Happy SEVENTEEN!

In the midst of Kelsie's Birth Month I wanted to make sure I posted an official happy birthday blog. Usually, I am the only family member who gets a birthmonth. I allow birthweeks for other family members, but I reserve birthmonth for me. Due to an extremely busy January, I have made an exception to my birthmonth rule and have allowed Kelsie this once in a lifetime birthmonth opportunity, which will come to an end on Saturday (when we actually have our first free night of the month to finally celebrate her birthday dinner.)

Happy Birthday Kelsie! Kelsie's turning (or just turned) seventeen. She is so amazingly talented at everything she does, there really isn't anything she can't do well. She is very smart (except for occassional funny math stories we wont divulge right now). She is beautiful and has perfect hair, even though she straightens it every day which is like putting a knife in my heart every day :(
She's a pretty good kid and hasn't killed her brothers yet, so that's a plus. We love you, Kelsie. Go be seventeen.

Have you seen my....

Chris is always losing things. OK, maybe not losing, but constantly misplacing things and we cannot find them for days, or weeks. He has done this ever since I have known him, in fact I've seen his Mom looking for things she has "misplaced." Chris is constantly losing his keys, wallet, jacket, hat, sweatshirt--basically anything that is not permanently attached to him. (Makes me wonder if he's tried to lose me...hmm.) Things usually turn up within a week or two--except his jackets which he never remembers where he left them. I think it's just so he gets a new jacket every year. Maybe I should try that.

Anyway, it came as no surprise to me around Christmas time when Chris said "Have you seen my cell phone lately?" Obviously, I had not seen it and didn't really think about it too much, figuring it would show up like most other things. (As a sidenote, he lost his cellphone the second day he had it...but it showed up later.) Chris kept insisting it was somewhere in the house amidst all the "Christmas" stuff, but I knew everything was pretty clean, and it wasn't in the house. I thought he left it at work, or in his truck, or at a restaurant, or at the grocery story, or at the post office (common places he finds his misplaced items). The other problem was, he always has his cell phone off, so calling it to try and find where it was isn't always useful, because you don't know if it's in the house, or just off.

Well, the cell phone has finally been located. We don't know exactly where it is, but some Mexican dude (who apparently does not speak English nor do any of his "friends" who he has called around the world while using the lost cell phone for 3 weeks while racking up an extra $200 on our cell phone bill) found the lost phone. If you're going to steal an American cell phone, at least speak English!

So, lesson learned. If you lose your cell phone, call your wireless provider and cancel the phone until the phone is found and in your possession. It may save you hundreds of dollars, a lot of stress, and maybe even a marriage (just kidding, babe!)

The Year of the Ox

Apparently, 2009 is the Year of the Ox on the Chinese calendar. As I was going on-line today, my Yahoo homepage had a link to check out my Chinese horoscope for the year. Since I was born in the Year of the Horse, my horoscope "overview" for 2009 reads :

"The Horse may have a challenging year ahead. You may become frustrated with the lack of progress in your career, but you will have to be patient to see the results of your hard work. Beware of your energy levels, as you tend to swing in accordance to your success. You will have to work hard to steer yourself out of ruts with healthy activities and other projects that keep you active. Take comfort in your loved ones and friends who will provide support for you in times of need. Be open to try new things and heed the advice of others in the year of the Ox."

This "Horse" horoscope was also given 4 neutral and 8 unfavorable months. What? No good months for the whole year? What kind of a horoscope is that? 4 OK months and 8 crappy months? So far this month hasn't been so bad, but I hate to use up one of my OK months this early in the year.

Check out your own Chinese horoscope at http://shine.yahoo.com/page/2009-chinese-horoscope/
Don't worry, I'm sure it will be better than mine!

2009

Time to start 2009. The Christmas decorations are all down--except for the outside lights, but that's Chris' job. The kids go back to school tomorrow (I don't know why they didn't go back today...but they don't seem to mind). We survived all the basketball tournaments during Christmas break and managed to throw in a trip to Knott's Berry Farm and a day trip skiing at Mountain High. Chris brought back some snow and made me a little snowman.
The snowman lasted all night (even surviving the sprinklers). In the morning there was still the base, one nice snowball. As you can see, the dog was not impressed with the snowman.

I started my DON'T EAT CRAP diet today. Chris predicted I could go half a day without sugar...but I've made it almost 3/4 a day so far. We'll see how long it will last. I'm not really craving sugar...but I just can't stop thinking about it--is that craving?

The Aftermath

I ate too much. I know people say that after the holidays, but I really ate way too much. My stomach feels like a bowl full of jelly. My clothes are tight. I remember watching a Biggest Loser episode where they did blood tests on the contestants and they said that a layer of fat had separted from the blood in one of the vials. That could be my blood right now.

I first realized I might have a problem when the Almond Roca tasted a little bland--but of course, I ate it anyway. I actually got to the point where I wasn't craving sweets--but of course, I kept eating them, because I love them. We still have plates of cookies and candy sitting around. I'm feeling so fat that I'm not even getting mad when the kids eat some of "MY" treats. Yes, I know I have a problem.

I know it will take months to undue the damage that has been done to my poor growing muffin top. I should start right away and cleanse my house of all Sees candy and cookies...but I think I'll wait until after New Years. Afterall, isn't that what New Year's resolutions are for?

Merry Christmas

It's 2:00 Christmas afternoon. The house is completely quiet and no kids are to be seen. Chris and I have been playing a new Wii game for about an hour. Branden is in his room reading. Yes, reading a book on Christmas day. He has a new electric drum set sitting there, but he is reading a new book he got for Christmas. (Granted, he's still not feeling well, but--come on, a book on Christmas?) Kelsie, I'm assuming is taking a nap. Money and gift cards aren't very exciting to play with and she's very frustrated with the fact that stores aren't open on Christmas Day so she can go to the mall and spend her money. Trevor's in his room listening to music and playing with his new iPod touch. At least one Christmas present is being used today.

Merry Christmas from our ununusually quiet household to yours.

Beware of Treats

One of my dear kind neighbors sent over some treats yesterday. How thoughtful! When I thanked her she sounded horrible. I could tell she was totally sick! She said she was sick, but she did the baking before she got sick (which made me wonder how old the cookies were...). I really wasn't planning on eating any of her treats because it kinda grossed me out to see how sick she was...and the thought of her giving me food she had made... Unfortunately, I have no self control when it comes to food and once I opened up the nice little tin canister and looked at the cookies I couldn't help myself! I ate most of them and I think Branden ate the rest.

Well, last night (after eating the cookies) Branden starts complaining that his throat hurts (and I didn't even tell him about the sick neighbor). He even went to bed early last night and today he's just laying on the couch. I started developing this weird chesty cough last night and am still not 100% percent today. So, is it just coincidence we're both under the weather after eating my sick neighbor's cookies...or not.