Dear So and So...

I'm participating in Kat's weekly opportunity to address some things that I need to get off my chest. It's a fun way to let some stuff go, so pop over to her place and link up...if you dare!

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Dear Idiot Criminals,

See, I told ya. Taking stolen computers to Best Buy to have them change the log in information for you...not your best move.

Hope you wanted to add an orange jumpsuit to your wardrobe,
Angie

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Dear Best Buy,

Consider yourself redeemed. For now.

Wink wink,
Angie

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Dear Turbotax,

I love you. Thank you for making my third favorite time of the year such fun!

Delusionally happy tax preparer,
Angie

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Dear Mother Nature,

Yes, it's ME again. If you don't deliver some serious snowfall tomorrow, I'm sending the kids to your house for the weekend.

Hope you have plenty of milk, bread & eggs on hand,
Angie

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Dear John Edwards,

Keep it in your pants you $&@*# jerk. It's really not a hard concept. (snicker, snicker)

Not surprised by another politician scandal,
Angie

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Happy Friday y'all!

Trim the Fat Thursday

Happy Thursday!

I must admit that when I got up this morning, I was less than enthusiastic about weighing in. After watching The Biggest Loser this week, my stress level was in the ozone after hearing Jillian talk about how you retain water when you're stressed. I was already stressed and hearing her little tidbit was NOT helpful. But I digress. Let's see how this last week went.

Aw, snap! It's good news!

I reduced my BMI by .4 and lost 2.2 lbs this last week. Yippee!!!

Let's see how the goals went.

1. Get in 4 workouts - Sadly, I really fell off the workout train this week. I only got in 1 workout, but I know this week is going to be better. I've been fighting some abdominal pain for the last week that I hope has finally passed now.

2. Lose 2lbs - I nailed this one! Thanks to drinking water almost exclusively this week, that monthly water weight disappeared. Yay!

3. Get the meal plan done - GAH!!! The desire is there. The cookbooks are there. Now if I could just find the motivation. Good news is that my couponing hobby is going much better and I'm trying to get used to cooking from the grocery sale ads each week. THIS is the week that a meal plan will be accomplished!

So, my goals for this week are:
1. Get in 3 workouts
2. Lose 1 lb
3. Get a meal plan done
4. Substitute fruit for a dessert once this week

And I want to thank you guys for the pep talk last week. You are absolutely right that FAIL isn't a word that needs to be in my vocabulary. Thanks for the support!

So, how did you guys do this week?

My New Toys

It's no secret that I, along with many others in this small world of ours, was swept up in the whole Twilight phenomenon that began a couple of years ago. While I'm pleased to admit that I'm not one of those people who have gone off the deep end in related merchandise purchases, there have been a couple of items that have made their way into my home. (hello 2 Edward Bookmarks! ahem.)

Anyway, I was at my friend Lisa's house last week for a kiddo playdate. I was telling her about my not so great Christmas holiday, when she excused herself to the other room. (Lisa, Shannon & I went to see the midnight showing of New Moon last November, so she shares in the Twilight mania with me) Lisa handed me a box and I immediately went nuts! It's a set of hardcover journals that are inspired around the 4 books in the series. The blank pages are decorated with quotes from the books, which I adore. And I love journals! I love writing and I seriously cannot wait to start using these to record my thoughts and dreams. And thank you so much Lisa for an awesome gift!

If you love journals and are little Twilight headed, check this set out! I promise I won't judge...or call you Twilight obsessed. However, if you have the Twilight band-aids, then all bets are off.

Angie's Book Review Corner

The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein

One of my goals this year is to try and read a book a month. Since there is an abundance of material on my nightstand, meeting this goal shouldn't be a problem! First up this year is a book that falls into a genre I refer to as "Canine Lit". Canine Lit are books that center around a dog as the main character.

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" is a novel written from the perspective of Enzo, a labrador mix who has the soul of a human. Enzo takes us through the highs and lows of relationships, nature, and life, all the while relating the human/dog experience with many metaphors of car racing.

I had a hard time getting into this book, despite the fact that our main characters hit the ground running very early on. I was expecting to learn background about our characters and explore the reasons for them coming together, rather than just jump in to a marriage and all the drama that surrounds an event like that. However, once I was about a third of the way through the book, I was hooked on seeing where this story was going and what kind of resolution would occur.

For dog lovers out there, Enzo is an easy character to connect with. I've always felt that dogs have a deep soul and are capable of understanding complex emotions more than they could ever express to us. Enzo easily navigates us through a relatable story for this day & age and proves that the family dog is more than just an pet.

My overall grade is 3 out of 5 paws. And it's a relatively quick read at just over 300 pages!

Dear So and So...

I'm participating in Kat's weekly opportunity to address some things that I need to get off my chest. It's a fun way to let some stuff go, so pop over to her place and link up...if you dare!

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Dear Low Life School Vandals,

You reap what you sow, jackass. Bad karma ALWAYS catches up.

Best of luck...you're gonna need it,
Angie

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Dear Stormy Weather,

Why can't you ever arrive on a day when the kids are at school and I have nothing to do?

Yawn,
Angie

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Dear A's,

Is it really too much to ask that I get 1 trip to the bathroom a day all by myself? Pretty please?

Looking for a new door lock,
Mommy

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Dear Person in charge of Marketing for the new movie Legion,

STOP. Please.

Wake me from another nightmare,
Angie

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Dear Realtor of the house I adore,

Any chance you could knock another $300k off that asking price? Just askin'.

Crossing my fingers,
Angie

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Dear Mother Nature,

Two thumbs up on the temps in the 60's this week!

Not putting away the winter clothes just yet,
Angie

Trim the Fat Thursday

Here we are for another week of weigh in results!

Here's the screen capture from this morning.

Yep, still fat.

I did manage to reduce my BMI by .07 and I lost .4 lbs, which doesn't seem like a whole lot, unless of course you're been living in my body for the last week. Sometimes, it just really sucks being a woman. Actually it's more like every 28 days...give or take. I've inhaled more chocolate in the last few days than Hershey makes in a week. Anyway, I'm just thrilled for any loss at all, so I'll take it! Let's see how the goals turned out.

1. Get in 4 workouts - FAIL...I only got in 2
2. Lose 1lb - Losing part of lb is still a loss, right?!
3. Get meal plan done for the week - FAIL

I really wish I could figure out what the issue is with getting a meal plan done. Part of it is that I'm in a cooking rut. My kids are such picky eaters and I take it so personally when I cook a nice meal and all I get from them is EWWWWWW. Consequently, I find myself cooking the same 5 meals over and over again, which is tiresome for everyone around here. I really need to focus on trying some new things this week and getting over Picky 1 and Picky 2. So, my new goals for this week are:

1. Get in 4 workouts
2. Get the meal plan done already!
3. Lose 2 lbs

How did you guys do this week?

Violated

I have really been struggling today with a whole host of emotions. Anger. Fear. Hostility.

Last night, scumbags broke into Big A's school and completely trashed 3 classrooms. Big A's room was one of them. These low life creeps destroyed all they could see and stole computer equipment that's used daily in class. All for what?

I didn't used to worry about the security of my child's school, but now I do.

I worry about how she'll interpret this thoughtless act and how it will affect her.

I'm mad that the amazing technology she used in class has been stolen from her and her classmates.

Equipment can be replaced. Bulletin boards can be put back up.

I'm really glad that no one was in the building at the time, because human lives could never be replaced. And eventually our sense of security will return. It just frustrates me that people can have so little regard for others. Especially when those others are children.