Happy Halloween!

We took The Gabster to BabyGurl's church's festival yesterday afternoon.

Setting up the wooden pins.

Mom helping her throw the ball at the pins.

What a windup!

Here, let's do this the easy way!

Picking out a prize.

BabyGurl showing The Gaster how it's done.

Gabster, showing BabyGurl how it's really done.

Picking out another prize.

BabyGurl, aka NCIS's Abby.

BabyGurl with The Scarecrow (one of the preacher's five kids).

Gabster and her mom, picking out a pumpkin.

Dorothy and The Scarecrow (preacher's kids).

And, as we were leaving, BabyGurl.

Movie Night ...

I don't go to the movies often (like 4 times in the last 10 years maybe).

Tonight I went with BoyChild and DIL to see the new Footloose. I highly recommend it.  I don't generally care for remakes, but this one was as good as the original one.  BoyChild said it was almost too much like the original one, and it was pretty dang close.  The dialog was almost identical, but the 'scenery' had been updated (current vehicles, cell phones, etc).  

In this remake, though almost identical, the actors are what set it apart from the original.  

Julianne Hough was great as Arial.  Kenny Wormand was a very good Ren.  Dennis Quaid as Rev Shaw Moore was a perfect choice.  

But Miles Teller as Willard really, really, stole the show.   

We give this one six thumbs up.  

We also saw some previews (of course).  Most were totally unappealing (and I do mean totally), but one that I think I will be going to see (coming out in January) is this one:

Joyful Noise
Dolly Parton & Queen Latifah

Friday Is Jean Day ...

So I braved it and wore my skinny jeans today. 

And I fought with the camera / timer at lunch so I could make this pic instead of using the webcam (which makes grainy pics) just so you could see how brave I was. 

Now, the real test of how I look will be the reaction from BoyChild and DIL tonight when I meet them for dinner and a movie.

We are going to see FOOTLOOSE!! 

I'm not usually one for remakes, and I was not happy they were remaking this one (I mean how can you improve on a great movie like that?) But when I saw the trailer I changed my mind and am looking forward to it.

And a couple of weeks ago BoyChild was mentioning that he felt a little wierd because he wanted to go see Footloose (I guess it's presumed to be a 'chick flick'?) , so I said I'd go see it with him.

I'll let you know how we like it. 

No More Cake For Me!

One of our co-workers had a birthday yesterday (the big Six-Oh!)

His favorite holiday is Halloween (I think he still curses his mother for not holding him in for five extra days!)  He also loves pirates.  

So ... another co-worker made him this cake. 

And I ate a piece.  It was just yellow cake .... but it had Hershey's icing on it.  That was the part that did me in.  Ugh!  And I didn't have a very big piece at all.  I think I'd have been ok if I'd just eaten the cake.

The icing was very sweet and very rich (the kind of stuff I used to eat by the serving platter full).

I was miserable all day.  Sick.  Just wanted to lay in the floor and moan.  

So, I guess I really have adjusted to my new healthy 'lifestyle'.

Fairies .....

Oh! My! Goodness!

This is the third time this season I have come home for lunch to find that the lawn-mowing fairy has been to my house.  Though I haven't actually seen him in action, I've been told he looks a lot like BabyBrother.

Now, if he could just make friends with the dish-washing fairy, all would be right with the world.  ;-)

Skinny Jeans!

My very first pair of skinny jeans EVER!  

I am FAR from skinny, but I needed the skinny legs so I can wear my new boot cuffs this week when it turns cooler.  (The boot cut jeans do not tuck in well!)

Also, this is a poor quality picture, taken with the webcam.

I hope to have BabyGurl make some 'good' pics over the next few weeks (hoping I make that last five pounds before Thanksgiving).

(Yeah, I know the ticker says 3 to go, but that has changed. Oops!)

Sweet Agnes ...

I posted this pic on facebook and a friend asked "what kind of dog is she?" and I replied, "lazy."

More Boot Cuffs ....

Yeah, I'm on a roll.  Three more pair in addition to the three pair in yesterday's post.  

My Latest Project ....

Boot Cuffs ........

More colors coming soon ....

And speaking of boots ....

The Gabster got a pair for her birthday today.  

She put them on as soon as she opened them, and again after her bath.  

I think Ma got them off of her before she went to bed.  

Vacation Day ...

I have some vacation days I have to burn before the end of the year or I lose them, so I took the day off today and Ma and I went "galavanting".  Well, ok we went to the Thrift Store and to KMart.  But that was gallavanting because it was an hour away.  We dont have any KMarts nearby any more, and they have by far a better fashion selection than WalMart.  WalMart carries the Miley Cyrus brand; KMart carries the Jaquelyn Smith brand.  'Nuff said.

At the thrift store I got a shirt (burgundy and grey striped), and Ma bought two shirts for Pa and a denim vest for The Gabster.

At another "thrift type" store, I got a pair of brown jeans and on behalf of BabyGurl I bought a pair of black lace-up "combat type" boots for her Halloween costume.

Then on to KMart.  Ma got a blouse.  I got a pair of grey denim pants and a silver sweater, and the a pair of lightweight corduroy pants and a dark brown sweater.  Yes, I said sweater.  I'm not a sweater person, but these are very lightweight.

Then, we met DIL for lunch.  We were shopping in the town where she works.  She was surprised when we showed up at her office about 10am and arranged to meet her for lunch.  I splurged and had a burger and fries.  But I just added up my calories for the day and I am still under my calories!! (By about 40 calories, but hey, under is under!)  Of course it helped that I did not have any snacks today because we were so busy.  AND ..... after we got home (and I went to the dreaded WalMart for my frozen foods) I went to the gym.

If I could just win the lottery, I could do this every day!!! 

It's Tuesday Again ...

And that means it is weigh in day.  I am five pounds from goal.  Yeah, I know the ticker says three, but I backslid over the past couple of weeks.  That 'three' is where I was on the morning of BoyChild's wedding.  I was excited because I had met (exceeded) my goal for his wedding.  I wanted another five beyond that for my ultimate goal.  And I'll get there.  Now I'm aiming to get there before Thanksgiving.  I'll see all my family, most of whom I haven't seen since last Thanksgiving; and if I reach that ultimate goal (and I will reach it!) they will see a me that is 21% smaller than last year.  Wow!  I'll only be 79% of the old me?  That sounds pretty good.  I will have lost The Gabster plus a couple of extra pounds!

Now I'm really motivated!!!

Wordless Wednesday ...

Back To (Our Verision Of) Normal ....

Who knows what 'normal' really is any more, but at least it has slowed down a bit this week.

Sunday was a leisurely day.  We went to Ma and Pa's for lunch.  Just grilled burgers, potato salad (that stuff was good but thank goodness we've finally eaten it all!), and baked beans.  We just all sat around and visited for a bit and relaxed.  BoyChild and DIL were back from the cruise, BabyBrother was there and it was a nice day with them and BabyGurl.

Then of course I had to do laundry and all that good stuff later.  I'm about to get caught up on most of the things I got behind on when everyone was sick and the world as we knew it was in a tizzy.  Things sure can get behind in a hurry (not that I'm ever really caught up with laundry, dishes, etc, LOL).

Back at work yesterday, beginning to get comfortable with the new software (though some of the changes are definitely not improvements).

Managed to go to the gym Sunday and Monday.  Took today off.  Will hit it again tomorrow.  Been doubling up on the strength training machines.  Hoping to get rid of these bat wings and the two little belly pooches.  Still working on the cardio too.  About four pounds to goal (yeah, the badge says three, but that was before I ate like a pig Sunday).  I will probably go a couple pounds past that to give myself those two pound of leeway to make it easier to stay under 'goal'.

Really looking forward to going into the holidays with healthy new eating habits.  Yes, I will eat some dressing and sweet potatoes, and at Christmas I will eat sweet potato cake; but I'll be able to control my portions (and I'll work extra hard at the gym).

Looking forward to starting the new year having already met my 'resolution'!

I'll leave you with a couple more wedding photos:

What A Week (Part 2)

I believe I left off with Thursday night about 830, we were all in bed, completely worn out.

About 10pm I heard The Gabster coughing on the baby monitor.  So I listened for a second to see if it was just one cough and she was still sleeping soundly, or if the allergies were wreaking havoc and I needed to go sit her up and let her cough it out.  Then I realized, it wasn't her, it was BabyGirl, and she wasn't coughing, she was sick.

So I headed into her bathroom to make sure she had a cold washcloth and that she was going to be ok.  This went on every 45 minutes or so until about 2am, after which we were able to sleep til 4am.  So I was counting on her to get The Gabster to daycare Friday while I got the rest of the things together for the rehearsal dinner.  Instead, I got The Gabster up, got her fed, dressed, and took her to day care.  While I was taking her to day care, BabyGurl was calling the doctor' office.  So off to the doc we went.  I didn't dare let BabyGurl drive herself, she was so sick and weak.

They gave her shots for the nausea, and some other meds to take once she could keep them down.  So then we headed over (just down the street from the doc) to pick up the last few things I had ordered and was supposed to pick up at noon.  Fortunately it was all ready a little early.  Thank you Karen at Winn Dixie for all your help!

About 2:00pm Ma was released from the hospital, but was in no shape to go to the rehearsal dinner.

Later Friday afternoon BabyGurl was able to go pick The Gabster up at day care and get her to the rehearsal (I also had her car stacked full of coolers and stuff).  The rehearsal dinner went great except I had WAY (WAY) too much food.  I left some of it for the guys to eat later, and brought some of it back home for our Sunday dinner.

We came home pretty early Friday night (about 7pm).  We would've loved to have stayed and visited a bit, but we were just whupped!!  I didn't sleep much Friday night (although everyone else slept soundly).  I think I was just too tired to sleep.

Saturday we were all getting ready for the wedding.  When The Gabster took her nap, I laid down and tried to rest as well.  I didn't really rest much, but it was better than nothing.  Finally when BabyGurl got ready to head to the wedding (the girls were dressing there) she dropped The Gabster off with Ma and Pa so I could have just a few minutes to myself to get ready.  They brought her to the wedding with them and we dressed her after they got there.

The wedding was lovely ... went off without a hitch.  (See pics in post below).  I was really beginning to wonder considering how unorganized things suddenly seemed about 15 minutes before time to start.  But once the music started and everyone was being escorted out things fell into perfect place.  It couldn't have gone any better.

The reception / party was great.  Everyone had a good time.  Even this old Momma.  The band was really good and everyone had a good time dancing and just hanging out.  With all the excitement and lack of sleep from the previous few days I finally had to beg off and come home about 10pm.  The band played until well after 11pm, then after packing up their equipment, they stayed and hung out with the diehards that were still there around midnight.

The happy couple left Sunday morning driving to Jacksonville FL for a cruise to Key West and the Bahamas.  The bride has been on cruises before but the groom had not.  He had a great time though, and said we should all go on a cruise sometime.  He said "and Momma, it won't even cost you very much 'cause you don't drink!"  LOL.

They arrived back home the following Saturday (this past Saturday) and came and picked Natty up.  She was happy to see her daddy.  While I'm glad I don't have to put her out these recent cold mornings, I kinda miss hearing her 'voice' when I come home for lunch.

Ok, I think you're all caught up now.  Whew!  That wore me out just thinking about it all again!!!

We Now Interrupt This Blog .....

 to present to you:

 Mr & Mrs BoyChild!