Destinations

My inlaws are here:









They set sail an hour ago on this:








I am here.






Life is so unfair.
:(

Reason number 9,427 to lose weight!

My little sister is getting married. This year. November 11. This was decided yesterday and I now have 264 days to become the slinkiest matron of honor this side of the mighty Mississippi. (or at the very least fit back into my black strapless formal from the cruise, which is most likely what I'm wearing). I have 47 days left to fit comfortably into the Pink Blush ensemble for my matron of honor duties for Mary Catherine's wedding. I bombed on the Atkins diet due to some strange gallbladderesque pain coupled with the horribly limited food choices I'd grown sick of. I'm resorting to my old standby, Weight Watchers and exercise, which has proven to work to the tune of a 70 pound loss in the past. Too bad it's so slow to lose weight the healthy way. I'll be starting my new "walk and kick" video in the morning. I hate the process involved in losing weight.


Carson has agreed to assume ringbearer duties and has promised me that he will agree to potty training before the big day. I explained that Pull-ups just don't compliment a tuxedo and that only big boys get to deliver the wedding rings. He's stoked for the time being.

Greg and I had a great weekend away, even though everywhere we went was super crowded. We saw the Harrison Ford movie, Firewall, which was predictable, but ok. We managed to get our of Harrah's casino with a loss of a mere $30, so all in all, we had a great time. I'm ready for another weekend away.

This week is only semi-busy with a meeting for me tomorrow night, church on Wednesday and class on Thursday. So far we have no weekend plans. Yippee! Our house is suffering and needs a good cleaning, so maybe it'll actually get done this weekend. I'm off to do Bible study and get some shut-eye so I can "walk and kick" in the morning! G'night!

A very lovely day!

I had a great Valentine's Day! Carson and I had a blast at his party, then came home for lunch and a nap for him. When he woke up we made chocolate playdough, which turned out smelling so yummy, and waited for Greg to get home so we could exchange gifts. Greg did not get me the candles that Carson led me to believe I was getting, but he got me something that was very creative and meant a lot. Our very first date was dinner at the Pasta House followed by the movir "The Rock." I was little confused when I opened my gift to find a Pasta House Menu and "The Rock" on DVD,then it clicked. What a sweet guy to think of something so sentimental. I was very impressed!

Today was work and Bible study, both of which were great. Tomorrow I have be at a child care center at 8:00 and I have a 2:00 meeting where I'll be presenting info about the services my office offers to community members. Should be a fun day. Tomorrow is night class, then only one more workday until we leave for St. Louis! I am so ready to go! Enjoy the rest of the week!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'll be trading gifts with my big guy and the little guy this evening. Carson told me that he and Daddy got me candles and a card, so we'll see if he's telling the truth! I'd love to hear everyone's V-day plans and surprises, so send me a reply today!

Here are some ?'s borrowed from Dawn's blog. (www.daybreak1012.blogspot.com) Gotta love seeing that live Disey cam when you visit her blog!

1. Eggs? Fried or Scrambled? Depends on the morning. I'm eating a lot of eggs on this diet!
2. Chocolate covered cherries? Yum on the filling and choclate, yuck on the actual cherry.
3. When eating a salad, what type of dressing do you prefer to use? ranch or sweet onion if I'm at Ruby Tuesday
4. Peanut Butter? Creamy or Crunchy? either. This is making me want carbs!
5. If you HAD to eat only one flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life, what flavor would it be? cheesecake from Marble Slab creamery-absolute heaven
6. Thick or thin crust pizza? I like both
7. Salsa? Hot, Medium, or Mild? medium
8. Toast? Lightly toasted or practically burnt? Just enough to be considered toasted with butter applied right away so it melts into the bread
9. What is your FAVE food item at Taco Bell? I don't go to Taco Bell often, but when I do, I get a taco salad

AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST

10. When are you MOST LIKELY to pig out during the course of a day? these days, never. I am having major appetite suppression from the Atkins diet.
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these are also from Stacy

1. What time of day is too late to telephone someone? I'll call my mom after 10. I don't ususally call others after 9:30.

2. Have you ever looked up the lyrics to a song online? a few times

3. What’s your favorite dessert to order at a restaurant? I loved this bananas foster cheesecake we had at the Cheesecake Bistro in New Orleans last May. I often wonder if the restaurant is still there.

1. What are your favorite pizza toppings? List your favorite 3 (or more). Pepperoni, onion, mushroom, grean peppers

2. What was the last movie you saw (theater or rented, your choice, or both)? The Mask of Zorro on DVD on Saturday-I fell asleep about halfway through.

3. What is your favorite fruit? crisp apples


I think I'll send a Valentine's Day Tag to Becky, Bob and Brooke, and Theresa Marie, who just started blogging! Have a great Valentine's Day!

A fun week is just around the bend!

I am pumped about this week. So many fun things going on!!!

Monday I will be traveling to Fredericktown (an hour away) to present a training on Positive Guidance for Preschoolers with my colleague and buddy, Christy. We always have a good time and we've got a fun training planned. I do not do many things that aren't fun, and if something isn't fun, I try to make it hilarious. We'll be making "clean mud" as a demonstration for the teachers. It involves soap and toilet paper. That sounds fun!

Tuesday I will be attending Carson's Valentine's Day party at school. (or Valentimes, as he says) He made his Valentine box at school by himself, so I am anxious to see it. We have the treat bags made and I'm looking forward to the party and then spending the rest of the day with my little guy. I still need to wrap my gift for my big guy. We're planning on spending the evening at home so we can go away for the weekend!

Wednesday I have a slow day with a meeting in Cape. I need the time to catch up on my report writing.

Thursday, I get to go to a child care center I've never been to before and observe a child in the morning. I'll take a lunch break, then head to a Chamber of Commerce meeting to discuss my agency with a group of "future leaders of Cape Girardeau." I like doing stuff like that, so I'm looking forward to it.

Friday, I'll be in the office all day, then Greg and I are heading to St Louis for the weekend. We'll be staying at the newest Drury Suites (at the employee rate of course). We're headed to the City Museum on Friday, sleeping in on Saturday, then going to St Louis Mills Mall, maybe seeing a movie, and maybe going to the casino if we feel lucky. We're not sure what Sunday holds. I can't wait. We haven't gone away by ourselves for awhile and we have such a good time when we go.

I'm off to rewad Carson a bedtime story and grade 18 more papers on childhood diseases. Yay!

Wow! It's Thursday!

The week has flown by. I have almost made it to the end of my first low-carb week. The cravings for flour and sugar have nearly disappered. In fact, the caffeine free Diet Coke I just drank tasted like syrup. Amazing what a week will do. Not to say I wouldn't love a piece of cake right now, but I'm not thinking about food nearly as much. I just finished off 3 pieces of pizza, no crust. Not the same as normal, but not too bad. Definitely have to use a fork.

Carson and I went to St Louis for his eye appoinment today and had a few hours to shop. We went to TJ Maxx, the St Louis Galleria mall, and Trader Joe's. I thought Trader Joe's would be much more low-carb friendly, but they seem to just be in on the "lowfat" and "organic" gimmicks. Carson's eyes are slowly progressing and we'll head back for another appointment in a month.

I let my class out early tonight since I'm just getting over laryngitis and an upper respiratory infection. I felt fine, but my voice is still squeaky and hoarse. I took the extra time to treat myself to haircut and a well deserved manicure and pedicure. I picked a soft pink shade that is very Valentiney. It looks great and my feet feel great.

Tomorrow I'll be getting my tooth crowned and then heading to work for a few hours. They're calling for 1-3 inches of snow, so I may go home early if the roads get bad. 3 inches can be a big deal here. It was 65 degrees last month! we have a birthday party on Saturday at the same time as my scrapbooking club. Hopefully, I'll at least get to drop by for a few minutes. I'm off to search for low-carb recipes!

Carb Free Livin'

I have gone carb free. I started the Atkins diet on Saturday and as of this morning, I am down 10 pounds. This doesn't seem possible, or healthy, but I'm desperate to look decent in the pink bridesmaid dress I picked up Friday. I need to lose at least a size for it to look good. I have until April 8. So far, so good. I felt terrible on Saturday, but the detox was over by Sunday and I've felt much better until today. I'm now suffering from a horrible upper respiratory infection and sore throat. Looks like I'm headed to the doctor tomorrow.

I'll be spending tomorrow catching up on my Bible study before church tomorrow night, provided I feel well enough to go. Thursday I'll be taking carson to visual therapy in St Louis and heading back in time to teach night class. Friday I'll be getting the tooth that I cracked on a blow pop crowned. Not fun and very expensive. Thank goodness for dental insurance.

Greg and I went to parent/teacher conference tonight and we're so proud of how well Carson is doing. His preschool teacher wants to move him from the special needs class to an at-risk class next fall. I was praying that she might say that. There are more typical kids in the other class and he really excels around other kids. Yay for my little peanut!

I'm off to read blogs and get some sleep! Good night!

The Good, the Bad, and the Really Freakin' Expensive

In a word, today sucked. Yesterday, we made the final payments on our car. Yay! No more car payments. Things are great! This morning, I got an $80 speeding ticket. That's what driving 60 in a 45 mph zone will get you in Cape Girardeau, MO. I wasn't in any kind of hurry. I was simply jammin' to my very uplifiting Mark Schultz CD and going on my merry way. I was 30 minutes late to work and down $80 by 8:30. This morning started with Carson pooping in his pants approximately 1 minute before his preschool bus was due to arrive. Things were not well in the Franklin household.

By lunch, things just kept getting worse. I somehow managed to lose 2 hubcaps in a month's time. Greg called the junkyard, no hubcaps, so we ordered 2 from the Mazda dealer. They totaled $95. They're plastic. So one day after paying off the car, it has cost me $175!!!!

On top of everything else, my poor friend Becky had to unexpectedly put her cat to sleep this morning. So far, February isn't looking real great.

I did go to Bible study tonight, which is always calming. I'm now home and have to read the 3 chapters I'm lecturing on tomorrow night and prepare some type of activity to convince the students I'm prepared for class and have some idea what I'm talking about. I may let them go early, whcih will cancel out any doubts about the quality of my lecture. Woe is me today. Tomorrow will be better. 'Til then!