Baby Bad Kitty

Ledyard is growing so fast, he still only answers to bad kitty instead of Ledyard. We are working on it. His new favorite place to hang out is the refrigerator....

Time Spent Doing...

Certainly not blogging, which I do miss, but it just seems lately that my time has been spent doing other various tasks and I really have not had much to say lately - about anything really. I have been learning how to knit and I love it. Throw my in a flannel night gown and my husband will realize he is married to a grandma. But for now, I suppose I will stick to my normal night clothes and try to avoid drinking peppermint tea in bed while knitting. But seriously, I really am enjoying it. I will be learning this weekend how to finish my first project which is a felted handbag. Exciting stuff right?

On Tuesday it was Andy G.'s birthday. We had a few friends over and I made his favorite cake. He was thrilled with his presents. Now I am just finishing up his AARP paperwork...just kidding honey.

There are various other rumblings in progress in the family expansion topic area, but nothing really to report except for the adoption guidelines in this country are screwed up. Which also brings me to another point - have you ever noticed that when a republican screws up (such as the South Carolina Gov.) that it is mentioned in every article about 70 times that they are republican (which by the way I don't care, announce the party, both sides screw up) but when a democrat screws up it is NEVER mentioned in an article or if it is it is grazed over quickly. Don't believe me - go ahead read the article of former Washington DC mayor this week about his arrest for stalking or go back a few years and read the article when he was busted by the FBI for smoking crack in a hotel room with a bunch of hookers....if you can find the audio that is even better. But anyway, maybe these are two extreme examples, but it really is true that the media is incredibly jaded.

Also I recently made the best face/makeup product purchase of my young life - Magix Face Perfector from Avon. I do not know how this works and why it works but I do know, I have never had the appearance of that "perfectly done up make up look" and now I do. You can get it from my friend Tara and right now it is on sale for $7.95. I know this might seem like a paid advertisement, but I assure you I have not been prompted or encouraged to write this. In fact I do not even think I have mentioned this to Tara yet. So Tara - thanks, I love it. Can they make it in a tinted form because then I would be set.

Ledyard is growing every second and he is still a very ornery kitty. He plays and gets in to everything. He is really sweet though and he has certainly quickly become Templeton's best friend - which I did not expect.

We are taking a small holiday in August and I'm pretty excited to get to see our family. Andy G. has to come back a bit early for work, but a few days away together is better than none!

So that is about it in our little corner of the world...

Worth The Weight

So this picture probably will not mean much to anyone, but when I saw this it was cause for celebration in our house. I know the world is constantly producing new weight loss products, new diets, books, websites - you name it when it comes to weight loss it exists. But what about weight gain? I've never seen an infomercial on that yet, we have a book and its pretty pathetic and as far as I know no magic pills for weight gain either. You can go to GNC and buy "weight gainer" and load your body full of toxins and preservatives that will allow you to gain water weight despite what the label says, but in all honesty gaining weight is just as hard as losing it, people just do not talk about it.

When we moved here Andy G. weighed about 185 pounds. By February of this year he was down to 150 - sometimes even less. Despite eating, working out - he stilled was losing weight. It was scaring me a lot. I sent him to three different doctors - all who reported that he did not have a tape worm or any other aliment. Of course we were dealing with a lot of stressful situations that caused a lot of anxiety. Anxiety is one of the biggest factors in unexplained weight loss. Now that we are past a lot of all that, the weight is starting to come back - slowly, but nonetheless it is coming back. Ten pounds is a lot of weight, weather you are trying to loose or gain, so when Andy G. hopped on the scale this morning it was an exciting day. Now only about 15 more pounds to go!

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! What a great holiday to celebrate. I love living in a free country!

I know I have been a bit absent lately - I promise to be more faithful with updates. In the meantime, enjoy the fireworks and hug a marine. What amazing work they are doing for us right now on the birthday of our nation.

Labels? Anyone Labels?

Lady: I like your jeans, what are they?
Me: Jeans
Lady: I mean what kind
Me: umm..denim?
Lady: No what label?
Me: I have no idea – you wanna check?
Lady: (checking) oh, I’ve never heard of those, where did you get them?
Me: Thrift Store I think or maybe from my friend Paige, I can’t remember
Lady: How do you not know what kind of jeans you are wearing?
Me: How do you remember what kind you are wearing?
Lady: Well they all fit differently
Me: Which is what dressing rooms are for right?
Lady: I only like certain labels, most are really expensive
Me: Well I guess my pants are safe then

I hate labels. I reject pigeon holes and categories. I am more than my brand of jeans, which I still don’t even know. I can be a wife, a mother, a daughter, pet mom to 26 Andy G. just said I could not be that, but anyway I can be a lot of other things without using a label. I can give an impromptu kiss to my husband or hand a $20 bill to a stranger. I really don’t see how wearing a specific brand of anything really changes that. If you ask my hubby what kind of jeans he wears he will tell you the ones that are like denim sweatpants that my wife found for me. I hope we raise of family with such innocence. After all no sense trying to force a square peg into a round hole right?

So Here's The Deal

I believe in God. And Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Three Wise Men, Noah, Heaven and Hell. It's ok if you don't, that is really not my business. But I'll pray for you anyway.

I would rather see a cop killer put to death immediately after conviction than see someone senselessly kill an animal. Period.

Sometimes when my husband is working at night I sleep with the light on to stamp out bad dreams. I am fully aware of my age and I need no reminders.

I hate the fact that we have become a disposable nation. I do not need fancy cars, gadgets or modern cut jeans (does anyone know what this is?) to make my world turn on its axis. It's ok if you do, I have no comments except this one - I like my 1981 RCA console TV, it works great, fantastic picture and is a fine piece of furniture. I do not even know what HDTV is, most likely I would not be able to tell the difference. Again - you may need this and I'm really ok with it.

When you come to my house and ask for a napkin, I'll most likely give you a cloth one, go ahead wipe away, they wash. I'm not sure when the last time I purchased paper towels, I'm sure there are a few around somewhere, but I don't know where they are. I'm not trying to save the world or even reduce my paper consumption, I just like the idea of using cloth napkins. It's ok if it grosses you out, go ahead use paper, I don't mind. One of my best friends is a big wig money chic for a paper company. I like her being employed, really.

Plastic freaks me out. I don't know why, it was long before the FDA started cracking down on toxins and the heat/don't heat debate. In addition, I just think things taste better in glass, metal, ceramic or paper. It is just my thing. Ziploc bags drive me crazy, so I just flow without them. I wrap sandwiches in cloth napkins, I have reusable snack bags and I gotta tell ya folks, wax paper can do amazing things. Its ok if you like plastic, continue loving it, just don't tell me I'm the weird one.

Fad diets drive me nuts, there is no magic diet pill and for the love of pete, either embrace your body or decide to change it, either way, let me know and I will cheer you on, but no flip flopping. It did not work for Kerry, it will not work for you. Eat healthy, exercise and get at least 8 hours of sleep. No you cannot function on only five, you only think you can.

I am a registered republican and I am proud of that. I support my party, I work on campaigns and I contribute my two cents. You know what else I do, I vote. So if you want to talk about the state of our nation, I will be glad to oblige, but if you have not registered to vote, I don't need to hear the concerns until you do. It's free.

I do not use hormonal birth control, nor will I ever. If the worst thing that could happen in your life is to get pregnant, by all means, don't take my advice. But before you swallow a pill think about what you are doing - chemically altering your body's natural abilities. Refer back to my first statement, I believe in God, he does not make mistakes.

You see it's pretty simple, the world don't beat to the tune of just one drum....

A Week In Review

1. The kitty is adorable, but he is a BAD KITTY. In fact, he does not even answer to Ledyard, he only looks at you when you say BAD KITTY. He is just adorable and can be so sweet, but he is always into something. I mean all the time, never sleeps. In fact the last time I saw him sleeping was the day I took the picture that is posted below. All night, he is scaling the bookshelf, climbing the decorative tree behind the TV, jumping on my head, biting my fingers, biting my eyelids, torturinzing (I just love that word) the dog, running amuck. He just never stops. There has not been a full night’s sleep in this house yet. It is a GOOOOOOD thing he is cute….

2. Alaska Airlines had a sale for Alaskan residents. So we can fly to Anchorage for only $700. I know what you are thinking – that still seems REALLY expensive and you are right it is REALLY EXPENSIVE, unless you live here, then that price is all you talk about with your friends for days. You dream of places to eat, hotels to stay and driving more than 25 mph. I booked two flights for August, I’m pretty darn excited about that.

3. On Tuesday I received a phone call from my good friends at Holiday Inn Express Anchorage and they gave Andy G. and I 50,000 ALASKA AIRLINE MILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In Alaska these miles are better than sex, chocolate, champagne or money. I could not believe it. I was so excited I nearly collapsed. We love Roxy and Mr. Merrill at Holiday Inn Express, they took tremendous care of us during our many sick surgery trips. I’ve stayed at a couple other hotels in Anchorage because of business and I always feel like I am cheating on them. They have my lifetime business for sure. Oh where will be journey too with so many miles…..

4. I’m dreaming of a Mediterranean cruise a lot. I found a very reputable company that is have an economy sale. You can lock in the current cruise prices now, but you can go anytime in the next 24 months…..I’m feeling that I should go ahead and reserve two spots, but I’m still feel a bit reserved as well

5. I made fried zucchini after having it at a restaurant in Anchorage. I’ve never actually friend anything myself I do not think, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect in the process. But they were delicious. Also I learned that about 10% of the nutritional values are absorbed through frying. So while I thought using a cup of oil to fry in was going to immediately going to add 15 pounds to my mid-section, according to the recipe I used, the zucchini only contained 5 grams of fat per serving. I served them in place of potatoes with turkey burgers, so I thought it was pretty even trade. Problem being, I want them every day now.

6. I’ve been making/buying birthday gifts a lot, what is up with June and July having so many birthdays and such. Not that I mind, it is so much fun shopping for other people, especially when they are nieces and nephews!

7. What are you getting your dad for father’s day? I can’t think of a thing. Not a thing I tell you.

8. I think I have decided to get my master’s degree in landscape architecture. This is not for sure and more than likely I will change my mind, but I think I would love doing landscape designs and working with different types of plants and flowers. My inspiration comes from Mrs. Marks and watching Rosemary and Thyme. This degree does not really relate to any of my “dream jobs” but I really think it would be interesting.