Jen - 1; Hill - 0

We live on a hill. Tonight, for the first time this year, I had Dan take my 2005 Trek 820 down and air up the tires, and I took it for a spin.

Last year, I had major trouble with one hill, and minor trouble with another. I would ride up the hills, saying "I'm going to make it to the white mailbox this time!" and then "I'm going to make it to the second pine tree past the white mailbox this time!" etc. I never did make it up the major-trouble hill, however.

Well! Tonight I whipped its butt. I shifted gears with mad skillz and made it up that nasty hill without having to get off the bike and walk it, admitting defeat, quickly hopping back on as soon as humanly possible, to avoid looking like an out-of-shape fool.

party people in da house!

I was gonna put "hizzouse" in the title but I thought that might be just too much for some of my blog readers. It's OK - I'm over it now.

This weekend was my nephew Trevor's 1st birthday party. I didn't bring my camera because I am a bad, BAD auntie. But Darika did (clearly, the better auntie), and she emailed me a few of the pictures she took. Enjoy!

Me and Darika

Darien being a goofball

Adam and me!

birthday "observed"

Well, Wednesday was my uneventful birthday. How old am I? Let's just say I'm more mid-thirties than early-thirties now. Well whatever. I'm like wine - I just get better with age.

Since Wednesday really isn't A Good Day To Party, my party is tonight. Mom & Dad are taking us out to Meriwether's. We have my cousin Christine coming over to babysit, and the boys are thrilled. I told them Wednesday, and every hour or so since then, they ask, "Is Christine here yet?" I think secretly she must let them do whatever they want. Those were the best babysitters when I was growing up! I feel silly asking an old married lady to babysit though, so if any of you have any daughters, nieces, etc. that you would be willing to rent out for a couple hours now and then, let me know.

Obi-Wan was a mobster

My two older boys love playing Lego Star Wars on the XBOX. It's funny and nostalgic to hear them talking about Han Solo, Princess Leia, C3PO, R2D2, and my favorite...




wait for it.




Ben Kibbioni. Sounds Italian! "Yo Ben-ay!" He fights with his Light-saver.

Knit-fest

I've completed and started some knitting projects recently, and it's time to show off my work!

First is my Pomotamus sock. I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Seaside. So far I have only one done. The lace pattern is pretty complicated, but eventually I will do the other one.




Next is the Big Sack Sweater from Stitch 'n Bitch. I used the yarn called for, which is discontinued. Not to worry, I found it on eBay! It's Rowanspun Chunky. The color is actually olive green with tweedy flecks of different colors in it. I'm not thrilled with it - it's a little big, and I didn't sew the underarms right. But who looks at underarms anyway? It's also a little itchy, which means I have to wear a long-sleeve shirt underneath. Oh well, it's a very warm sweater and I still like it.



And below is my current project. From the Spring 2007 issue of Interweave Knits, this is the Bonsai Tunic. I'm knitting it in the suggested yarn, Berroco Bonsai in the same color. First is the picture from the magazine, and below that is my progress so far. I have about 1.5" done.



I'm disappointed that you can't make out the exquisite stitch detail in most of these photos. I think it's time for me to experiment with my camera a little bit.

My Favorite Thing About Valentine's Day

It's not the chocolate. Or the flowers, or the cards, or even the sex.




Not that I got any of that.




It's this. Have fun reading if you have time! Now these are my kind of Valentine poems.

PS - if profanity bothers you, you may not want to read some of them!

Forty

No, it's not my birthday. That's one month from tomorrow. And I won't be forty yet!

I haven't shared anything about my weight loss on this blog because I feel like it's a fairly private thing. I'm happy when people notice it, but too many comments about it just make me uncomfortable. Weight comments are just weird - whether they're positive or negative. It's a girl thing.

But as of today, I have lost 40 pounds. And I think that is something to crow about! I have hit my original goal. I still have 5 more to go - I adjusted it when the pounds started coming off. I'm thinking the last 5 will go pretty slowly, since I am trying diligently to build muscle. I can't wait until it warms up outside and I can start running. I'm doing a Couch to 5K program, and maybe, just MAYBE, I might run a 5K this summer.

Wish me luck!

Weekend

Nice, relaxing weekend. We haven't accomplished much, but sometimes you need weekends like that. Yesterday we hung out with my mom for part of the afternoon, while the boys played and I helped her figure out her new iPod. Mom's techno-savvy now! We went to the Saturday 5 pm church service because Mom was singing, and last night Dan & I watched Super Size Me. It is a gross movie, but very enlightening. I think we eat pretty well, but this movie inspires me to cut out the once-a-week fast food habit we've gotten into.

Today I did an hour of strength training and cardio; I like to kill two birds with one stone by alternating strength and cardio, so my heart rate never goes down. I sent my hubby off to the Sports Show for a fishing seminar, while I shoveled the sidewalk. Once he gets home, it's grocery time for me.

And that's our weekend. Tonight I'm parking myself in front of the Grammys.

This coming weekend is our production of The Vagina Monologues! It's Friday and Saturday nights (the 16th & 17th) at 7:00 pm, at BSC. Two of my sisters-in-law are in it with me, along with a friend from chorus, and a bunch of women I hadn't met before. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for seniors & students, available at the door. Come see it if you can - it's funny, sad, uncomfortable, and beautiful all at the same time.

And now, some pictures:

Sweet doggie. I still miss him SO much.

Yes, we actually caught this on film. Brace yourself. It's my brother. EATING BROCCOLI.

Zero visibility on the second day of February.

Neighbors? What neighbors?

Picture-Fest!

I was going to post some pictures from Evening on Broadway, but then I thought, maybe it isn't nice to post pictures of people all over The Internet without asking first. And I have way too many people to ask, so I'm just forfeiting.

Dan decided to take pictures of a fight in progress between Mason and Darien:




This is Darien screaming "DO NOT PUT THIS PICTURE ON THE INTERNET!!!

Then, because I never do, I decided to post 2 pictures of myself. I recently got some interesting highlights and lowlights, and you can kinda make them out:



And yes, I did slap on some lipstick in the second picture because I thought the first one washed me out.

Bye-Bye

Sad day. We had to put our precious doggie down today.

Over Thanksgiving he tore his left cruciate (tendon). We didn't figure out that's what it was for a few weeks. We decided to have TPLO surgery on it ($2000), probably late this month or next month.

Early this week, he tore his right one. He was unable to walk up and down stairs, and spent these last few days living in the basement, and going out the walk-out to eliminate. We put him on painkillers, but he was still in so much pain.

The vet said surgery was still an option, but with both legs injured, recovery would be extremely difficult for him and us, as well as painful for him. Getting both legs done at the same time was not recommended, since he would not be able to bear weight on either leg.

Tuesday, Kernel stopped eating, and would only drink minimal amounts. He also began growling at me when I'd go downstairs to pill him, pet him, let him out. We felt this was his way of telling us it was time to let him go. He had not been himself since Thanksgiving.

I miss him so much. Our house feels so empty and quiet without his constant presence. He was my daytime companion, my exercise partner, and my attentive audience when I needed to practice my music. I thank him for teaching me about big dogs, and about Rottweilers, and allowing me to fall head-over-heels in love with the breed.

I don't know how I will be able to make it through the days without seeing his quirky ears, his caring, loving, expressive eyes, his silky fur, and his adorable rottie-butt. I hope he knows we loved him more than we could ever express.

Kernelius Maximus von Polkhaus
June 30, 2003 - January 25, 2007

Preschool Program

This morning was Adam's preschool program at Merry Go Round preschool. He played a cookie, and got to sing "Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar" with two other children. He did great, and didn't even have any stage fright!

Adam preparing for his big role

Singing "Who stole the cookie" with Cullen and Abbi

Adam with his best friend, Sophia. These two are inseparable! And adorable, her mother and I agree. They exchanged "digits" today, so hopefully they'll get to have a playdate over Christmas vacation.

Doggie

Here's Mason petting our poor gimp-leg doggie. It seems K-dogg has a torn cruciate. He's going to get Xrays next week to make sure it isn't anything else. If it is a cruciate tear, then he's in for some surgery. He has been an angel since his appointment yesterday, it's as though he's thinking that if he behaves extra-special good, we won't take him back there.

Sorry!

I'm such a bad blogger. Below are some cute pictures by which to redeem myself. Meanwhile, look - our chorus has a website now! And no, I'm not in any of the pictures because they're too old. We had our Christmas concert last weekend; next up is Evening on Broadway in January!


Here are the two older boys at their birthday party:



Here is Mason attempting to blow out his candles on his birthday in October:



And here is Mason cuddling with Pilchard:


I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful Christmas, and I hope I have some great pictures to post afterwards. Maybe even one with ME IN IT! Imagine that.

Halloween 2006

I know I haven't posted in a while, and I have a ton of pictures to share. But I'll save that for later. Right now, here are the kids in their costumes. DJ was Mario, Adam was Luigi, and Mason was a ghost.


I have more, but blogger's giving me trouble, so I'll share later!

Wedding

Today, my cousin Christine got married! My middle son, Adam, was one of the two ringbearers, so I took advantage of the photo session at the Capitol grounds this afternoon.

The entire wedding party

Bride, Groom, and kids

The bride with the kids

As Darien called her, "the beautiful bride, Christine". He kept saying "This is such a great wedding" and "Christine looks so beautiful!"

"Mama, I'm tired, can I sit on your lap?" One of the bridesmaids caught the photo op.

It was a great wedding! I got to sing a couple of tunes during the ceremony, the kids behaved perfectly, the food was good. We didn't stay long enough for the dance, because the kiddos (Adam especially) had a long day, and everyone needed to get home and into bed. Congratulations to Chris and Christine! When you guys have babies, I so owe you a million nights of babysitting.

P.S. - if the babysitter gets married, does that mean we can no longer ask her to babysit??

Friday

I love Fridays. We have homemade pizza, I usually have a drink of some sort, Dan sometimes comes home early, and we're all just happy and relaxed. Today has been a rough day for Mason, he fell asleep in the car at noon, which means he didn't get his usual 2-hour snooze between lunch and picking up Darien from school. I put him down after we got home, and he woke up an hour later, crying. I put him back down and now I need to go wake him because it's 5:30 pm and I don't want him up until midnight tonight.

I couldn't choose between these two pictures, so I posted them both:

Big Kid!

Tuesday was a momentous day - Adam started preschool! We took some pictures to commemorate the occasion.

This is Adam's reaction to us saying, "You're at school! Look excited!

Finding his name under the coat/bag hooks...

Mason and Adam playing Little People with Mrs. Sievers

And this is what happens after a long morning at preschool. I stepped out of the shower this afternoon, and here is what I saw:

How cute is that???

I'm too nice.

Today's entry is simply a link to my husband's blog entry. Oh, and a quick picture of the kids and I. Fresh outta bed, and cuddling on the loveseat! After that is a picture of all three boys playing with one of their favorite toys.

Dan's oh-so-funny blog entry

When Friends Move

The pictures Justin & Michelle posted just made me miss them. I hate it when people move away. Here's a picture tribute.. we'll miss you guys!



And yes, he took the picture while he was driving. He's kinda stoopid that way. We hope it's humid and miserable in Florida.

Shoes

Mason being uber-fashionable!

So the others don't feel left out

The results of a photo session with Adam for his preschool "All About Me" worksheet:




And a quick pic of Mason enjoying some of Uncle Mike's cucumbers:

Now We Are Six

I had to quote a Pooh book by a.a. milne for my sweet not-so-little boy, who turned six years old today! Here are some pictures of him in sequence...

Age 2

Age 4

Age almost-6

Happy Birthday, Darien! I can't believe you start first grade in less than two weeks. What will I do without you for 7 hours every day? Will you miss your mom? Will you make friends? Will you figure out how to buy milk to have with your lunch? You still seem too young to be away from me for 1/3 of your day.

Decorating

We bought a few items of furniture from our down-the-street neighbors who are, sadly for us, moving to Florida in a couple of months. On the bright side, they wanted to get rid of some of their stuff, so we took advantage. Most of it was basement furniture, but I did get a lovely corner unit out of the deal. I decided to find some decor for it today, and this is what I came home with:


I picked up the stuff on the top two shelves at Hobby Lobby. Yeah, I know I said I was never going to shop there again after The Shopping Cart Incident. But anyway, there are three vases, and the dark-looking thing on the right is a tiny wine-colored lampshade with little beads hanging off it. I fell in love with it, but they didn't have any stands there! So I have to buy one somewhere else. I hope I find one, or I'll have to return the adorable little thing. The middle shelf is just three candles, I think I need something else there, too. The bottom shelf contains two of my favorite cookbooks, and two bottles of wine. I had to choose those two because every other bottle we have, although much prettier to look at, is too tall for that shelf.

And I decided to do something useful with my yarn stash instead of having it take up space in my closet. See below:


Cute huh?