Christmas update

Christmas was great! My Mom is here til Saturday. We got a kick ass vaccum from my Dad and Stepmom. A new camera from Mom.

New cell phones for us, although Mr. H's needs to be sent back already. I got this one, and he got this one. My best friend was awesome to us as usual, and still wants to do more.

The kids got spoiled of course, that's half the fun.

I have been sick w/ the crud again, but I only have to work tomorrow for 1/2 day and that is it. We will have the birthday party here on Friday for Steph. Now to just get the house cleaned before then.

Grama and Rylee are baking cookies right now and watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We never did Zoo Lights, but may go Thursday night.

That's about it for now.

Oh just one more thing, by far the best Christmas present ever although it would have been much better if I had witnessed, was one of my Moms stepsons almost being tasered by the cops
because he was belligerent and they had the wrong kid. Karma's a bitch!

RIP Sandy Elaine Lett Duke Owen

Phillips Momma did pass away this morning. She held on long enough for him to get there and be w/ her and talk to her, but finally gave up her fight this morning at 319am.

Phillip is still in Kansas and am not sure of his return at this time.

Love you Philly!

My brother from another Mother (and Father)

This is mainly for Brig, who doesn't yet know - Phillip will not even see this until he returns to Phoenix. Phillips Mom and step dad were in a car accident yesterday. The prognosis for Sandy is not good. We were up til 3am this morning talking and everytime he called the hospital there was no change, she is still hanging in there, but they can't stop the bleeding and had already given her 12 units of blood. Her hip is broken and swelling as well. Jeff (her husband) and Phillip have decided she will be DNR and no life support. This is very hard for my best friend, and any prayers for him and his Mom would be great. I took him to the airport this morning to catch an 11am flight to Wichita, he should arrive around 520pm and head straight to the hospital. I will update as I know more.

Phillip-
I really wish I could be there with you right now to help you through whatever happens. I know I was trying to keep everything light and not sad last night. I know for all your Mom's faults, she is still your Mother and it would be a terrible loss to you even though it hadn't yet sunk in. I love you my friend and will do whatever I can to help you.

My Italy pics

I only took almost 200 photos......

Ciao baby

I am off to Bologna tomorrow morning. Some 15 hours later I will arrive. 2 full days there and then some 15 hours home. I'll talk w/ you all Friday. If you must reach me, text me, as calling me is much more expensive, even to check my voice mail.

Love you!

Ciao!

Found out some more Italy info.

-We are going to tour a Lamborghini Factory

-We are going to dine w/ royalty in her Palais - some countess who throws parties for other royalty

-touring around to some different vineyards

-taking a class in a local cafe on making pasta and tortellini

November is supposed to be the rainiest month, so hopefully it will be ok.

Update

Week 5 of my weight management class and I have lost 19 pounds so far.

I have been cheating this week though as we had hotels and airlines in all week at work w/ food, and I can't pass up free food.

The lady from Air France was in, and I asked if she was going w/ us to Bologna, and she is. She told me that there will only be 4 of us flying out of LA on Air France. What that means to me is a really good chance of flying in Business Class, since there are only 4 of us and we are flying w/ the Air France representative. No guarantees of course, and I don't want to get too excited, but it sure would beat flying in coach!

I still need to check the weather and start making lists of what I should pack. Need to get that credit card paid down so I have plenty of spending money to get souvenirs, everything else is paid for.

In 1 month I will be in Italy. Soon, they should start coming out w/ trips for next year, don't know how soon I'll sign up for one again. It will have to be one I really want.

Monday, Monday

Hey butt cheeks what's up? Nothing much here. Had the oh so fun birthday party for my nephew on Saturday. Never again!

Today, Rylee and I were supposed to go to The Little Gym for a trial class, but she actually slept past 8am, and I didn't set an alarm, since she hasn't been sleeping past 8am. She woke up at 930, so we missed the class.

We watched Willy Wonka in my bed. Ok, she watched, I napped.

We went to lunch w/ Uncle Philip at Mimi's, and now it is nap time for her.

I go to chiro today, then Curves, then home to hang w/ Mary and Phillip if he gets up before he goes to work.

Thought for the day

Friends..

Friends are like butt cheeks.
Shit might separate them,
But they always come back together.

Curves - Month 2

Woo hoo! I lost 3 1/2 pounds this month. Nothing much, but better than nothing at all.

Loss for this month......

I lost 0 inches in the bust (total loss .75 inches)
I lost 1.50 inches in the waist (total loss 1.75 inches)
I lost 1.25 inches in the abdomen (total loss 1.75 inches)
I lost 1 inch in the thighs (total loss 2 inches)
I lost .5 inches in the arms (total loss 2.5 inches)

I lost .75 inches in the bustI lost .25 inches in the waistI lost .50 inches in the abdomenI lost 1 inch in the thighsI lost 2 inches in the armsand my total body fat has gone down .80%Total inches lost of 4.5

My total body fat didn't change, but she said I needed to be hydrated w/ water and not Diet Coke for the machine to get accurate reading.


Total inches lost of 8.75 for both months

ITALY!!!!

For those that don't already know (Brig) I am going to Italy in November.

I am flying on Air France to Bologna, and staying in a single room at The Grand Hotel Baglioni.

That is really all the details I have right now. It is only 1 hotel which is great, so there will be more city sightseeing and wine tasting at some local vineyards hopefully.

I do complain about hating my job, but these trips I am "required" to take once a year, and the 6 weeks vacation I previously mentioned, oh and the over 1000.00 savings I get to take my whole family to Disneyland once a year, and my hand picked by me schedule, is why I stay at a job I hate. You take the good, you take the bad.......

Great friends!

Todd and Steph were here all day - helping us out once again! You guys rock!

We needed to move our 2 heavy dressers from our room. 1 went to Taylors room and the other to Ginger. We are getting 1/2 of our new bedroom furniture tomorrow and needed to clear out our room. The other half is still on layaway. I can't wait. I haven't had a matching bedroom set since I was a kid.

3 gigantic trash bags are full of Mr. H's clothes that were strewn all over the room. Funny, because he never wears most of those clothes. You all know he wears the same old stuff day in and day out.

The wonderful soon to be Mr. Stephi also helped out greatly in getting our pool back to great working condition so we could all swim tonight after some yummy grilled steaks by my sweetie!

Tomorrow I need to pay for Mr. H's truck registration. Go to Ry's new pre-school and turn in the rest of her paperwork and make my first payment for the school year. She is so excited to go to school. Momma's gonna cry like a baby though. Luckily, I'll have my Momma here to cry right along w/ me on that first day. Then I have to take Taylor to the doc for just a check up. Once Mr. H gets home, I get to finally go to chiropractor - I have missed the last 2 weeks, and I need it. Meet at Curves for our workout, all meet up here to go to the new Cabelas that just opened.

I still have to get the rest of the playroom, organized and pack up alot of toys that she doesn't really play with anymore. Maybe someday Mr. Stephi can come back and "ground that cable" or whatever he was talking about so his precious Ry can have cable in her playroom. ( She would love that Uncle Todd!)

Love you guys and thanks so much for all your help!

Fat people are harder to kidnap

I still want that bumper sticker! HA HA

This is my Curves update -

I have gained 1 1/2 pounds, but lost 1 1/2 body fat.

I lost .75 inches in the bust
I lost .25 inches in the waist
I lost .50 inches in the abdomen
I lost 1 inch in the thighs
I lost 2 inches in the arms
and my total body fat has gone down .80%

Total inches lost of 4.5

Go me!

Yeah

So my Mommy went home again. We had a great time while she was here. Not too many arguments. She took the kids computer home for her husband to fix as it is so slow and crappy.

She got us memberships to the Phoenix Zoo and the Arizona Science center. We went to the Science Center the Saturday before she left and had a great time. We did the planetarium and the Imax movie about the coral reef. There is a zoo update on Rysters blog already.

Going back to work really sucks after having 10 days off. Especially knowing I don't have much more time to take off for the rest of the year. I have Ry's first day of pre-school, Thanksgiving day, and then about 1 week and 1/2 at xmas. I can't really complain as I do get a ridiculous amount of vacation time every year. Plus it is my 10th year this year, so I got an extra week. Plus, I buy a week every year, so I got like 6 1/2 weeks vacation - I just can't believe it's mostly gone already. I suck!

I got a really cool DVD recorder to record all my pics and home movies to DVD. I had started wanting a new camcorder that records onto DVD's, then we found this that will allow me to record my movies already on VHS, like my wedding and Ry's birth onto DVD, so I went w/ that instead. Of course, it isn't as easy as they say and all I have figured out how to do is pics to DVD, but I am still working on it. My next purchase will be a new digital camera.

Going to Curves and really loving it. Had to go by myself last week as Diva wasn't feeling well, and I only got to go twice instead of the usual 3, because this other location that said they were open late enough for me to go SUCKS and they were rude and I won't go there EVER even if they were open 24/7.

So, Taylor went to Pump it Up yesterday for his other little sisters birthday party. Silly boy thought it would be wise to listen to the dumbass teenagers who worked there and told him it was ok to 'surf' down the big slides. Came home w/ his foot twice the size of normal and is currently at Urgent Care w/ Dad to make sure it isn't fractured.

That's really all for now, I think I will take Ry swimming and then take a nap!

***EDIT - Update*** The foot is fractured. Just a very small fracture, Urgent Care wrapped it and sent him home w/ crutches. Now we just have to hope his Mother really takes him this week to follow up w/ doc.

My birthday week

My Mommy got in Friday night and we got some burgers at Freddy's Steakburgers and came home. Unloaded all the dill pickle dip into the fridge. YUMMY!!

Saturday we got up and all went out to breakfast. We then went to Wal-Mart to look at birthday gifts for my cousins 2 boys. We couldn't find much so they are just getting cash instead. We came home, put Ry down for nap and then Mom and I went a did a little shopping. I got 2 cute sundresses, some shirts and some exercise pants and some tank tops. Oh and 3 pairs of shoes, all on sale! We then came home and went swimming. Ate dinner and after Grama gave Ry her bubble bath and bedtime story we watched "Freedomland". Then bedtime. David still had a movie he wanted to watch on the bigscreen so Mom was going to sleep w/ me until David came to bed, and of course he fell asleep on the couch so I had the sounds of snoring all night long.

Today, so far only me and Rylee are up. We have a birthday party to go to. A trip to Sams or Costco to get the goods for our BBQ tomorrow. We'll also be looking at a new camera for me.

Monday is the BBQ, but before that we have to go back to court because the bitch inspector says she cannot dismiss it even though the judge told us she could. Then we have to go to curves and hopefully get naps in before BBQ time.

Tuesday, nothing planned so far except for fireworks at night.

Who woulda known?

You scored as Coral. You are Coral. Often thought to be the bitch of the group, she is often the most geuine and honest. Never scared to speak her feelings, she makes enemies easily but is a great friend to those close to her. Coral 100% Wes 88% Tina 63% Tonya 56% Johanna 56% Katie 56% Danny 50% Darrell 50% Theo 44% Melinda 38% Derrick 38% Shane 19% Which Fresh Meat Alumni Cast Member are you? created with QuizFarm.com

It's on

Although I haven't even spoken to the Mr yet.....

We are going to BBQ on July 3rd evening. I don't know about Diva(who is not chopped liver btw) but I know me and our worse halfs don't have to work on the 4th. I am doing this during the week so dear Movieman can join us as well. I am off the whole week - yea birthday week!

We shall eat dead things, swim and drink.

I also want to go bowling one of the weekends that my Mom is here to watch the little princess so either the weekend of the 30th June or 7th July.

That's it for now. I am off to Portland in the ass crack of dawn tomorrow and I'll be back late Sunday night!

Am I spoiled?

Ask pretty much anyone that knows me and they will say yes. I am going to take a quiz and see though.

Here’s the deal: check off each of the items that fits your life. If 40 or more are checked, you’re supposedly spoiled.

I have bolded the ones that fit.


☑ your own cell phone
☐ a television in your bedroom
☐ an iPod
☐ a photo printer
☐ your own phone line
☐ TiVo or a generic digital video recorder
☑ high-speed internet access (i.e., not dialup)
☐ a surround sound system in bedroom
☐ DVD player in bedroom
☐ at least a hundred DVDs
☑ a childfree bathroom (well, no children yet)
☑ your own in-house office (Not much of an office, but it is the office/extra storage space)
☐ a pool
☐ a guest house
☐ a game room
☑ a queen-size bed
☑ a stocked bar
☑ a working dishwasher
☐ an icemaker
☐ a working washer and dryer
☐ more than 20 pairs of shoes
☐ at least ten things from a designer store
☐ expensive sunglasses
☐ framed original art (not lithographs or prints)
☐ Egyptian cotton sheets or towels
☑ a multi-speed bike
☑ a gym membership
☑ large exercise equipment at home (well, an exercise bike, large enough)
☐ your own set of golf clubs
☐ a pool table
☐ a tennis court
☐ local access to a lake, large pond, or the sea
☑ your own pair of skis
☑ enough camping gear for a weekend trip in an isolated area
☐ a boat
☐ a jet ski
☐ a neighborhood committee membership
☐ a beach house or a vacation house/cabin
☐ wealthy family members
☐ two or more family cars
☐ a walk-in closet or pantry
☐ a yard
☑ a hammock
☐ a personal trainer
☑ good credit
☐ expensive jewelry
☐ a designer bag that required being on a waiting list to get
☑ at least $100 cash in your possession right now
☐ more than two credit cards bearing your name (not counting gas cards or debit cards)
☑ a stock portfolio
☑ a passport
☐ a horse
☐ a trust fund (either for you or created by you)
☐ private medical insurance
☑ a college degree, and no outstanding student loans

Do you:
☐ shop for non-needed items for yourself (like clothes, jewelry, electronics) at least once a week
☐ do your regular grocery shopping at high-end or specialty stores
☐ pay someone else to clean your house, do dishes, or launder your clothes (not counting dry-cleaning)
☐ go on weekend mini-vacations
☐ send dinners back with every flaw
☐ wear perfume or cologne (not body spray)
☐ regularly get your hair styled or nails done in a salon
☐ have a job but don't need the money OR
☐ stay at home with little financial sacrifice
☐ pay someone else to cook your meals
☐ pay someone else to watch your children or walk your dogs
☐ regularly pay someone else to drive you
☐ expect a gift after you fight with your partner

Are you:
☐ an only child
☐ married/partnered to a wealthy person
☐ baffled/surprised when you don't get your way

Have you:
☐ been on a cruise
☑ traveled out of the country
☑ met a celebrity
☐ been to the Caribbean
☑ been to Europe
☑ BEEN TO HONG KONG
☐ been to Hawaii
☐ been to New York
☐ eaten at the space needle in Seattle
☐ been to the Mall of America
☐ been on the Eiffel tower in Paris
☐ been on the Statue of Liberty in New York
☐ moved more than three times because you wanted to
☑ dined with local political figures
☑ been to both the Atlantic coast and the Pacific coast

Did you:
☐ go to another country for your honeymoon
☐ hire a professional photographer for your wedding or party
☐ take riding or swimming lessons as a child
☐ attend private school
☐ have a Sweet 16 birthday party thrown for you

Well there you have it! Proof I am not really spoiled. I only checked off 28 items, so this test proves I am not spoiled!!!!!

My new do

This is mainly for Brig who doesn't get the pleasure of seeing me all the time like the rest of you.....

Weekend update

Can be found here

I am off to play with my iPod some more!