An Apology and Random Bits of Info.

I'm so sorry I've been quite today. We leave for a family vacation in Lake Tahoe on Wednesday morning, and I've been busy all day drilling dull pencils in my eyeballs as punishment for procrastinating on, hmmm, everything.

I got my "smart card" at Curves today, and according to their system, I burned 235 calories in 20 minutes.

I've reached the conclusion that 235 calories is nothing when you eat 5,000 calories at dinner because you haven't slowed down to eat all day.

We took the truck into the shop on Thursday, and 7 mortgage payments later, it's in tip-top shape. Woohoo.

You know how else you burn 235 calories? Procrastinating and then running around like madwoman trying to get everything done.

If I don't buy an athletic bra soon I'm going to have to tuck my boobs into my sweats before I work out.

The Mister made me a green smoothie and put in so much agave my teeth saved me the trip to the dentist by jumping out of my mouth and into the trash. I am now nursing a migraine and trying to flush out the world's worst sugar rush with a gallon of water.

And, hey! Guess what! We have a giant Expedition and with the car seats and all our gear, we can only fit 4 people! We have one of the biggest cars on the road and I'm pretty sure we're going to have to coat my mom in Vaseline if we expect her to fit in the truck with us. So, if you see a Grapes of Wrath type vehicle on the 395 this weekend, honk and say hi.

See me writing this post? That's called procrastination.

Coming Soon!

Yay, progress! Maria Singleton designed a new logo for me, and Nicole put it up on a super cute splash page. While you are there, you can sign up for my newsletter, which will keep you up to date with the latest and greatest happenings in the shop.

Before you know it, I'll be announcing my Grand Opening!

Favorite Moment

Every time I think I have my favorite moment of the week pegged, something better happens. Not a bad thing, eh?

Nico is really starting to interact with us now. I love it. This week he started calling Mikey by name, or at least as close to his name as he could get with his little rosebud mouth. "KeyKey! KeyKey! KEYKEY!" I hate to be all "mom blog" on you, but it is just the sweetest thing.

And then! Today! Oh my goodness the cuteness just went positively overboard! For the first time ever, Nico offered Mikey a hug. Mikey "hugs" [choke holds] Nico all the time. Nico always pushes him away. But today he went up to KeyKey with open arms and then snuggled into Mikey's chest like a little koala bear, smiled, and closed his eyes while he patted Mikey's back! GAH! Can you stand it? Is that not the cutest flipping thing ever? To see two little dudes [3' tall and 2'6" tall] loving it up made me positively burst with happiness [and laughter].

Mikey was beside himself. He's a hugger so this was especially exciting for him (we had issues during school where he had to be told he can't hug everyone, and he must ask first).

So there they are, rocking back and forth in a big hug and Mikey looks at me over Nico's head with a huge smile on his face and says,

"Mama, look! We're married."

It's all so damn sweet my teeth hurt.

Summer Reading

I may read all year long, but I really pick up speed in the summer. Today Mikey and I spent the afternoon swimming in my parent's pool. We later lounged on chairs, and I read from The Pillars of the Earth while he ate banana cookies. It was a great, if not entirely productive, day.

And that brings me to the question at hand. We leave for vacation in about a week, and I plan to devote at least one suitcase to books. I haven't had the time to compile my summer reading list, unlike some more organized bloggers, but I do have some books already in mind.

I want to finish The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follet.


Once I am done with that, I am going to dive into the new David Sedaris book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames.


But what next? I'm in need of a few good recommendations.

What are you reading this summer? I ask not only because I am curious, but because I might copy a few books from your list. I love religious themes and Latin American literature, but I'm open to anything except romance novels and hardcore chick-lit. I just can't read that type of book without wanting to crawl into the story and knock the main character off her pink stilettos. I am embarrassed to say I am unfamiliar with most American authors. I've been muddling my way through the classics for so long that I'm out of touch. That said, I do love John Irving, so I might read a few of his less well-received, earlier works (of course I've read The World According to Garp--it's one of my favorites).

OK, your turn. Are you up to helping me? :)

Curves, FAQ

Apparently, I'm not the only one intrigued by thick sweats, over-sized t-shirts, and the company of 60 year olds while working out. I've received a few emails with questions, and here are my answers.

1. The workout is 20 minutes (2 circuits) long. If you do the stretching afterward, it's 30 minutes. Each station is 30 seconds long. So I work out on a machine for 30 seconds then jump to a recovery platform for 30 seconds.
   
2. I work out at 7am. Curves doesn't offer childcare, so I need to be back home early enough for the Mister to leave for work on time.
3. I pay $34 a month. I think this is expensive, since the Mister's full-package gym membership is only $22 a month, but worth it so far. I think the price discrepancy reflects the size difference in establishments. He works out with 50 or more people at a time, I work out with 5.
4. The workout is as strenuous as you make it, so in my case it's a good workout. You can burn up to 500 calories, depending on how hard you work. The older woman next to me can talk the entire time, and does. She doesn't really break a sweat, either. I, on the other hand, can't speak, can't stop sweating,--and at the end of the workout--can't move.
5. They do offer a way for you to see how effective your workout is if you belong to a club with Smart Equipment. On my 4th visit (tomorrow, for those of you counting) they will program with my height and weight a little card that looks very much like a supermarket key-ring club card. At each machine station I insert the card and based on my data and performance, the machine calculates my exertion and calories burned. At the end of the workout I'll insert my card in a computer near the changing rooms. The computer reads the card and gives me a breakdown of the calories burned, strong areas/muscles, and areas of improvement.
6. Do I love it? No. I hate working out, I hate sweating, I hate exercise. The most you will ever get out of me is that it's ok, as far as exercising goes. I'm only doing this because it's good for me and sets a good example for the boys. Also, if I have any hope of losing weight I need to burn more calories than I take in. With my sedentary lifestyle, I would have to eat perfectly all the time to maintain my weight--let alone lose any! Exercising gives me the wiggle room to be human when it comes to food.
   

I think those were the most common questions, and I hope I did a good job answering them. Ask away if you have any more!

p.s. Sorry for the boring post!

Favorite Moment

When you have one child and you capture a nice picture of them it's a good moment. You're happy and pleased as punch.

Father's Day, 2008. Because God Forbid they take a nice picture on Mother's Day.

When you have two children and you capture a nice picture of both of them--a picture where they both look human, both are looking into the camera, both are sitting properly, both are almost smiling, and neither one is poking random objects into the other's orifices--you better believe it's your favorite moment. And trust me, it's just a moment. Ten seconds later all hell breaks loose and life returns to normal.

Meme! Meme! Meme!

I've been tagged by several people, but This Young House and Simply Seleta are the most recent. The only problem is I did this meme in April, when the lovely Reluctant Housewife tagged me. You can read my answers right HERE, if you are interested. But, in the spirit of fun, I think I'm going to extrapolate on some of the questions later. For example, 1998 is also the year I met the Mister. Wouldn't you like to know how we met? No?! Too bad! It's on my list of boring stories to tell, and soon!

Have a great weekend! :)