Weight Loss and Personal Stuff

My weight loss has slowed down some lately. It's discouraging, but I won't give up. At least I'm still going in the right direction. It's hard not to expect 'Biggest Loser'-type results. I've averaged dropping about 5 lbs a week for quite awhile now. I knew it was bound to slow down at some point. But 2 lbs a week is still good. I'll take it.

I'm going to bare a part of myself here (did I tell you I'm shy? Lol) and share some personal things about me and my progress. Because to be truly honest for a moment (aren't I always?), this is a very sensitive subject for me. No one reading this has any idea how hard it is for me to post this...

I never had an overweight problem before. In fact, I was ragged as a teenager for being "too skinny". I don't know how it happened, but somewhere over the years, I became the fat girl (at least, in my mind I was). I think it was more psychological than anything though. It seems that over the years, the more depression carried me down emotionally, the more my weight gradually crept up.

You didn't know that I suffer from depression, did you? My light-hearted, funny-side-up attitude hides it. Even now, my duality amazes me. On one side, I'm this smiling, friendly, sweet girl whose kindness and humor inspires people. My favorite quality about myself is that I can find beauty, fun, and laughter in the simplest things.

On the other side, I'm skittish, nervous, depressive, easily angered, and my fear of being hurt makes me deathly afraid to let others get too close to me. This darker side of myself scares me. It kicks in without warning when I least expect it.

But I didn't start writing this to give you the creeps. "Vickie, did you take your medicine today?" Lmao! Now on to the fun part: the before and after pictures. Well, so far, anyway...

This is my progress so far from Sparkpeople.com.

This is me exactly one year ago. I weighed 184 lbs. Not only was 2009 the absolute worst year of my entire life, it was also my heaviest. It's only looking back that I can see just how big I had gotten...

Dude, did I just do that? Did I just post that ugly old picture? *sigh* Yes I did.

This is me 2 weeks ago at 158 lbs. I've lost 2 more lbs than that since then, but I don't feel like taking any pictures today.
I won't have a butt left before long LOL.

I still have a very long way to go though. I've been told by some that my long-term goal is too small for my frame, but I don't care. If I'm gonna aim, I may as well aim high. I'm trying to bring heroin chic back in style! Ha Ha!

Ok so that's enough super personal sharing for me today. My mouse pointer is hovering over the 'delete' button because I'm having second thoughts about posting this...

Deep breath... don't chicken out...

*squeezes eyes shut*

Click... {POST}

Senseless Fast Food Promos

Me at the McDonald's drive-thru: "Can you tell me how many calories are in your new frappé?"

Dude on the speaker: "No ma'am, would you like to try a Big Mac extra value meal instead?"

Me: "... Um, No."


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MacKenzie's Birthday 2010

I know I am extremely behind on my blogging. I've had some computer problems and spent more time repairing my computer than actually using it lately! This is a picture/video blog of Adreine and Jacob's cousin, MacKenzie, who had her 7th birthday party at the Tangi Lanes Bowling Alley in Hammond. We all had a great time!



Adreine & MacKenzie





Jacob & Baylee

Cupid's Unwilling Target

(Adam will be very happy to read this...)

On the drive to school this morning, Adreine asks,

"Mom, what's your LEAST favorite holiday?"

Me: "Hmmm, I would have to say New Year's Eve."

Adreine: "Why?"

Me: "Because part of the tradition is to go outside and see the fireworks, but I never really enjoy it because its cold and I freeze my butt off."

Adreine: "Well my least favorite holiday is Valentine's Day."

Me: "Why?"

Adreine: "Because it's dumb! All the boys act so stupid. They get all over me and try to sit by me. They're all like, Oh Adreine, you're so pretty, can I please have one kiss? And I'm like, GROSS! Go away! And Valentine's Day is just stupid. It makes no sense, and it's disgusting. Why in the world would I want all those boys trying to talk to me anyway?!? To me, the only good thing about Valentine's Day is the candy!"

Pete, darling, if you're reading this, all I'm gonna say is:

Enjoy this mentality while it lasts!

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Craziness

If I see this in my coffee cup, then I know FOR SURE something is wrong with me!




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For an incredible collection of coffee recipes you can make right in your own kitchen, check out my Starbucks Coffee Recipes for Coffee Lovers.

Adreine's a Star!

Adreine was picked as April's "Star Student" at school. We were asked to make a poster that will be displayed to tell things about her that will help the other kids know her better.

She also gets to pick the classroom games and be the leader in line! Whooo!




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My Beautiful Little Lady

This is another photo that captures how my daughter is growing into a beautiful young lady. It's a little dark, but it suits the moment. Lately we have been trying to teach her lady-like manners to go with her beauty.




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Don't You Just Love 3-Year-Olds?

Jacob is playing happily in the backyard when the urge to pee hits him. Rather than stop playing and come inside to the bathroom, he just lets it fly right there in the yard.

Out on the street, two of the elderly ladies from our neighborhood are taking their afternoon walk.

Jacob (with his shorts around his ankles and his private parts spraying pee) smiles and waves to the ladies cheerfully.

"Hi!"

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Television Contradiction

Jacob runs to me wailing:

"I don't wanna watch Sesame Street! It's so stupid!"

Me: "Well, what would you rather watch instead?"

Jacob: "Spongebob!"

What is modern television doing to our kids?!?

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New Header and Late-Night Ramblings

I'll be honest here, I am in no way, shape, or form a graphics designer. I can't even draw well on paper, for that matter.

But for the first time ever, I designed my own header for my blog :-) I am very excited about it.

I didn't want to change it too much. My main goal was to make the title bigger. I wasn't sure about the coffee cup either, but I went with it anyway. I think it looks better than plain text.

Don't ask how many times I had to start over before I got what you see up there. I'll just say this, when working with photos or graphics, make a copy of EVERY step.

Comment me with your thoughts, but keep in mind that I'm a serious pixel-editting noob.




Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day. Did you wear green?

Listening to: Agent 23 Skidoo - Luck

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Grateful Little Jacob

Around 2 am, I hear the familiar little footsteps across the house, a sleepy sort of half walk, half slide shuffle. I see the tuft of blond hair and hear the blankets rustle as Jacob climbs onto the foot of the bed and makes his ascent towards the pillows.

Absently, I pull aside the covers on Adam's side of the bed and scoot a little bit to make room for Jacob. He crawls up, pulls the blankets up to his chin, and puts his arm across my neck. He sighs contentedly:

"I love you, Mommy."

"I love you too, sweetie..." I mumble sleepily.

Jacob: "And mom?"

Me: "Yes?..."

Jacob: "I'm so glad that I have you!"


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iPod Roulette

With a bit of time off this week from my secretarial job, I've been playing catch-up on housework, emails, errands, photos, and... well... EVERYTHING!

What I've found myself doing a lot of is zooming all over the house doing things while playing iPod roulette. I now have so many songs on my iPhone that I could listen to music for 3 days and not hear the same song twice.

So with earbuds on and phone clipped to my hip, I fold laundry and dive for dustbunnies while my playlist is set to shuffle.

One of my online mentors often mentions how it's oddly amazing that the very right song will play right when you need to hear it. That holds true for me as well.

To me, music sets the tone for the day. I am naturally very empathic, so music affects me profoudly. I absolutely cannot handle sad or lonely-sounding songs (unless I'm brooding over something). Adreine is the same way. She will squall her eyes out over a sad song.

My playlist is filled with energetic, rocking songs that make me feel good. My mixture of genres would probably seem exhausting to some people. I tend to listen to a little bit of everything from Frank Sinatra, classical, 80's music, reggae, rap, dance, tech, metal, and even *giggling* Irish pub drinking songs (funny!). Some songs aren't even in English. I have songs in Spanish, Japanese, and French. Basically, if it sounds good to me, it's fair game.

Here's a senseless tip: iPhone has the "shake to shuffle" feature. If you decide to switch mid-song, you shake it and iPhone will randomly select a new song for you. If you're wearing it on a belt clip, you can shake your hips just right and activate the shake feature without even touching it. I found that out while dancing.

Have you noticed yourself feeling down lately? What does your music playlist look like right now? Maybe it's time for a music mood update.




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Story Time

This is one of those posts that my family is gonna be all like,

"I can't believe you posted that! Adreine's gonna be so mad at you someday!"

It's shameless, I know, but here goes:

Jacob loves Thomas the Tank Engine. I really enjoy reading the books to him because I get to imitate the voices for all the engines.




Adreine is holding the camera. As I finished the story, she left us a musical surprise. Turn your speakers up and listen closely:

When she's a teenager, I can threaten to play that for her friends...

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Adreine's Report Card

I am super proud of my smart little girl! I'll let her grades speak for themselves:







Listening to: Superchick - Perfect Day

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Espresso Machine

A Yahoo group member of mine mentioned this week how much she loves her espresso machine versus a regular coffeepot. It didn't take much thinking about it before I was on the hunt for one of my own. The thought of improving something I already love anyway is too tempting to pass up.

For $39.97, I got a Mr. Coffee brand espresso maker from Walmart. Probably not the best out there, but I wanted to start basic.




After reading the instructions, I found out it's completely different than making regular coffee. But the taste is far worth the extra steps involved! There's a metal tube on the side that froths milk to make cappuccino, but it obviously requires talent because all I did was make a mess all over my counter. I think I'll save that part for when I want to impress guests. The espresso-style coffee is amazing though. It tastes a lot like coffee smells when you open a fresh container of it. And because it forces hot water through the grounds quickly, no caffeine is wasted. You get it all in your cup!

By the time Ben & Justin came over last night for their evening workout, I was zooming all over the house, twitching and trembling from a caffeine trip. I grabbed them by their shirts and nearly dragged them both into the kitchen.

"Here!! DRINK THIS!!!"

I yelled as I shoved coffee mugs full of steaming espresso in both their hands.

It's like coffee kicked up a notch. The taste is strong without being bitter.

Here's a tip though: I don't recommend drinking it in the evening if you plan on sleeping. Ask me how I know that!

Listening to: Motley Crue - Kickstart my Heart

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Ignore This Post

Boiled peanuts were the ceremonious gift

This is just a test post that I will probably be deleting in a few minutes.

And you thought it was something juicy haha!

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Party Til You Sleep

After finally getting Jacob's hair cut, we listened to some hard rock music on the way home (Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, and a little bit of Guns N Roses).

Jacob headbanged to it until he fell asleep.





I know not to be worried though. I hear of some people's toddlers banging their heads against the rails of their cribs to "comfort" themselves to sleep. Seems like very strange and disturbing behavior, but for some munchkins, it's just normal.

Normal, huh? This is coming from a parent who lets her kids listen to hard rock and metal. Tomorrow I'll let them get tattoos. Hey, it's art, right?


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Adreine's Contagious Laugh

Adreine was supposed to be doing her homework. All was quiet, then she started giggling to herself. Her giggles turned into all out belly laughing, then Jacob and I were laughing too.

When I finally asked her what was so funny, she said she was thinking about something that happened on the Tom & Jerry cartoon!

All I know is that it's nearly impossible to watch someone laugh that hard without laughing with them. Try it:

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The Great Clothing Conspiracy

I have uncovered a terrible conspiracy against me. Somewhere out there is a secret company that keeps track of what size clothes I wear. Then they pass that info over to the clothing design companies so they know NOT to allow my clothing size to reach the store shelves. I think even the stores I shop at are in on the deal!

Seriously, when I wore a size X-Large, when I went shopping for clothes, all I could ever find was size Small or Medium, no matter what store I went to. I could never buy the clothes I wanted because I could never find the right size to fit. I thought I was doomed to dress badly because I was fat.

Fast-forward a few months: I now wear a size Medium.

The problem is that now when I look for clothes while shopping, all I find is Small or X-Large! Wtf?!? It has to be a conspiracy!

So if anyone reading this is a clothing store owner, or if you know someone who is one, I ask that you please stock more size Medium. It doesn't have to be a lot. A few low-cut blouses and a nice fitting pair of jeans would be lovely. Mine are falling off my hips without a belt. K-thanx-bye!

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Spring Wreath

This is embarrassing to admit, but I've left the same wreath on our front door since right before Thanksgiving. It's a pretty one, with red and gold fall leaves. There's just one problem:

IT'S NOT FALL ANYMORE!

It's March and it's time to break out the spring colors. I bought a bare wreath wire and some silk foliage. I love green! I had ribbon in my crafting stash already. Here's what I can up with:




What do you think?

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Who You Gonna Call?

I mentioned to Adreine that I have to call a plumber today to fix the hot water heater.

Her face lit up in an excited smile.

Adreine: "Cool! You could call TAPS! They work for Roto Rooter. They can fix the hot water heater and check our house for ghosts while they're here!"

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Haircut Dilemma

Adam took Jacob into town to do father/son activities, one of which included having his hair cut. Have any of you noticed Jacob's hair lately? It's looking pretty shaggy these days. He doesn't really like to have his hair cut, so I try to wait until Adam is around to give him some manly encouragement.

It didn't work this time. Adam called me on the phone from the mall.

Adam: "Our son is refusing to let this lady cut his hair. You talk to him." (hands the phone to Jacob)

Jacob (cheerfully): "Hi, Mommy!"

Me: "Hi, Baby. Daddy says you don't want your hair cut."

Jacob: "Not today, no,"

Me: "Why not?"

Jacob: "Because I don't need it."

Me: "Jacob, we talked about this, honey, you DO need a haircut. Don't you want your hair trimmed so it won't be in your face?"

Jacob: "No I don't. Fank you, though!"

Throughout this conversation, his voice is so annoyingly cheerful, he knows I have no chance of winning this one.

I resort to begging: "Jacob, honey, please let the lady cut your hair, for Mommy, please..."

Jacob (still cheerful and smiling) "No fanks, Mommy, I'm fine!"

He gives the phone back to Adam.

Adam: "I don't want to force him, because then he will cry and fight and he won't be still for a haircut anyway. What do I do?"

Me: "Just let him have his way. Don't force him."

Jacob wins. For now...

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Pretty in Pink

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Girls' Day Out

Today I took Adreine out for some girl time. I checked her out of school early and we headed to the mall.

First we had her hair trimmed. What makes this a huge deal is that Adreine's hair has never been cut in the back before. But she has serious dead-ends that needed to be trimmed badly. I was surprised by how much the lady said she would have to trim to get to the healthy part of her hair.




Then I took her to have her nails done. She picked out rainbow glitter polish lol.







Then we had ice cream. Adreine stayed true to her rainbow fetish by choosing rainbow ice cream.







Then we went to the little girls accessory shop. This was Adreines favorite part.




She came away with a new purse, some sunglasses, a silver necklace that says "Daddys Girl", and a pink Zhu Zhu Pet.




She didn't do too badly, I'd say. We had a great time together.

In case you were wondering, I didn't feel up to being photographed today.

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Jacob in Bubbles

Nothing hits people's "awe factor" better than pictures of a baby in a bathtub covered in bubbles. Here's Jacob's version.








I'd say he's a ten on the cuteness scale for sure!

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