yesterday's bagel, I thought, did not sit well with me. I felt queasy and weak all day. Didn't eat lunch, didn't eat much dinner. Blegh. Turns out AJ was experiencing the same at school (minus the bagel). Apparently he layed around most of the day at school, didn't want to participate, didn't want to eat "special snack" which was ice cream and strawberries. Definitely not normal. So now I'm wondering what bug we have. He felt well enough to go to school today (didn't want to miss show n tell or Friday movies) but we'll see. I'm drinking Rasberry Zinger tea. You KNOW I must not feel good. Tea?! WTH. I am a coffee person. But it just didn't sound that great today.

3. I miss you. I miss blogging. I would like to put a lot more into this blog. Have I said that before?

4. This Saturday, DH and I have a Date Night planned. WOO! Celebrating our anniversary next Tuesday. Eight years of wedded bliss! We're going out to dinner here, perhaps, or here, and after that we're not sure what we'll do. Maybe a movie? What do people do on dates anymore? ;) I kinda want to see that Disney movie "earth." Or The Soloist. Or State of Play.

5. One week from today I'll be packing up and headed to Pensacola for a whirlwind weekend! There's a family wedding. It's going to be fun. Tiring, I bet, but great to see everyone. It will really get me pumped for our beach week family reunion in June! OH MAN, I CAN'T WAIT. BABYSITTERS and a BEACH.

6. Mandy asked a while back about what it is I do at my (still feels) new job. Yesterday was my 2-month-iversary here! I do a lot. Everyone here does, in fact. I think that the marketing team -- 5 people -- does the work of about 10 people. Economy, you know. But here's the scoop. I am the E-business and PR Coordinator for this [link removed - anonymity baby!] company. I manage content for that website, as well as 2 other sites. Yesterday I talked to a consultant about adding a blogging platform, which I think is sorely needed. I'd be psyched if that were to become one of my main duties. :) I am also editor of our magazine which comes out twice a year. My first issue is due out in June. I do some writing, some editing, and some ad sales. I also manage our e-newsletters. (See what I mean about too many jobs?) I'm also supposed to manage our press releases and media opportunities. I don't particularly enjoy that part of it.

7. AJ was accepted to our parish school, did I tell you? I'm excited about August. Uniforms! New back pack! Lunch box! It is going to be so fun. Also, next month is the first of many graduation ceremonies he'll experience -- PreK Graduation. It's cute to hear him pronounce "graduation." He's so careful about it. A word he doesn't really understand, that makes his mommy's heart burst in so many ways.

Visit Jen for more Quick Takes! Happy weekend, friends!

How to play Powerful Dinosaurs

by AJ

"Okay. Our team is Leader, Steggo, Skeleton Dinosaur, and Protocera...tosaurus. Those are our team. If we ever want to change our team, one of our dinosaurs has to get dead. And then we pick a new one. Or, I can review a dinosaur to make him not dead anymore and he can come back." (ed. note: where 'review' must equal 'revive,' hee.)

"Now, who are we going to destroy? There's Mannoth (Mammoth) over there. His power is to STOMP the other dinosaurs and he can freeze them with his ice mouth. But Leader has an ice mouth AND laser-fire-shooting eyes, so he can defeat Mannoth by burning Mannoth's ice. So first, Mommy, you take Steggo and Skeleton. Steggo will puuullll Mannoth out of the green box with his swish-shwang tail, and then Leader will PEERRRRSSHSSHH! him with his laser eyes. And then freeze him with the ice mouth. And you shoot Steggo's laser spikes too. Then Skeleton will scare him away and he'll run, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!" back to his home, and then Protoceratosaurus will tie him up with his rope tail like this."

"Also, if we need to datavate our team I will datavate them."

(no idea but that word has been in my head for three days)

Mannoth (AJ): RAWWRR! I am Mannoth and you don't want none of ME!!!

Leader (also AJ): WHO IS THAT GUY RIDING ON YOUR BACK?

Guy on back (AJ): I AM BR...ANNISH. I AM A HUMAN AND I HAVE SUPERPOWERSPEERSHEWWWW! KPLEWWWWSHHH! KPOWWWGSSH!

Skeleton (Mommy): ROAR! We're going to DEFEAT YOU, BRANNISH!"

(AJ): No, Mommy, you have to use a DINOSAUR voice, not your regular voice. *eyeroll* Like this: RAAAAOOORRRRRRRRGgGGGRRRRrR!!

(Mommy): *sigh* WE ARE THE POWERFUL DINOSAURS RAAAAOOORRRRRRRRGgGGGRRRRrR!

Underwhelmed!

Four people want to win a prize? I'm OBVS not doing Web 2.0 correctly, not linking my Twitter and my blog and my Facebook page and blagh de blah to increase traffic. Pesky, long-ago-ended anonymity. (I still don't need all my high school acquaintances and work colleagues reading the blog, though.)

Aside: I have a work phone call with a consultant later this week, who wants to sell my company his blogging service/SEO strategy. He's going to try to convince me that blogs improve search engine placement and increase website traffic. REALLY??? WOW, that's FASCINATING. I can't wait to tell him I've been blogging for FIVE YEARS and I already know everything there is to know about it. Heh.

Anyway, because I am nice, I'm going to extend the contest until Wednesday. Tell your friends! Leave another comment and increase your chances (which are already PRETTY DAMN GOOD)!

Pay It Forward time! Summer Camp edition

I promised you guys a giveaway and I'm just dying to go stand in line at the Post Office, so let's go!

If you want to win
-- some pampery items from Avon (KT's teacher just started selling it and I love her, and want to help her out)
-- some goodies from our favorite, Target
-- some cookies from the Byrd Cookie Company in Savannah
-- and whatever else strikes my fancy

leave a comment on this post by Sunday, April 19, at 10:00 pm. Tell me what your summer child care slash "summer camp" plans are. If you don't have kids, tell me about YOUR childhood summers.

I'm interested because this year, we'll enroll AJ in our daycare's "camp" for the first time -- he'll be going on field trips nearly every day. We also have a week between that and the first day of Kindergarten... I think I'll be asking a set of grandparents to visit! (hint, hint, Mom.) DH used to spend summers with his grandparents. Any of you do that, or send your kids to do that? I think it's such an idyllic-sounding thing to have in your childhood memory bank. You'd think so too, if you'd been to his grandparents' house in the mountains in Virginia. Anyway, I'm thinking about the topic.

I'll do the random number generator thing and send someone a PRIZE!

Just for the heck of it!

And then... ham saves the day

Of course after posting that WEE bit of PMS stress yesterday (well, PMS and being a normal mom of a 4-year-old), last night I served a kid-friendly dinner (ham, pineapple chunks from a can, and the hallowed Kraft Mac-n-Cheese), he ate it right up, pottied all by himself, and basically made me feel like crap for all the stuff I said.

Of course.

I should note that EVERY night, I serve AJ a kid-friendly dinner. We never eat tofu or quinoa at my house, is what I'm saying. "Fancy" is Uncle Ben's MUSHROOM flavor instead of regular. LOL.

But DH hates ham, naturally. And he can't eat pineapple (too acidic) and he grew up on homemade Mac-n-cheese, not boxed. Sorry, honey.

Still with the mealtime angst

Can I just say this, one time, (loudly), without offending everyone...?

JEEZUS.

April 15, 2009: I am so frakking tired of dinnertime. All of it, frankly. Thinking of what to make, scouring the pantry so I won't have to go grocery shopping for a thrid time this week,* wishing I could just play with KT who won't be put down/ignored at that fateful hour of the day, trying to get it all timed just right to be on the table together (The Drinks! I forgot the Drinksaggggh!), hearing "What are we having?" and the subsequent, "This smells... gross" from the Four-Year-Old Who Never Eats... and the Four-Year-Old, himself. I am TIRED from him.

We try SO hard not to fuss over him (i.e., give him what he wants, i.e. attention) during the meal. He gets up to go to the bathroom, we let him.** He talks and doesn't eat, fine. He doesn't want peaches? No biggie, leave them on your plate.

But it's always something. Last night it was "I can't pull my chair close to the table by myself!! Waaaa!! I want to be a BIG BOY." Wouldn't accept help, don'tchaknow. And thus he spiraled into a whole night of stupidity/tantrums. I never post about him when he has a great week, and I'm sorry for that; he DOES have great weeks. Had one recently, in fact. And so we rewarded him with a trip to the Toy Aisle (he 'needed' more action figures, hee). And then he responded to that with one of the worst Saturdays ever (seems every time he gets a 'reward' it backfires on us), complete with Time Outs and me screaming. I really DON'T like to scream, I prefer the calm, "I'm disappointed" tone, but sometimes it just doesn't get the job done...

OH, forget it. It's working me up just rehashing it. Lather, rinse, repeat... It's just that yesterday he told me he didn't eat lunch at school, and then of course he didn't eat dinner due to his chair, and during the ensuing tantrum he was screaming, "MOMMY!!! I'M STARRRRVING!!! FEEEEEED ME!!" which of course tears right into your biological need to feed your child, even when you KNOW you're being MANIPULATED, GOODLORD... so I absolutely refused and sent him to bed huuuuuungry. I know he needed to be sent to bed hungry. I even TOLD him probably every kid in the world has been sent to bed hungry and learned the hard way to eat their dinner (and their mommies and daddies still love them) but I did NOT appreciate his behavior, and blaaaaaaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and then I died the end.



*We pretty much grocery shop twice a week SOLELY to keep up with KT's milk habit! Girl is a JUNKIE! She goes through a gallon in, like, 2 days! (And yet, she still poops just fine, it's pretty amazing. She does love her veggies, too, which helps.)

**Speaking of poop, we fight about that at dinnertime, too -- about me wiping him. He's FOUR and a HALF!! He SO needs to be handling that himself. And he CAN (we've witnessed it), he just doesn't want to. He's MANIPULATING ME and it's pissing (ha) me off.

Confidence

I have three associates -- two are very new acquaintances -- who share a similar personality that I covet. I mean, I LIKE my personality -- I answer "yes" on quizzes with the question "If you weren't you, would you be friends with yourself?" But there are certain traits I really wish I had.

Whatever it is that makes a person great for sales jobs is what I'm talking about. It's a specific kind of confidence and poise. The ability to sound like you know what you're talking about, even if you've only skimmed the reading material. The charm to offer that firm handshake and make a friend, no matter who the other hand belongs to. The hip-factor to quote movies, or make little pop-culturey gestures or references that are RIGHT NOW, current (as opposed to the late '90s references that I can recall from college). Heh.

I think I have some measure of poise, but it's not accompanied by confidence. I can't figure why. I did well in school my whole life, did some ACTing(!) in high school, went through the sorority process both in college and after, was somewhat of a "leader" of groups and clubs, am a successful working mom juggling "it all"... but still don't feel what I want to feel.

It's not a self-esteem thing. I don't feel "inadequate." On the contrary. I feel like I AM adequate, I SHOULD be able to play that smart, sassy, confident role. But I don't, especially not when I first meet you. I play reserved and cautious. "Don't try too hard and come off sounding like an idiot. Don't say too much." I worry about every comment I make; wonder what should I have said instead.

Is that what they teach you at Toastmasters? The confidence I'm talking about?

My former boss had asked me several times if I'd be interested in a sales position, and I always knew somehow that I wasn't suited for it. The past few weeks, meeting more of this type of woman -- great women, I mean to say -- I've figured out why.

Just an observation, not something I'm worried over.

Master of the obvious

Maybe I've said this before. MAN, sometimes this parenting thing is just work. I mean, physical labor. Ya know? We took them to Chili's tonight for dinner because we haven't been out to eat in what feels like forever (although I'm sure it's not been much more than a week or so), and it was just ex. haus. ting. I was on the side of the table with KT -- trying to keep up with her crumb-tossing, which was an impossible task. I realized that if we didn't have the Dog, we'd have shit all over our floor EVERY NIGHT and after EVERY MEAL and HOW in the world do non-dog-families do it?? I mean, it's just ridiculous! I was bending over every 3 minutes to pick up either her spoon or her sippy cup, things I couldn't just leave there like I left the chunks of Saltine cracker and cereal bar. So, bending over all the time, while trying to pitchfork my own salad into my maw, not to mention entertaining her by blowing zerberts, "chair dancing," peekabooing... tiring work.

And DH, on the other side with the 4-year-old, who you'd THINK was not SO much of a physical labor... he was up TWICE to the potty, which is our Standard O.P. during dinner. Twice. Plus forty fabillion "Sit down"s and "Eat"s -- I mean, the brain and the mouth get TIRED after saying something forty fabillion times.

AJ's a workout when we play, too. (And how is that I still say "we play?" And not just "he plays?" I don't know.) He's all boy, I suppose, and when I'm on the floor he figures he SHOULD come up behind me and climb over my back, onto my head, or "KA-PEWWWW" me with whatever's substituting as a gun. And I'm forever telling him to SHHHH, not so loud, we're RIGHT HERE. I think I get tired because my blood pressure stays high. On alert. Always about to be tackled or climbed.

And then of course, KT gets tired and putting her to sleep is a completely physical workout, too. She HATES being on her back so diaper changes are a wrestling match... tonight she had some cookie or cupcake in her hair (from school - Easter party), so I wanted to just quickly wash it... stupid me, I laid her on her back on the vanity with her head over the sink -- she freaked out. Then the rocking, the walking and bouncing (still, at 13 months), her switching her pacifiers for 5 minutes before she finds just the right one (and thus shifting her weight), 'til she finally gets HEAVY, all 21 pounds of her...

It's just no wonder I can't stay awake past 9:00 pm, ever.

Tuesday Trail Mix

Anybody trading recipes on Tuesdays anymore? Hello? (echo - o -o ?) Here's what I've been throwing together lately to snack on. Not enormously healthy, but I learned recently that the honey-roasted (sugary!) peanuts have fewer cals than regular salted. And that is awesome.

Trail Mix
Mix a handful or two of:

Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey-roasted peanuts
Corn Chex (leftover from making Chex Mix at Christmas!)
Goldfish, if we have some (I need to start buying the 10-gallon box at Costco)
Semi-sweet morsels (most important ingred., OBVS)
Raisins (I put a lot of those suckers in)

I put this in the snack-size ziplocs and take 'em to work. One baggie will be my "snacking" for the day. IF I pace myself, which is difficult.

Hey, how are ya? I'm good, good. I am a supermodel today! No seriously, we're doing a photoshoot... of me! For the "magazine editor" part of my job. I feel altogether SILLY about doing this -- I mean, couldn't we just print my "From the Editor" column without a photo? But apparently, no. This morning I spent 10 minutes on my hair, rather than five, and last night I used the IRON. It's this smart little device that you heat up and then press down on your clothes? And then they aren't wrinkled anymore! Ingenious!

Better post soon, I promise. Maybe even a Pay-It-Forward giveaway. I'm jonesing for something fun around here.

Speaking of fun, this post from Tiffany The Hilarious had me snorting a beverage through my nose last night. Go, have a laugh.

Kitchen quote

As I was doing some research for a story today, I ran across this gem:

"I want to get a job as someone who names kitchen appliances. Toaster, refrigerator, blender.... all you do is say what the shit does, and add "er". I wanna work for the Kitchen Appliance Naming Institute. Hey, what does that do? It keeps shit fresh. Well, that's a fresher....I'm going on break."
---Mitch Hedburg

HA! I surfed on to realize that March 29 will be the 4th anniversary of his much-too-soon death. Laugh on, Mitch. Miss ya.

Milestone

Yesterday was a bit of a weight-loss milestone and I forgot to even celebrate it. I also don't quite know how it happened (see: Not Tracking Food, Not Working Out). I have hit the 130s. Woo! Haven't seen those suckers in a WHILE. Maybe years.

It's good because I needed a new motivator. Yesterday's conference room walk with The Girls at the office was fun. Some of them have done it so many times that they quote the chirpy leader all the way through the DVD. I "walked" and step-touched 2 miles and felt GREAT afterwards. Low impact was a nice change. I've NEVER NO NEVER liked going to the gym and working out WITH other people... but this wasn't so bad.

Today I grabbed a T-shirt and clean socks before leaving the house... and promptly forgot my shoes.

A Day in the Life - revised 2009

5:00 am: KT has been waking up consistently at 5:00 am since about... oh, since the day she was born. And still now. Except the last 3-4 nights. Maybe we've crossed over that threshold, and I hope so, because...

5:40 am: This is still, unfortunately, wake-up time. I hit snooze once and get out of bed at 5:48. Make my way to the shower.

6:00 am: Wake up the boys -- both in my bed. AJ had gotten over his need to be in our room, around late October/November. I think we bribed him with Santa Claus. But as of 3 weeks ago, he's doing it again. Coming into our room every night. He's good about starting out on the floor by my side (I leave a pillow there for him), but usually sneaks in between us at some point. Sigh. I'm trying not to fight it too much; I know it's a phase.

6:40 am: KT's had a bottle and some dry cereal (Reduced Sugar Fruit Loops or plain Cheerios, typically) and is usually removing the contents of my makeup drawer, which is poorly-architected to be right at toddler level. She especially likes the Mary Kay lip gloss and eye enhancer tubes.

7:00 am: Everyone's dressed and downstairs in the kitchen. DH and I are rushing around and behind each other, getting our lunches or coffees; AJ's sing-songing "Where are my VIT-A-MINNNNNS?" and KT's likely splashing in the dog's water bowl, unless we've forgotten to feed him. "No-NO, KT!" is a common refrain. She just giggles.

7:17 am: We're out the door. If it's my day to drop-off, I'm taking one swig of coffee before we get to the parking lot. If it's not, I'm listening to my one or two stories on NPR before arriving at the office. I love being close to both destinations. Love.

7:32 am: Usually walking into the building. Musing to myself how weird it is to work in a corporatey, elegant office park like this, and not my old company, which was always located in a side or back area of a printing plant.

9:30 am: I look up and notice a few hours have gone by. Seriously, the time FLIES at this job. I get a lot of email, and have a lot of tasks. I also do most of my communicating with our German office in the morning, of course, since they're 5 hours ahead. (Speaking to me from The Future! *hat tip: DH) But generally the morning is nice at New Job; people drift in and a lot of us seem to eat instant oatmeal for breakfast, which makes it smell nice. :)

12:00 noon: Today, I was invited to lunch by someone other than my one established friend. I figure I'm at the stage where I don't turn down (too many) lunch invites. The Making Friends stage. It's fun but kinda nerve-wracking for an introvert like me. Today we had Mexican -- I was good, and ate shrimp tacos with pico, and black beans -- and it was a nice group. The co-worker who asked me out is Mom to a 5-year-old boy, so she totally gets my Batman sunglasses. (Just kidding. I have AJ's Batman sunglasses in my purse for some reason this week.)

2:00 pm: Status Meeting in my manager's office. Today we layed out the magazine. Super fun. I'm pleased that the work I'm doing for this issue -- which wasn't planned by me -- is going to fit in, and be appropriate. If only I can get it done by the deadline of April 6! Go back to my desk with lots of To-Dos to add to the Outlook calendar. (WOOOOO, HOW MUCH DO I LOVE OUTLOOK!? You may remember I was using Lotus Stupid Notes before?)

2:30 pm: I check Facebook and Twitter, and lament (l a m e n t !!) that I haven't checked Google Reader, or posted here, in so long. I miss here!

4:25 pm: Still working. I think I get up to go to the bathroom 10 times a day and it feels conspicuous. Other than that, I've been busy. Research, writing, website stuff, email stuff... fun job stuff. My manager asked me today, "Are you having fun?" And I was really pleased to be able to answer in the affirm.

4:35 pm: Okay, pack up, time to go. I call Mom on the way home but it's only a few minutes into our talk that I say, "Well, I'm at school - gotta go get the kiddos!" We promise to talk later.

5:12 pm: Arrive home. Hope the neighbor kids don't run in to our garage as we're pulling in. (They've been doing that lately.) Laugh to myself when I see their 3 year-old boy is wearing a hot pink tutu. Tee hee. AJ sees him, too, and says, "MOMMY, Look at E!" I am secretly relieved that AJ's past the age where we might be ignoring the fact that he wants to wear skirts, like my neighbor is doing.

5:40 pm: Hubby is home. I've asked him to start the grill in a few minutes. We're giving each other the run-down, going through the mail; KT's clamoring for our attention and eating crackers. AJ's watching something on TV and eating Baked Cheetos.

6:30 pm: Dinner. It's steak tonight -- we haven't had 'em in so long! -- with baked potato, and green beans. AJ actually eats. KT fusses through the whole dinner but she's likely tired; hasn't slept since waking at 2:45 pm, according to her daily report.

7:30 pm: After playing a bit in the living room, we're doing baths. AJ's getting onto me for not playing with him, but I try to tell him Mama's got work to do during bath! Two kids to bathe! DH is doing dinner dishes and then dusting the upstairs bedrooms while I do baths -- thank GOD for him. Dusting!

8:30 pm: Both kids are in bed. KT didn't even fight it. I ratted her out to the pediatrician last week and so she's in Cry-It-Out School. I hope she doesn't wake up tonight, although letting her cry is surprisingly easy, and she never goes longer than 20 minutes or so.

8:40 pm: I go downstairs to cook up some sausage that will go into a crock-pot soup tomorrow morning, for dinner tomorrow night. I planned meals this week for once -- haven't really done that in forever and I'm sick, myself, of my half-assed dinners. Toscano Soup in the crock-pot, I hope, will be yummy.

8:45 pm: Call my Mom back. I'm conspicuously NOT working out. Haven't, in more than a week. I feel really bad about it because I had been doing so well, but I also feel wholly unmotivated. I'm bored with it. Probably need a new DVD. Also contemplating joining the office's lunchtime walking group (they do a walking DVD in the big conference room every day!). You can tell I work with an office full of women!

9:00 pm: Still talking on the phone, and getting ready to sit down and write this. I have been to the basement and back to get some paperwork that I need to take to the tax accountant's office tomorrow. Also on my list for the week: Easter shopping. Car seat shopping. Oh yeah, those lunchtime workouts... I'll make it upstairs and to bed by about 10:30 or :45, I hope.

M. O. T. Y.

Pass me the Mother of the Year trophy. KT fell down the stairs tonight, when I turned my back to dig something out of the hamper.

I'm okay about it but MAN, does it make the heart go wild. She barely even cried. Had a little bump on her head but when mixed with all the other "I'm just learning to walk" bumps and bruises, no biggie.

And now let us never speak of it again.



I'm loving all your cookie comments!

This discussion not approved by Jillian

I hope you know that it's Girl Scout cookie delivery season. (The most wonderful time of the year!) I hope you know that beyond the shadow of a doubt. :) We do. We even purchased ours from a sweet young lady who politely knocked at our door (with her mother waiting, a very non-intrusive distance away, behind her). She didn't even make us pay 'til she delivered them! I was pleasantly surprised by the process.

I was NOT surprised that the cookies are still as delicious and sinful as evar.

I was disappointed that AJ announced he does, in fact, like mint + chocolate together, and now I have to share my preshus green box for the first time in YEARS. YEARS!, I tell you!! Sigh.

It prompted me to want to rank my Top Five cookies, like we rank our Top Five Hottie Celebs. It wasn't very hard for me: I counted them off:
1. Thin Mints.
2. Deluxe Grahams.
3. Chips Ahoy original.
4. Nutter Butters.
5. Oreos (Double Stuff). and/or/esp., the peanut butter ones.

AJ decided that his favorites are:
1. Thin Mints.
2. Fudge Stripes.
3. Oreos.
4. Chocolate chip.
5. Sugar cookies. (With the hole in the middle. He specified.)

I was all, "What? It's your first TIME with the Thin Mints! You can't know that they're your FAVORITE yet. and by the way they're MINEALLMINE!" Heh.

No, seriously. They ARE mine. I paid for them.

No, seriously.

So then I asked husband and he was all, "I don't have favorite cookies." Which wouldn't be THAT surprising because he isn't much of a dessert guy, but COME ON. I said, "You mean to tell me if fourteen kinds of cookie were lined up in front of you, there isn't one that you'd pick up FIRST?" (COME ON.)

So he said:
1. Fudge Stripes.
2. Chips Ahoy.
3. Soft Batch chocolate chip. (mmm! I'd forgotten those! Flashback to Grandmother's kitchen table!)
4. Butter Cookies (the Danish ones in the blue tin)
5. Scotch Oatmeal from Byrd Cookie Co.

Thank goodness he could answer that question; I was going to be worried about our future together if he didn't.

What does it say that we all only love processed cookies? After that somewhat pathetic thought occurred to me, I almost put homemade peanut butter cookies in slot #4... but you know what? I think homemade cookies should be a separate poll altogether.

Spring today

It's 75 and sunny here today, and probably similar in lots of places, especially around the southeast. We're going to a little party tonight and the combination of those two facts inspired me to have a DIY pedicure this afternoon. I can't tell you how long it's been since I painted my toenails. What a difference a little polish makes, I swear. I had forgotten how much I like my own pretty feet. :)

It's silly, really, but it made me realize that the past year I've been going around claiming to be unable to do all these things -- like painting my toenails, redecorating the den, buying new throw pillows -- because of not having enough time or money. And it's true, I haven't had enough time or money, but I think it's time to come back to life, in a sense. KT's one now, you know? I mean, no one can fault a working person with a baby and a 4-year-old for sitting unproductively on Saturdays and Sundays while her kids play around her, I don't think. But the little bit of effort it has taken this afternoon to get a little bit dolled up... if it made me feel this good, maybe a little dolling up of other areas wouldn't hurt, either. And I don't just mean decorating, I just mean DOING things. There's no reason we can't: Go out to brunch sometimes. Get dressed up sometimes and go on a date. Touch up the baseboards with a little fresh paint. Start a project (ahem, photo albums). Buy a new handbag just because. Clean out the filing cabinets. Visit the floral department of Publix and for heaven's sake, buy a $10 bouquet of carnations. Some of those things aren't necessarily FUN projects, but I guess I've just assumed I couldn't complete things, so I didn't start them -- all year. But maybe it's time.

A drink

Tell me something: It's okay to sit down on a Friday night, after the kids have gone to bed, and your husband scored 2 tickets to the hockey game last-minute and went with the neighbor-husband... it's okay at that point to sit down with your friend Google Reader, and your glass of wine, right? Even if it's a BIG glass of wine? Even if nothing's bothering you and you have no trouble going to sleep anyway, you just like the taste of wine? (You, like, have been WANTING this glass of quiet wine and teh blawgs - especially teh blawgs - for a couple of weeks now?)

That's okay, right? That's not a sign of impending doom slash alcoholism?
I mean, I seriously KNOW that it isn't, but... it isn't, right?

Every time I think of doing it (and tonight, actually doing it), I start to wonder. Drinking all by myself.... hmm. Kinda stupid to wonder, but I do.

More of same

It'd be nice to talk about something other than my new job, but it's still the topmost thing in my mind. This is Day 8, not that I'm really counting, but it kinda feels like I've been here longer, and I think that's a good thing. (Ooh, I just remembered I have to take a new photo at my desk for Tess. And for me, too - I kinda like having pics of me in my "daily state.") I've gotten most of my crap unpacked, I know which fridge I can store my lunch in, I know the back-way to get to the restroom, and I've conquered the printer set-up.

Some things I like here:
-- Mirrored elevators. I can always check the hair (VAIN) before I see people.
-- The Ladies Room smells like a bin of Strawberry Shortcake dolls circa 1984, first thing in the morning. (No, srsly.)
-- In one corner of the office it ALWAYS smells like fresh donuts. I think I have olfactory issues, but really. They must have great mornings over there in the compliance department!
-- People ask about my kids. I try not to gush too much.
-- The boss acts like a boss, rapidly walking through, asking everyone "How are ya?" without really meaning it. He's entirely too busy for some of us. He cracks me up for some reason. I just shake my head after he goes by. (When I interviewed with him, he clearly hadn't read my resume, and was obviously too important to care about my credentials. He phoned it in with these questions: "What are your strengths? What are you weaknesses?" I sorta laughed at him about that, too. I don't know why it didn't bother me but it's just the nature of modern bosses, I think.)

Yesterday we got home from daycare, I got the kids set up with Nilla wafers, I poured myself some ice water, and I was just toodling around the kitchen feeling so happy. When DH came home and started asking how my day was, I had only good things to say. Sure, it's still WORK with all the mundane-ness of PowerPoint and "status meetings" and there might as well be TPS reports, but I'm really enjoying it, somehow. It's probably just the novelty of not doing what I was doing. It will probably wear off eventually. But at least for the moment, I am experiencing what is known as Liking Your Job.

P.S. Anyone watching Biggest Loser? I am loving this show but OH MAN, the cliffhanger last night!! Why do we even torture ourselves with the TV?

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.