Project Hawaii

I have nothing much to report for my first update, other than the fact that my last post appears to have inspired Gma G to join WW Online, while I finally quit WW because I'm tired of paying every month and not using it. :-)

My weight has gone up/down within the same four-pound window. Exercise is going well, but I guess I still need to step it up some more. I have done some time on the treadmill (last night I actually ran), some rhythm boxing and aerobics on the Wii, and today I bought a Shake Weight. Yes I did. It's a rather ridiculous contraption, but I can, indeed, feel that I "worked out" for six minutes with it. It's not going to help me lose any weight, but I think it could definitely help tone the arms some.

This week I'm going to concentrate on my eating... I'm doing pretty well with the not snacking. I'm doing okay with the water intake. Not great. Pretty much down to two Diet Cokes per day most days.

So... frustrating so far, but not giving up!

Heard...

"The really dumb thing I don't get about football is why they always try to ram through the middle of everyone."

Me, too, J-Mav... me, too. :-)

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Kirstin Mathers Mercer
So everyone at work kicked in $5 and we bought like 120 mega-million tickets. I skimmed the numbers this morning and it looks like we won a grand total of about $10. Split among 24 people... looks like I have to go to work today. :-)

P.S. The jackpot is up to $340 million...

Project Hawaii

So, in just less than six months, we'll be in Hawaii for two weeks.

Very tropical weather = need for summer clothes.

Problem: most of my summer clothes are a Size 12. I am not, at this moment, a Size 12. If I am being honest, I am barely, and not even always, a Size 14 at this very moment.

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to be a Size 12 by the time we go to Hawaii so that my summer clothes, which I really like, by the way, fit me. Six months. I'm guessing anywhere from 15-30 pounds would put me comfortably in a Size 12.

I've decided I'm not going to go by what the scale says. Doesn't matter, as long as my clothes are comfortable. By the way, I have lot of winter clothes that are just hanging around in my closet waiting to be worn again, too. I wonder if my co-workers get tired of seeing me rotate through the same three pairs of pants (black, gray, kacki) and two skirts (both black)? I wonder if I care? Nope, not so much. But it would be nice to wear all the awesome courduroys I have hanging in there!

But I digress.

Size 12. By the end of June. That's the goal.

There are several things that I know I need to do:
1. Drink more water. Drink ANY water, really. I'm lucky if I drink one bottle a day.
2. Drink less Diet Coke. I am down to two a day. OK, sometimes three. I would like to get down to just the one in the morning. I just REALLY love Diet Coke!
3. Work out harder, and possbily longer. This could present a problem because whenever I up the intensity on the treadmill, my right hip starts hurting.
4. Stop making excuses as to why I need to sleep longer instead of getting up and doing some sort of exercise.
5. Watch the snacking. For instance, I was doing great today, until I was sitting here tonight helping Justin with his math homework (yes... I DID have to look at the book and re-teach myself about square roots, thank you very much) and doing stuff for work and the box of After Eight mints that were in my Christmas stocking started calling my name from the kitchen cupboard. Sigh.

OK... so that's the plan. All logical and common sense stuff. Easier said than done. But it CAN be done.

I'm not going to update on any regular basis. But I'll check in periodically, I guess.

Here goes nothin'...

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Kirstin Mathers Mercer just spent a painful evening re-learning about square roots so I could help Justin understand his math homework... there's a reason I was an ENGLISH major!! Ugh

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our little corner of the world. :-)

1-1-11... pretty cool date.

The first day of my 40th year. How is THAT possible?

Christmas

This year, we had Christmas in four parts...

Part I, Early Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa
Two weekends before Christmas, Mom and Dad came down for a quick visit. They arrived on Friday, we had "Christmas" on Friday night, and then basically spent the rest of the weekend in hockey rinks. It was a lovely Christmas with very nice and very generous gifts. The boys really liked the toques brought to them from Alaska. They have worn them almost non-stop ever since. Hubby and I have worn our scarves brought from Scotland. Hubby's is black watch plaid, and mine is some plaid that has both the red of my coat and some orange (my favorite color) in it. Love it!

I'm not sure who was more excited about Keeper Boy getting Risk... Keeper Boy or Hubby! And J-Mav got Parcheesi, a favorite from my childhood. Keeper Boy got a new hockey bag -- one made specifically for goalie equipment. ALL of his equipment fits in the bag (as does J-Mav as we found out).

There were lots of awesome gifts... Star Wars Legos for J-Mav, a USB turntable for Hubby, a purse and some plates for my Christmas set for me, the bag for Keeper Boy. And Mom and Dad seemed to really like their gifts, too. I keep hearing that the train puzzle we gave my dad is giving him fits (but that as of this morning he is about 2/3 done with it). Mom loves her Mukluks and the hockey Santa we gave her.

A very good start to our Christmas celebration!

Part II, Christmas with BFF and kids
The night before we left for Ohio, we got together with BFF and her kids N. and V. The kids opened their gifts at BFF's house and we had pizza, and then we all piled into the truck and headed across the river to National Harbor and ICE! It was really cool... tons of ice sculptures, all in the theme of the Grinch!

Highlights of this part of Christmas included a 5-foot goalie fathead for Keeper Boy and a new set of knee hockey nets for J-Mav.

Part III, Christmas Day
Christmas morning was chaotic. With nine people, it took more than two hours to open gifts. We were in Ohio at Gma G's house. Also there (from Hawaii!) were Uncle Hooter (Hubby's brother), Jenrie, and the kids -- J. and P. It was the first time we'd met P. and she was ADORABLE. She wasn't shy around us at all, even though she's almost a year old and had never met us.

Highlights included learning a new game (Blockus), that the kids had learned over the summer when they visited Gma G. And Keeper Boy got the game for Christmas, so we can play here, too. Other highlights were a Kindle for Keeper Boy, an iTouch for J-Mav, and plane tickets for our family to travel to Hawaii this summer to visit Uncle Hooter, Jenrie, and the kids. Can't wait!!

We also celebrated P.'s baptism and 1st birthday (a month early) the day after Christmas. Hubby and I are honored to be her Godparents. :) The following day, we celebrated Gma G's birthday. The guys took the kids sledding one afternoon. And one afternoon Gma G took the boys to see Gulliver's Travels while Hubby and Uncle Hooter saw The Fighter and Jenrie, P., and I went shopping. (No Kohl's on Oahu, so we spent some time there.)

The night before we came home, we all went to Dayton and stayed in a hotel as Uncle Hooter and family had an early flight out of Dayton to go home to Hawaii. Their flight ended up being cancelled. :-( So we all went to brunch and then they went to Cincinnati, where they were able to get a flight out the following day, and we headed home. A long trip home for everyone, but everyone got home safely.

Part IV, Santa
J-Mav had sent Santa a note early in December asking him to leave his and Keeper Boy's gifts at our house rather than delivering them to Ohio. This was because J. and P. wouldn't have room to take their stuff home on the plane and J-Mav didn't think it was fair for he and Keeper Boy to get their gifts and not their cousins. Very empathetic on J-Mav's part. :)

By the time we got home from Dayton, it was after 10pm, so the boys opened their Santa gifts the following morning. They were very excited... Keeper Boy got a new Caps jersey (Neuvirth); J-Mav got a new Cowboys throw-back jersey (Romo), a Star Wars action figure set, and a couple games for his DS. Excitement all around. :)

So I think Christmas is officially over. As I type, we are watching the Winter Classic and the Caps are up 2-1. Hopefully that lead will hold and we will be a happy family tonight! Luckily, the kids don't have school tomorrow, so we are letting them stay up. I guess tomorrow I'll start taking the Christmas decorations down. Today the kids asked if we could just leave the tree up all year. I'd love to!! But I fear that would be a little weird.

In conclusion... Happy New Year!! And remember: only 358 shopping days left until Christmas!!