Down & Dirty in Thirty Challenge - Weekly Check In

It's a good thing we have weekly check ins so that I can slap myself to wake myself up. What have I been doing? Aside from all my excuses errrr confessions yesterday, I guess I haven't been doing anything. At least nothing positive for my weight loss effort and definitely nothing consistent.

The kids are here but they're leaving today. With them leaving, I'll also be heading to Michigan to share in the birth experience of my second great grandson. I'm so honored and I wouldn't miss it for the world. But, it looks like a giant excuse in the making from here. I'll think that shredding would be too difficult and that eating conscientiously wouldn't add to the fun. So normally I would cheat.

Right now I'm challenging myself to not cheat. I'll pack a couple of flat bread sandwiches which are good and amazingly low in points. I'll take a few vegetable and fruits. And I'll get in a walk every day. I'll be back next week to report my progress.

And next week, I promise. There will be progress.

True Confessions Tuesday

I have so many weight loss sabotaging sins to confess that I wouldn't even know where to begin. So I'll focus on one. And the sin here concerning my weaknesses and failures to resist are residual effects of the big one. The large sin. The sin against my sisters and fellow team members. It is that I have failed to appreciate the challenges that others face on a daily basis and that I don't have to worry about.

This week I have grandchildren staying with me. The joy! The fun! The amusement! But oh, the temptations. Grandchildren must have ice cream cones. The have to get root beer floats. Their lunches have to be fun and delicious - hot dogs dipped in catsup, macaroni and (oh so much) cheese! Lasagna for dinner with moist buttery garlicy toast on the side. Ummmmmm. And to think that people might be expected to serve all these things without partaking. Ridiculous.

Of course when I partook, I enjoyed very modest portions but even modest portions of these fat filled foods are weight loss krptonite. And I'm pretty uneasy about my performance for our team weigh in tomorrow.

Maybe if I had appreciated what most of the sisterhood is up against on a daily basis, I would have been prepared. But I didn't and I wasn't. And I partook, enjoyed, and gained a little weight which I wouldn't worry about except that I'm supposed to be losing.

So there is one disadvantage to having the grandchildren stay for a few days. While I'm indulging them, I also indulge myself.

So if I've gained some weight this week, and I have, I have no one to blame but ...... these guys right here:

The group that is currently entertaining in the living room with rock band enthusiasm. When we went outside, they were going to be the Rock Heads (lol) but then they got distracted by all the ants on the ground and, last I heard, were leaning toward the Ant Killers (lol some more).

How great that I get to have them here to entertain me and to blame my weight problems on. Life is good.

I Was Attacked

I've been attacked. Or maybe I should say my computer has been attacked but that's the same as being attacked myself. It's very personal. Whatever virus sneaked into my machine wreaked havoc and rendered it unusable. It pasted hundreds or maybe thousands of pop-up windows with dire warnings and advice to buy a special software to get rid of the virus itself. When my wonderful computer guy, Brian, downloaded solutions, the evil virus turned those sites into porn sites and advertisements for Viagra. It was all very disconcerting to say the least.

I can't swim but I've been known to play around in the water. I've tried maneuvering below the surface and I find it very difficult - almost impossible. Everything is distorted, my movements are slow and cumbersome, I'm completely disoriented and I feel threatened and insecure.

That's how it felt when my computer was under attack. And that feeling when you break the surface, and can breathe fresh air and see the sunshine? That's how it feels now that it's back to its normal self.

I don't understand the people that start and spread viruses. I understand that some of them do it for money but I also think some people just get their jollies from doing it. As far as doing it for money, the very people that spread the virus include the solution that you can buy in your panic to get rid of it. It probably doesn't even work. It's just all evil and beyond my understanding.

Anyway, I'm glad to be back - to breathe and settle back into my element.

And I want to post this warning. Be very careful about opening anything you find on the internet. You never know what evil might be lurking inside.

You Capture - Everyday Things

This You Capture was challenging for me only it wasn't. The challenge was in deciding whether or not it was okay to photograph things that were 'everyday' to me but probably not to everybody else. So I decided to do a mix.

For example. Everyday items for me (because they're found at Striebel Pond):

And everyday items for most people:

Everyday items to me and everybody else (because there are 60 katrillion of these in North America).

Then everyday items to me again:

And to everybody else again:

And then this picture has elements of both in it. The swans are everyday to me and the fence is everyday to everybody.

Everyday to most people (hopefully):

There you have it. My versions of everyday pictures. For more, visit Beth at ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

Down & Dirty In 30 - Second Check In

What a week this has been. Of course I loved every minute of it...until Monday that is.

We had house guests this weekend which I love the most. Unfortunately we tend to stay up late, have a glass of wine or beer and eat some snacks. Then the next day I'm too tired to be smart in my eating so I cave here and there. We also had a birthday party Saturday with the best cupcakes EVER. We went out to eat Saturday night to a place that's renowned for their hamburgers and fries. Sunday was the family reunion where I scarcely ate any of the catered meal except ..... everyone brought a dessert and, oh my, I didn't resist.

I was pretty contented until Monday morning. Sunday night I pretty much knew what I had done but I didn't weigh myself so I didn't really know if you know what I mean. When I weighed myself Monday, I felt sick. I'd let myself down but worst of all I'd let down my team of Lowdown Dirty Losers.

So for two days I dug in. Back to diligently counting points and exercising like crazy. Yesterday I mowed our long grass with a mower that had a broken self propel feature. I did the shred and walked - all in brutal heat and humidity. I watch my points and last night made the ultimate sacrifice for my team.

Mr. Right went to Taco Bell and instead of even indulging in their Weight Watcher friend Fresco style choices, I made flat bread sandwiches with extra lean ham and tons of lettuce and tomatoes. I accompanied this meal with a half cup of grapes. And I tried not to notice what Mr. Right ate.

It paid off. I lost 1.4 pounds this week. It doesn't sound like much but considering where I was Monday morning, it's huge.

Our team, the Lowdown Dirty Losers is still going to rock this challenge! Where there's a will there's a way and we've got the will!

Mary Addison

It will seem incongruous but I have to start Mary's birthday post with a disclaimer: I've never been a big fan of the epidural. After Mary's birth, I've come around a little bit. Here's Sarah not too long before Mary was born.

And here are Sarah, her Obstetrician, and Mary Addison. Everybody looks pretty pleased with themselves, don't they.

Needless to say, I've come around quite a bit in my thinking regarding epidurals.

If this birth was sweet and it was, I have to say it wasn't as incredibly sweet as the baby that resulted from it.


She never even needed a pacifier because she had a thumb which she started sucking in utero. She's always put herself to sleep that way but recently her parents decided she was too old for that. They bribed her by promising that she could paint Sarah's fingernails and toenails if she could go to sleep three nights in a row without putting her thumb in her month. Guess what. She did it and doesn't suck her thumb anymore. Just like that.

From the time she was little, she's has always enjoyed acting like her mommy - especially after her new brother was born.


And she loves helping her mommy and takes all her tasks very seriously.


She's an extraordinarily sweet, loving little girl. She uses beautiful logic for a four year old too. When she got up Saturday, I said, "You're four years old!". And she told me that she wasn't four years old until she blew out her candles. So Saturday afternoon we had a little party, she blew out her candles, and became four years old.

That evening we went out to eat at Redamak's and they brought her a birthday treat with a lit candle. Her excitement was completely over the top. I thought it was because she got a sweet dessert (which she unselfishly shared with her brother and two cousins). But that wasn't the reason for her unparalleled joy. She revealed on the way home that now she was five years old because she had blown out candles again! Perfect logic.

So you want to be careful around Mary. She never forgets anything and her logic is flawless. When we got ready for the reunion she told me she liked my unusual comb. I have two extras so I thought to give her one and asked if she'd like to have one. She said, "Yes! Will you give me one for my birthday next year?!"

So please everybody help me remember to give her one of those combs. I could easily forget but I know Mary won't.

If I do forget though, I know Mary will forgive me because that's the kind of loving little girl she is.

You Capture - Summer

I captured my summer shots at Striebel Pond of course. Where else? I spend a lot of my Summer there.....and my Spring.......and my Fall.

I'm not terribly proud of this first picture because I had to take it from such a distance; but, how often do you see 2 great white egrets and a snowy egret all in the same area. I've all but abandoned the theory that herons are territorial. My experiences and my eyes at Striebel Pond tell me differently.

And then there are the rarer but ever sweeter summer shots:

And we can't leave out the swan family. I notice now that every evening the swans seem to go to roost on this little island outcropping and as soon as they get there, they begin their nighttime toilette. And, as in all families, Mom and Dad keep a watchful eye to make sure all the teenagers do a good job.

For more photos all about summer, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.