Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Festivities....

Christmas Eve was a scheduled day full of things to do and places to go, yet a somewhat spontaneous day too. Tess and I always say we are very laid back, organized people, when truthfully, we're both a little high strung and anything but organized when we're together. Neither one of us can seem to keep up with our schedules or routines, and we get a little short tempered. We get a little side tracked. We had a few short errands to run on Christmas Eve Day, but before we could get out of the house, we decided to dress alike for our errands. Flannel pj shirts (mine red and black, hers white and black), Uggs (mine are FUggs), Santa hats and leggings. I'm not kidding.





Tess wanted a Christmas Photo of her and her child, Tuckerman!
(Now we are running late.)





After all of our errands, and a spontaneous stop at the bar (we had to go to a bar for a beer, just to show off how absolutely ridiculous we looked), we returned to the house to Anne, and two of the most beautiful grandchildren in the world!!

(It could be a really good thing that Tess is moving out of town. I am going to miss her like crazy, but her being 21 and us being together 24/7 could be dangerous!)

Time to make cookies for Santa!














We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!




Then......we simply hung out. Miracle on 34th Street was playing in the background while we played and chatted until dinner was ready. It was chilly outside, so it was a perfect setting for a fire and the Christmas Tree and family at the house.

Then.....DINNER!

The pictures really aren't pretty, but the menu included.......

Beef Tenderloin
Cheesy Potatoes
Roasted Carrots
Salad









We had a great evening making cookies for Santa and spending time together. Later in the evening, Mike and Tess and I (okay, Mike was actually sleeping) watched movies early into Christmas morning. Elf, The Family Stone and The Holiday were on our list. Finally.....bedtime.

Christmas Morning was perfect. We slept in a bit, then I was up, making coffee, lighting the fire and candles, turning on the Christmas music. Making things cozy for when Tess and Mike got up. :) We already had our family Christmas with a gift exchange, but Santa still comes for who ever sleeps at the house on Christmas Eve, so the stockings were full and Santa brought Tess some Cowgirl Boots for her move to Dallas!

Breakfast was Pumpkin Bread and coffee while we opened gifts by the fire. The doggies got a treat and a new toy in their stockings. I was bad at taking pictures.....I was totally "In The Moment". :)

Tess left for her dad's side of the family's Annual Christmas Brunch, and Mike and I went to the movies. I really wanted to see Les Miserables, but didn't plan ahead, and they were sold out. I was totally excited to see "This is 40" though, so we did. I giggled through the whole thing. I have the maturity of a......uh, well a......just someone much younger than myself I guess. Maybe it was funny because it mimics so much of my life. My immature life. Ironically, Christmas lunch was Twizzlers and Popcorn at the movies. Holla!!

Then we headed to Mike's folks for a short visit before going to my mom's.
There is ALWAYS a yummy plate of food at my Mother-In-Laws!

A little turkey, taters, green beans, dressing and fruit. Just a small plate, then two, un photographed Peanut Butter Balls and coffee.





Then to my mom's house, for perhaps the most ridiculous Christmas Night ever! It all started when the toppings from the frozen pizza (that's right) fell onto the bottom of the oven, and her cozy, little (VERY little), apartment filled with smoke in about 60 seconds, maybe less. We opened windows and doors (I mean the window, and the door) and let the freezing cold air in. That was fun, really, it was. There were 11 of us there. Then, miraculously, one of her two Christmas Trees (I can't believe I didn't take a picture of ANYTHING!) fell over! Almost all of the ornaments fell off! We all scrambled to the floor to start the clean up! Wait. Just my mom and I did that. The tree stands all of about 15" tall on a table, so I guess it wasn't THAT dramatic, but it was loud and obnoxious and funny when it happened. Right before the Christmas Tree fell over, someone stepped on the dog, (or something like that) and it yelped. It's a chihuahua and it's the same color as the wood floors, so nobody really sees it. Then we played my mom's version of "White Elephant", but I don't even think I can write about how that went down. We didn't call it "White Elephant", we rolled dice, but nobody knows why, and at the end, we all exchanged with someone else, if we wanted to. I came home with a snow globe. Mike came home with a cracked coffee mug. Tess came home with a bottle of 1999 Merlot. True Story.

I vowed to track my food for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which I did, but I am not proud to share the points total with any of you, but I will.

Christmas Eve. I have eaten my 26, my 49 Points Allowance, then another 9. I'm in the red here, folks.





Christmas Day. Now I am in the hole 44 points. I would need to exercise like a crazy woman to make up for that.



Was it worth it?

Would I do it again the same way?

I'll let you know when I weigh in on Friday.

I did have a Very Merry Christmas. I enjoyed sharing a lot of yummy food and spirits with family and friends. I made some really good choices, and I made a lot of choices due to Christmas traditions and old habits that I have not yet succeeded at breaking.

I will never quit. I got in a late night walk on Christmas, and an early morning walk on Wednesday. Thursday I plan to walk on the treadmill for three hours. Just kiddin. Seeing if you were paying attention. An hour will do.





THREE WEEKS AND I AM GOING TO THE BEACH!!





I do hope you all had a very Blessed and Merry Christmas!


"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Really Irregular.......

My schedule for the last couple of weeks has been anything but regular. Wait. What did you think I meant by irregular, silly?

I like a schedule, and I like a routine, but sometimes life takes you down an unexpected path, and since I like variety, this irregularity in my schedule is fine, but it seems to have gotten in the way with the blogging part of my life. Blogging takes a little more time than I realize.

I did make it to Fridays Weight Watchers meeting, and here are the facts. I have been between 165-168 for a few months now. I have managed to stay out of the 170's for quite sometime. Until now. Fridays weight was 170.8. A little discouraging, but not surprising, due to the fact that I have been celebrating anything and everything that has been happening over the last few weeks, (and there has been a LOT to celebrate) with food and drink! I am leaving for vacation in three weeks, and really wanted to be at 164, and doubt that will happen, but at least I am going on vacation weighing less than I did the last time we went to the beach. :)

Fridays meeting topic was the importance of tracking. I have been a WW member long enough to know this is a crucial part of losing weight successfully and keeping it off. When you take the time to write down what you eat, (or take a picture and post it on your blog), you are certainly more apt to make better choices, avoid mindless eating, and over eating.

Our Weight Watchers Leader challenged us to do something over the holidays that would help us stick to the Weight Watchers plan. I have been a member for a very long time, but certainly not the best or most diligent member. I am so glad that I have kept the weight that I have lost, off for so long, but obviously I have not made it to goal yet. I have never been a member to track my food on Thanksgiving, or keep track of all of my snacks on New Year's Eve, or count the points in my birthday cake. Nope. Those are the days I would simply......not track. If you are only supposed to eat 26 points, why would you want to write down that you ate twice that, or worse, three times that? I'll tell you why. To face it. To hold yourself accountable. To be honest with your self. To avoid doing it again. I have always been honest on my blog about what I eat. There are many days, at the end of my blog where my total points for the day are much more than I am allotted. I seem to be eating more of a "Maintenance" plan, than a "weight loss" plan. Anyhow, I promised, at my meeting, in front of everyone, to track what I ate on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, whether it was more than I was supposed to eat or not. Eeekkkk.

Since my meeting on Friday, I have written down all of the food that I have eaten, but I have not remembered to take pictures, and I have guessed on a lot of the points. We have been eating out a lot, and have had many a Holiday Cocktail and celebratory drink.

Friday started off very responsible, (it usually does) with a banana on the drive home from WW.......





......lunch was at a place that Tess and I have gone for several years. We became good friends with the bartender, and the bartender would always make Tess a virgin drink of some kind while mommy had a beer. Sounds really irresponsible when I write it down. Geeezzzzz. Anywho, we hadn't been there since Tess turned 21, so we HAD to go there on Friday for lunch. We had big girl beers, and shared a small cup of Lobster Bisque (I had five bites)...........




.......then we shared a plate of Irish nachos........(they're potatoes!). We did take half home, so I guess we each had a 1/4 of an order. :)





Then we met some of my neighborhood girls for a celebratory beer at a pub by our house to celebrate "Winter Solstice!" I seem to know a lot of people that like to celebrate a lot of stuff!!! :) The hostess of this event is a grade school teacher, so I think that explains the poster she had displayed at the bar. :)





Then? Friday night? You don't even want to know.....

We met a large group of friends, (and we all brought our adult children) at a friends house for the "before party", then we headed downtown to hop on the trolley. I think we had 10 adults and 10 kids (adult kids). For $10 a person, the trolley will drive you to many of Kansas City's hot spots! We started in Waldo, then Brookside, then The Plaza, then Westport, then The Power and Light District. We drank, we sang and we danced. At the before party, I ate cheese and crackers and dip, and drank two beers. The rest of the night was, at best guess, sharing a slice of pizza with Tess, and a few more beers. We got home at THREE IN THE MORNING! It was a crazy night of fun and I can't wait to do it again!

Here is my food journal. I ate (drank) a total of 59 Points.





Saturday morning was slow, and we had so much to do. Tess and I had planned to be on the road around 9:00 am to drive to Pittsburg, so we could pack up her things and move her home on Sunday.

Well.....first I had a bowl of cereal.....




......then I went back to bed.

We left the house at 2:00 pm, only 5 hours later than expected. Egads! We started our road trip (Pitt is only 90 minutes away) at Sonic with a Junior Burger and Small tots. I feel better already! An hour later, we stopped for a coffee at McDonalds, and I got a $1 wrap. It tasted gross, but I ate it anyway. Dumb de dumb dumb.

Finally.....we were in Pitt. Within an hour and a half, we had everything boxed and ready to go for the morning movers. (My husband, my brother and my dad) so we met a friend of Tess' and her mom for dinner (I ate a baked potato and a cup of red pepper bisque)....and drinks. I know. More drinks. Seriously? I chose a Bloody Mary.

Here is my food journal. I ate (drank) a total of 42 Points. I now have zero extra points left for the week.





We were in bed by 10:00 pm.

Sunday morning, we were up and ready to go way before the movers got there, so off to Starbucks we went. I had an oatmeal and a nonfat latte.





Around 10:00 am, the movers showed up! Yay!




After the first load, we all took a break.




Then, things got serious!




My husband and brother worked really hard! My dad held doors open and was kind enough to tell us when we dropped things. I took pictures. Tess walked around in circles. After the U-Haul was completely loaded, I went inside it and reorganized it all. Nobody was surprised.





All of the hard work and time was greatly appreciated!




30 minutes later? Done!




Now, here we are, Sunday morning, trying to get this girl home so she can pack again and move to Dallas in two weeks!

Lunchtime!

Tess always talks about Mall Deli, and I had never been. This place has been there since 1979! Since it was most likely our last time in Pittsburg, we had to go. We got there at 11:00 am, and good thing, because right after we were seated, the line was out the door the entire time we were eating.

I ordered the Turkey Rueben.





Look at all that turkey! I only ate a couple of chips.




Finally, we made it home, unloaded and organized, and settled in for a quiet evening.

Dinner was chicken breast stuffed with broccoli and rice and wrapped in bacon, salad and broccoli.

I ate a big salad and a small portion of the chicken.




Here is my food journal. I ate a total of 31 Points. I now have negative extra points left for the week, which means I really need to exercise!




It's Christmas Eve, and we have a full day and evening planned. I will walk today, drink lots of water.

I will be lucky if I maintain this week. I have written everything down since Friday, but just totaled it all this morning. That is NOT the way you are supposed to do it, but now I know where I am at, and I know how important it is to get in my water and exercise.

I hope you all have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday!





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Graduated Friday, Employed Monday!

After graduating on Friday.............




.......Tess came home Sunday for our family Christmas. We have a few family members spending Christmas out of town this year, so we celebrated early. The gifts are all opened, the stockings are empty, the Pumpkin bread has been devoured. I had some mixed feelings about celebrating so early, and I ran around like crazy for 10 days straight shopping and preparing, but a part of me is enjoying the fact that these next few days are simply attending parties and enjoying all the festivities, family and traditions.

Tess decided to jump right in and continue applying for jobs. She has been applying for a variety of positions for several weeks now, some local, some not. Monday afternoon she had a phone interview with Southwest Airlines in Dallas, Texas for a three month, paid internship. Later in the afternoon, she had a second interview, and by 5:30 pm, she was offered the internship, and accepted. She leaves in three weeks and is ecstatic!

I am so happy for her! There is so much to do! Get the car checked out, figure out housing, shop for work clothes (although she did found out the work atmosphere is casual 365 days a year!), and make an adult budget!! (I think that one was my idea. Oh, so was get the car checked out. It's like a TEN hour drive!)

There is the possibility that at the end of her internship, she is offered a full time permanent position with them. We have always talked about the possibility that she would move away after college, and I knew it was true, but knowing it is so close kinda FREAKS ME OUT!!

So now we just need to focus on making sure she has what she needs and getting her there safely. At first, I was feeling very "mommy" about making the "list" ( here I go with the list thing again) of things we need to do to get her ready, but then she read an email to me from Southwest Airlines. They actually have a plan for Interns and the parents that want to make sure they get there safely! How cool is that? So I have three more weeks to mommy my kid! Yay!

Ok....so food and Weight Watchers and tracking food and exercising and all that jazz.......

Well, due to the stress and crazy schedule and the abundance of sugar I have been surrounded with, I have not been the best Weight Watchers member. I had completely avoided the scale.....until yesterday morning. I thought my face looked "puffy" in some of Tess' graduation pictures from the weekend, so I knew I was retaining water like crazy!

Before I stepped on the scale I prepared myself to see the 170's. it was going to be tough, but I had to face it. I also knew if I was completely disgusted with the scale results, all I needed to do, was count my points and drink plenty of water and get in a good long walk.

I stepped on the scale. 172.0.

I spent all day Tuesday drinking water and I ate plenty of fruits and veggies. I didn't take any food pictures because I simply forgot. I ate a two pieces of fruit, a salad and a egg sandwich on toast.

I stepped on the scale Wednesday morning to see 168.0. I knew it was mostly water weight.

Today I will count points and take pictures. We leave for vacation in four weeks and I want to be able to look back at the next four weeks and pat myself on the back!

I can't believe all that has happened over the last couple of weeks, and I can't even begin to think about all that will happen over the next few weeks for Tess. But one thing I know for sure, it's going to be exciting! That kid inspires me! I feel inspired to continue on the Weight Watchers path, and reach my weight loss goal in 2013!

What are you goals for 2013?

Just a few grad party pics!



(her room mates and best buds from last year!)




(One of her best friends, Cara!)





(More good friends)

















"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Counting Points has taken a back seat.......

I am really having a hard time sitting down to write a blog post. I have sat down everyday since my last post and the words just won't come to me. I wrote my last blog post on Friday, about my incredible daughter and her graduating from college.

It's so hard to enjoy all the wonderful things in your life, when you know so many people are experiencing such a great loss. I feel like I should be grieving, so then I grieve for a while and I think about all of them. I want to smile at my kid, no matter how old she is, about her success, but all I can think about are the parents that will never have the chance to experience what I got to experience this weekend.

Each time I sit down to blog, all I can think about are the lost lives in Connecticut on Friday. When I heard the news on the radio, I was two minutes from arriving at Tess' house. Right after hearing the news, my husband called me to see if I had heard what had happened, and was I okay? I told him I was trying to pull myself together so I could walk into Tess' house when I got there and begin our celebration of her college graduation, but really I just wanted to get to her house, walk in and hug her and cry. When I got to her house, we talked about what had happened......while we sat there in shock, with some of the same questions so many of us were asking and still are asking. Why? How?

We went on with our day, knowing the graduation was scheduled just hours away. At the graduation, the extra security was obvious and very uncomfortable. Graduation went on as scheduled. We celebrated at a great party afterwards, but still in the back of my mind, were all of the family members and friends of those affected by what had happened at the Sandy Hook Grade School in Connecticut that morning.

I spent Saturday preparing for a big Christmas Celebration at our house on Sunday, with all of our kids and grandkids and parents and siblings. I wanted to be happy and listen to Christmas music and "feel" the Christmas Spirit, but all I could really think about, again, were the people in Newtown, Connecticut. When I'd find myself singing along to the Christmas songs playing in the background, I thought about the parents of the children and the possible gifts they had already wrapped and put under the tree.

I thought about my grandson and his kindergarten class. Things went through my head that should never have to go through any of our heads.

I had an absolutely wonderful weekend with my family, feeling blessed the entire time that I was able to do so, yet I can not get those families out of my mind. My heart is incredibly heavy and my thoughts and emotions are a complete roller coaster.

I am praying that God will give them all the strength they need to go on. I am praying that God will be able to help all of the people grieving, feel some peace. I am praying that the little brothers and sisters of those that died, will be able to enjoy at least a bit of their Christmas Morning, however I can't even begin to imagine how they will be able to do that. I am praying that the entire community in Newtown, Connecticut will be able to give each other the courage to go on.

It's not often that I don't have the words to describe what I am feeling. But I really have no words.

My heart, my prayers and my thoughts are with all of the people affected by the tragedy that occurred on Friday.

God, please, bless them all.

My Proudest Accomplishment!

If I did anything right in this crazy, unexpected life of mine.......it was raising this kid.





When I was pregnant, I refuse to find out if the baby was a boy or a girl, and I insisted on having a drug free birth (call me old fashioned). I hated being pregnant though. When she moved inside me, all I could think about was the movie "Aliens". My boobs were bigger than the rest of my body.......except maybe my ankles. I didn't like anything about the whole "being pregnant" experience. Except that I KNEW in my heart I was having a girl, and I knew she would be amazing, and I knew one day, she would be my best friend.





I didn't go to college for many reasons. Sometimes I regret that decision, other times I remind myself that the decisions we have made in our lives, are the decisions that have brought us to where we are right now. And I can't imagine a better life than the one I have right now. I am blessed to have Mike as my husband, blessed to have Tess as my daughter, blessed to have Mike's kids in my life, and blessed to have the rest of my family and friends in my life.

When Tess was growing up, I wanted her to know that college was just a part of life. It was the next step after High School. It was expected. I wanted her to always be able to take care of herself, and never feel like she had to depend on someone else to take care of her. I wanted her to have the opportunity of an education, and I wanted her to know that she deserved it. I wanted her perception of college to be different than mine was when I graduated from High School.

Well, it was. She jumped right in! She picked Pitt State without hesitation. She graduated from High School a semester early, and being an August baby, she went to college at the age of 17. I was a nervous wreck!

She joined the sorority.....and became VERY involved!





She learned how to tailgate like a PRO! She like's beer. (She is my child)








Sometimes......I joined her!




Last year....she organized and chartered a bus, and followed the team to Alabama for the Championship Game!




They were even on TV! And they WON! Go straight up from the "P" in Pitt, second row, there's her pretty little face!




She was hired by Pitt State to work in the Student Center, which was nice, because as long as she was a full time student, she was guaranteed a job!

She became a student ambassador, so when perspective students came to tour the campus, she could show them and their parents all of the great things Pitt State had to offer!

She was on several different committees and was always looking for an opportunity to raise awareness of something she felt strongly about.
She organized "Boobie Bash" to raise awareness about Breast Cancer! Tess' great Grandmother was a Breast Cancer Survivor, and Tess was fortunate enough to be able to know her Great Grandmother very well.





She met a TON of great friends!






















She seems to enjoy a Theme Party, or just crazy clothes!




















She helped friends celebrate 21st birthdays!!




She was the "Sweetheart of Sigma Phi Epsilon"! Bad picture, but she is in the middle here, being serenaded.







She lived with these two crazy Sig Ep's her junior year! This was the year she learned "Most Boys Don't Clean"!







But that didn't seem to matter, because she is dating this roomie now........




Finally......she turned 21!





I went down to Pitt for a little birthday celebration!





Look how much she grew up in four years!




Here she is with her dad a few years back, I think when she first left for college. Maybe this picture is older than I think. she looks so young! She was a BABY!




I think she even attended classes regularly, however I do not have ONE picture to prove that. :)

I know there are many more college memories and accomplishments by Tess that are not listed here, but I have to remember I am writing a "Blog", not a "Book".

My pride and joy will graduate from Pittsburg State University on Friday, December 14th with a Bachelor of Science in Communications!

I wish I could stand on the rooftops and shout it out! Hey, maybe I will!






I must say, I think she made the best of her college experience. Not only does she walk away with a College Degree, but friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. Lessons about life, some good, some bad, that she will carry with her forever.

I am so excited to see what lies ahead for Tess and for her life. She's always planning her next move. It's been nothing but an honor to be her mom and watch her grow from an amazing kid into an amazing adult.

Yip. Definitely "My Proudest Accomplishment".

The quote below, that is at the end of every blog post I write?
She found that quote.
She's kinda smart.

"love the life you live, live the life you love"