thirty-four

Yesterday we celebrated J's 34th year of life! We had beer, and steak, and too much cake! It was wonderful :)

07.29.13

It is only the end of July, but if I went outside blind folded, I would swear it was the end of September. It is cool, not so humid, and if it weren't for the bright green everywhere, I'd be busting out the pumpkin spice candles. I love fall so much - and after experiencing my first true fall last year, my feelings were confirmed. It is my favorite season. Period.

Life lately has been slow and beautiful, especially in the week since my return from Phoenix. Distance really does make the heart grow fonder (even if it was hard to imagine my heart being any fonder of my sweet guys). But still, I did my best to soak up and enjoy the sweet moments over the last week.

{i love the intro to Ina @ home - my favorite cookbook! i wasn't even cooking anything out of it, but couldn't resist pulling it down to re-read Ina's story about learning to make a home}

{have you had these? we are BIG time pickle fans around this place, and these chips did not disappoint!}

{even pea soup looks prettier in vintage Pyrex}

{J actually requested pot roast - not his favorite - and I was happy to oblige. This ended up being our Sunday dinner}

{mister fitzkitty can't resist a sun bathing opportunity}

{john john is as mischievous as they come. he is always getting into something - mostly his brother's shoes!}

{my sweet MIL gifted me with this adorable owl oven mitt}

{you can't buy it in stores anymore, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying a delicious lemon diet pepsi!}

{we have a new childcare arrangement going on (more on this later) - so far so good - mikey is old enough that he can entertain himself while john john naps, and I can get work done!}

Weight Watching, Point Counting.

So, I've been trying to do the whole low carb thing (very unsuccessfully I might add) for several SEVERAL years now. And deep down, I know it makes the most sense from a long term health perspective. So I try it. I vow every week to start anew, begin again, do. it. right. this. time. I do (begin again) but somewhere between breakfast and dinner, sometimes the same day, sometimes 3 days later, I find myself not following any diet at all.

All the other diets? They involved counting. Calories. Fat. Points. Whatever, you had to count. I HATED TO COUNT. All the food, all the time - it made me nuts and it felt like I was constantly thinking about food, which didn't help matters.

Then, J and I decided to have another baby. And we got pregnant. And I had a miscarriage. And I got pregnant again, and had another miscarriage. WTF. Here we are, 9 months later, and no baby (or baby bump) to show for it. About 5 months in, I found this forum for women tracking their fertility, and I decided to start tracking mine. Another month or two in, and I started monitoring my temperature daily to pin point ovulation. For someone who always hated to track things, I began to enjoy the detail driven world of fertility awareness.

It occurred to me, that while I've been failing in a big way at adhering to a low carbohydrate diet, I might be able to find success with Weight Watchers (I've lost count of the times I've started and stopped WW's). The plan hasn't changed much since the last time I tried, but I sure have. I'm not someone that could be described as obsessive, but I surely take much delight in now not only monitoring my fertility, but tracking (gasp) POINTS! I love it. J wants to know if we can have some beer tonight. "Well, maybe. Let me plug in my points for dinner and see if I have any left over." And so far the answer has been no, because now that I am tracking what I eat, I find that I'm eating "healthier" foods and not skipping breakfast and lunch and mowing down a buffet for dinner. So, yeah, not saving a whole lot of points for beers - but if I can develop a taste for MGD 64 (or Select 55) then I can probably start enjoying a few of those as well :).

After my excursion to Phoenix and eating everything in sight with zero refrain, it is good to be back to the sanity of Weight Watchers.

{a typical Weight Watchers lunch for me. Progresso Split Pea soup is meh, but the important thing to note here is that I have an actual serving of chips, and some delicious zero point Mt Olive Spicy Kosher Dills}

{diet coke w/ lime... NO POINTS!}

{WTF are points? Can I eatz them?}

{this whore has way too many points}

Back to Phoenix

I was recently able to travel back to Phoenix for a quick trip. I was able to spend time with my father (he is very ill) and my mother, who in a weird twist of fate, finds herself living with my father again (after a 15 year separation). They aren't reconciling - just temporary roommates - but I must say that it was convenient to see both my folks under one roof. My father was very lucid during my time there, and we were able to have some great chats about politics and current events.

Besides that, I spent time with my dearest friend, Valerie, and celebrated her 30th birthday! In fact, the entire trip was made possible by her sweet husband, who purchased my round trip ticket for HER birthday, lol. I don't technically get "vacation" time from my job since I'm a contract employee, so I brought my laptop along and worked next to Val for several days in her home office. It was great to not only have a co-worker for a few days (working in a home office can get lonely) but to spend so much time (even if we were working) with my best friend. My father's home isn't exactly set up to accommodate guests, so Val's mom graciously allowed me to be her house guest. It was a trip sleeping in my own big bed for the first time in many, many years (not to mention sleeping in such luxurious bed linens - which reminds me, I really need to get better bedding).

Val and her husband took me to many of my favorite old AZ eating establishments, including Tony's (Mexican food), and we spent a few evenings enjoying adult beverages and chatting late into the night.

The only miserable part about the trip (besides flying, which I hate) was being away from my sweet little guys for so many days! I had somehow managed to not spend a night away from Mikey or Johnny since delivering them (with the exception of the day Johnny was born, but that was only one night, and I had Johnny with me). I spent many days before the trip with an awful sense of dread, and I missed them like crazy before I even left. We spent the day after I got back from the trip in a snuggle pile on the couch.

The morning of my departure, Val's sister asked me if I had taken a single picture the entire time I was there. Oops. Nope. Didn't even pack my dang camera, ha ha. Ohwell - I got one picture in with my sweetest friend, and that is enough for me.

Another generation...

I've been addicted to early jazz and old vocal standards lately. I can't help it. Pandora is my new bff. I like to pretend that I'm a house wife from the 50's after I collect the children and begin fixing dinner, with Frank, Louis and Ella crooning in the background. I went from NEVER wanting to cook, to it becoming one of my most favorite parts of the days.

My Guys...

I lurve my dudes.

Greenville Zoo: Summer 2013

We had the chance to get to the Greenville Zoo two weekends ago. I found photographing the event to be more difficult this time due to a combination of steamy weather and a camera that didn't want to focus on anything but the bars of the cages (which makes me a little sad to think about). This was the first time that Johnny really "got" the whole thing - and he was so thrilled at every exhibit. Mikey, similar to the last time, was in a big rush to get through each exhibit, so we had to remind him fairly regularly to slow down and try to enjoy the adventure. We love our little zoo, but I'm itching for an adventure to Columbia so we can check out the Riverbank Zoo!

Afterwards we hit up our local Bruster's for some ice cream. It was humid, and rainy, so we sat in the van and enjoyed the storm while we ate.

It was a good day!