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Happy New Year to One and All!
Mostly it's a celebration of Christ's birth. A reflection of the past year. A look forward to the new year. Time to give to those less fortunate (preferably, without making a big deal about doing so too). Time for family and friends that you don't get spend as much time with as you'd like to through out the year. Baking, caroling, decorating (my family LOVES the decorating).
Growing up I was a preacher's kid, followed by a Air Force chaplain's kid (Yes, I am a PK/CK which is a precher's kid/chaplain's kid/military brat. Since I moved so much growing up, the decorating and the baking were the tangible things that made the holiday, no matter where we were, feel like we were home. The traditions I grew up with...like the celebration of Advent my husband and I have past on to our own children. Another tradition we have is we put up 2 old artificial trees 14 & 12 years old, respectively, every year. Some may think it's excessive, and, yes, it isn't necessary, but the 14 year old one my husband and I bought at Target Greatland in Ft. Myers during our 2nd Christmas together for $29.99 (along with the $1.99 ornaments we bought to fill in the empty space that year, and we still have those ornaments). We've taken very good care of it and it has lasted. A lot of fond memories of friends and relatives who have passed on are attached to that little tree. Most of the kiddos handmade ornaments and ornaments given to them by family members now adorn that little tree. The other tree we bought was a little larger and we bought it the 2nd year in our house. The ornaments on that tree are from around the world, as they belonged to my husband when he was a kid & to me when I was a kid. There are also the ornaments we bought on our honeymoon. The ones that commemerate the births of each of our children. There is literally a story behind every single one. The kids love hearing the stories and putting them up is one of their favorite things to do each year. In a since these trees contain our family history, and it doesn't matter if there's a lot or a little underneath them... it is what they represent to us...family, and all the times and things that God has brought us through.
What are your family traditions this time of year?
DISCLAIMER: I am grouchy and irritable because I made a mistake am missing a milestone in my child's life and all of this is coinciding with reading some posts that irritate me on my good days. I am a fan of teachers and respect the job they do. Following I just had to get off my chest to move on with my day.
I'm missing my daughter's first day of kindergarten because I FORGOT to request the day off, because I've been worried about various thing regarding employment for those I deeply care about all summer long (and still a little now). I'm in a really grouchy mood and feeling really stupid for not remembering to request the day off.
While I'm feeling guilty about missing this milestone due to working, I've come across several friends on Facebook who are all teachers. Now in their defense and before I start my rant, they do have a very tough job, and they put up with a lot of things I can't even imagine, nor do I want to imagine, when it comes to dealing with the parents of the children who attend their classes. I do, however, find it highly amusing that it's only the teachers who have never done anything other than teach that consistently have posted things for the past few weeks like: "I'm so sad to see summer go." "Wow! I've got to get use to these early morning hours again!" "So sorry that I don't have a few more weeks of summer left, but it's back to "real life" on Monday." Aaaarrrrrgggghhhh!!! Do they not realize that the rest of the working world only gets 2 weeks vacation & 6 holidays as a norm??? Do they not realize that "real life" consists of not being off all summer???
Anyway, this all made me angry because A) I'm already feeling sorry for myself, and B)in spite of what people think about those of us who work in television, we make less than most people think. I, in fact, after working in TV for over 13 years make less than most of my teacher friends who've worked less than 10 years.
Keep in mind that because I work in television the following is true about my life: I work every holiday unless I've requested a particular holiday off. I then wait to find out if that holiday is approved off. If it's not, then I work it anyway and am paid holiday pay. I've worked at this particular station long enough that I do, fortunately, receive 3 weeks of vacation per year (in 3 and 1/2 years I'll get 4 weeks unless something changes with the policy). If there's a hurricane I don't see my family. I don't evacuate the state. In fact I begin living at the station to make sure that I don't miss my 12 hours shift during said hurricane coverage, AND did I mention that I get up a 3am (soon to be 2:30am) on my normal regular work days so people can watch the news before they go off to their "early morning" jobs. Yeah, hearing the constant stream these of these posts for the past few weeks has just set me off a little...sorry.
I deeply respect & admire all of my teacher friends, and in NO WAY want to belittle what they do. I just would like them to realize what back to the "real world" really means to most people.
ANYWAY, none of this changes the fact that I screwed up and I'm missing a milestone that I will never get the chance to see again. Which is what made me touchy to the posts in the first place. At least my hubby took pictures for me.
Moving on now...
Just a quick note:
My mother in law is in the hospital, and right now we're just trying to hold it together.
Her breast cancer came back with a vengence, and, unfortunately, has somehow invaded her liver which is now in the process of shutting down. There are a few things that the doctors are looking into, but right now there isn't much hope of her turning around this time. My husband & I took the kids to see her in the hospital, and she was coherent enough to know who they were and she was very happy to see them. The visit was very short as my mother in law is sleeping a lot. My father in law has already had a priest come in to give her last rites (as it was formerly know...now known as the sacrament of the anointing of the sick) & we're all pretty much waiting right now. There is a small chance that it is a blood clot that is causing the liver failure, but the fear is if that is the case and they fix that the liver may already be gone.
Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. Telling the kids about everything was tough. Especially, when one of them isn't old enough to understand what's going on with everyone.
Thanks.
Life is slowly starting to slow down a bit. Work is still work and hubby and the kiddos are all relatively well and happy.
We've switched to Fios at our house and have LOVED it. More channels over all and more HD channels...woohoo! The best part? It's cheaper than what we had been using.
Started going back to church on a regular basis back in January and the kiddos love going where we attend now.
Weight loss has been going the wrong direction so my goal is to get back on the horse with exercise and eating well.
That's about all for now. I hope everyone else is doing well.
Quick post...here are my results for this week...slowly getting back on track! Don't forget to head over to One Weigh at a Time to check on the rest of the group!
All time high weight: 264.4 lbs
Weight last week: 215.6 lbs
This week's weight: 215.4 lbs
This week's personal loss: 0.2 lbs
Overall loss since October 8, 2007: 49.0 lbs
Ok, I'm not doing too great this holiday, but I'm not doing horribly either.
All time high weight: 264.4 lbs
Weight last week: 215.0 lbs
This week's weight: 216.8 lbs
This week's personal gain: 1.8 lbs
Overall loss since October 8, 2007: 47.6 lbs
Here's the group's stats:
This week's Biggest Losers are Christy and Jackie with a loss of 3.0 pounds! Wow! Please stop by and congratulate Christy and drop Jackie an email.
Here are the results for this week:
Chris - 2.6 Gain
Tammy - 0.5 Loss
Ciara - No Change
Grace - 1.8 Gain
Leigh - 1.6 Gain
Clara - 4.0 Gain
Julie - 0.8 Loss
Audrey - No Change
Christy - 3.0 Loss
Tina - No Report
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - No Report
Jackie - 3.0 Loss
And please welcome my friend Sally Jo - 0.6 Loss
Our grand total this week is a 2.1 Gain.
Ok so I'm starting all over as it were. Not really starting over, but trying desperately to get back in the swing:
All time high weight: 264.4 lbs
Weight last week: 214.2 lbs
This week's weight: 215.0 lbs
This week's personal gain: 0.8 lbs
Overall loss since October 8, 2007: 49.4 lbs
I'm trying to get out of this rut, but I am realistic as this is the Holiday season and my true goal for this time of year is to just maintain...if I lose great, but to plan to lose during this time of year, for me at least, is just plain crazy!
Here's the rest of the group:
This week's Biggest Loser is Christy with a loss of 2.4 pounds! Wow! Please stop by and congratulate her.
Here are the results for this week:
Chris - 1.8 Loss
Tammy - 1.0 Gain
Ciara - 1.0 Loss
Grace - 0.8 Gain
Leigh - 2.4 Gain
Clara - 1.2 Gain
Julie - 0.6 Loss
Audrey - 3.0 Gain
Christy - 2.4 Loss
Tina - 1.0 Loss
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - No Report
Jackie - Weighing in on Friday
Our grand total this week is a 1.6 Gain.
This week's Biggest Losers are Leigh and Julie with a loss of 1.0 pound each. Please stop by and congratulate them!
Here are the results for this week:
Chris - 0.4 Gain
Tammy - No Change
Ciara - 1.0 Gain
Grace - No Change
Leigh - 1.0 Loss
Clara - 0.6 Loss
Julie - 1.0 Loss
Cheryl - No Report
Audrey - 1.0 Gain
Christy - 0.8 Gain
Tina - No Report
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - No Change
Jackie - No Change
Our grand total this week is a 0.6 Gain.
For whatever reason the vacation in Colorado nearly 1 month ago and Thanksgiving being late this year has messed with the flow of my normal holiday progression.
NORMALLY, we have Thanksgiving, followed by my hubby decorating the outside of the house and all of us decorating the inside of the house. Then I typically have about a week to prep for "Big Stuff's" birthday (get his birthday picture taken, the party, etc.) which is in early December. Then get the cards out, take "Big Stuff and Lil Bit" to see Santa, and lastly finish any shopping. In between there's lots of baking, movie watching, story telling, teaching my kids about Christmas, and of course family time.
Weeeeeeellllll, this year the outside of our house IS done, but the inside is only partially done still. "Big Stuff's" Birthday went fantastically well, but at the moment we have birthday present placement (meaning finding a place for his presents in his room and not all over the house) going on admist the decorating for Christmas inside. We have watched a few movies, the kids saw Santa yesterday, and I believe all the shopping with the exception of what the kids and I are getting my hubby is DONE. I almost had my cards but there's been a little issue with Snapfish nothing major, but I haven't gotten my cards to send them out yet. HOWEVER, in spite of my discombobulation, I am enjoying my time with my family doing silly little things running around in penguin socks and "skating" on the floor and traditional stuff like baking cookies.
I am really trying to get back on track, but I have a feeling it will be sometime in 2009 before that happens, but I don't think I'll hold my breath. :-)
I do hope that you all are well and that your holidays are progressing nicely as well.
I've been A LOT behind since vacation. This was not a good week for the group as a whole...just be warned!
My Stats:
Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Last week's weight: 211.6 lbs.
This week's weight: 216.2 lbs
Weight GAINED this week: 4.6 lbs.
Total Loss thus far: 48.2 lbs.
I did not eat well this week, nor did I exercise like I should have; however, the strange part is that I LOST 3% body fat this week. If I'd been exercising heavily I'd say that was muscle gain, but since I wasn't...who knows.
Unfortunately this week we do not have a prize.
Hopefully we can get something in the works for next time. This week's Biggest
Loser is Tammy with a loss of 1.0 pounds. Please stop by and congratulate
her.
Here are the results for this week:
Chris - 0.4 LOSS
Tammy - 1.0 LOSS
Ciara - No Change
Grace - 4.6 GAIN
Leigh - No Change
Clara - 0.6 GAIN
Julie - 0.2 LOSS
Cheryl - No Report
Audrey - 1.0 GAIN
Christy - 2.6 GAIN
Tina - No Report
Danielle - No Report
Jessie - No Report
Steph - No Report
CYN - 1.0 GAIN
This week's total: 8.2 GAIN
Yikes! I think that's the highest we've had since we started. I do believe that a lot has to do with holiday time. This is the time that the average weight a person gains is SEVEN pounds.
I'm getting ready for a much need vacation with my family so I apologize for my delay in posting this.
I will not be on line all next week but plan to return on the 17th.
Here's the groups results:
Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 4 GAIN
Tammy - 0.5 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - no report
Grace - 0.2 LOSS
Leigh - STARTING OVER!
Clara - 2.6 LOSS
Julie - 1.2 LOSS
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - no report
Christy - 2.2 LOSS
Tina - no report
Danielle - no change
Jessie - no report
Steph - no report
CYN - no change
This week's total - 2.7 LOSS
I've been out for a while as working at a news station during an election period is horrendous. Why? Because after our normal days work we must offer up something called "Free Time" to political candidates, regardless of party affiliation to say whatever they want in regards to their platform/bid for whatever office they are running for provided it is not deemed obsene or offensive by FCC guidlines. I believe we are allowing approximately one minute and fifteen seconds of free air time to all local and federal candidates in our viewing area should they decide to take it. One candidate for some office I've never heard of that isn't in my voting district anyway, but is in some district of our viewing area has had the audacity to not show for this "Free Time" not once but TWICE. Let me tell you, when you are at the end of your work day and you just have one more appointment or meeting or whatever that requires the participation and promptness of another human being and they don't show resulting in making your work day longer than necessary not once but TWICE...let's just say if this candidate was somebody I could vote for I would vote for whomever was running against this candidate, because this candidate has no consideration for others...even those getting nothing out of helping them except, of course, a longer work day than necessary. Was there and apology either time...uh no. That says it all!
On a lighter note: I am so totally stoked about the RAYS being in the World Series! My family and I have been to several games over the years. Big Stuff and Little Bit have both been to SEVERAL. They've meet players, and have various versions of The RAYS logos from over the years. My hubby still has his hat from the Inagural Season. We will, however, be watching the Series from the comfort and safety of our home for several reasons...the least of which is the Trop is Sold Out for Games 1 and 2 (mind you we went to a game back in September and even though they were the best in the American League at that time you couldn't give tickets away...tonight you'd practically have to sell you 1st Born to get them, be that as it may I'm excited for the RAYS and I can't wait for it to start in a few hours!
Now for the Wednesday edition of Taking it off Together Tuesdays #18 and #19
For #18
Original Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.
Last week's weight: 211.2 lbs.
This week's weight: 210.4 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.8 lbs.
Total lost since October 8, 2007: 54 lbs.
Now for this week's update for myself and the group:
Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.
Last week's weight: 210.4 lbs.
This week's weight: 210.8 lbs.
Weight gained this week: 0.4 lbs.
Total lost since October 8, 2007: 53.6 lbs.
And now the group.... not a good week, but they do happen:
This week our contest is sponsored by Tammy! She is offering a copy of Superfoods for the prize for this week! If you'd like to sponser a prize, let me know! We are currently out of prizes!
The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Chris!
Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 1 LOSS
Tammy - 1.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - No Change
Grace - 0.4 GAIN
Leigh - No Change
Clara - 1.5 LOSS
Julie - 0.8 LOSS
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - 2.2 GAIN
Christy - 0.2 LOSS
Tina - 2.0 GAIN
Danielle - no report
Jessie - no report
Steph - no report
CYN - no report
This week's total - 2.6 GAIN! EGAD!
I was wrong...I haven't totally made it to the land of the living yet (still adjusting to early mornings), but I'm getting there.
I had an OK week weight wise.
My results
Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.
Last week's weight: 211.4 lbs.
This week's weight: 211.2 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.2 lbs.
Total lost since October 8, 2007: 53.2 lbs.
On a positive I dropped almost 2% body fat so that was HUGE!
OH YEAH...I WON THE CONTEST THIS WEEK! *doing a happy dance* I never win anything so this is great!
Here are the groups results:
This week our contest is sponsored by Julie! She is offering a copy of the Biggest Loser Cookbook as a prize this week! If you'd like to sponser a prize, let me know! We are currently out of prizes!
The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Grace!
Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of 2 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 3.5 GAIN
Tammy - 0.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1.0 LOSS
Grace - 0.2 LOSS
Leigh - 0.5 LOSS
Clara - 2.0 LOSS
Dette - 0.5 LOSS
Julie - 1.0 LOSS
Cheryl - No Change
Audrey - 0.8 GAIN
Christy - 0.6 GAIN
Tina - no report
Danielle - 1.0 LOSS
Jessie - No Change
Steph - no report
CYN - no report
This week's total - 0.8 LOSS!
Ok... I think I've finally started to adjust to doing a 4am shift again...so I'm returning to the land of the living...I think.
I had a very good week weight wise.
My results
Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.
Last week's weight: 214.6 lbs.
This week's weight: 211.4 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 3.2 lbs.
Total lost since October 8, 2007: 53 lbs.
Here's the group post:
This week our contest is sponsored by Clara who writes the Coming Back to Life! She is offering a hand made tote as a prize this week! Here is a picture! Oh it is SOOO cute and perfect for fall!
The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Julie!
Congrats to Grace for being this week's biggest loser of 3.2 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 2 LOSS
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - no report
Grace - 3.2 LOSS
Leigh - 2.5 GAIN
Clara - 2.5 GAIN
Dette - 1.0 GAIN
Julie - 0.6 LOSS
Cheryl - NO CHANGE
Audrey - no report
Christy - 2.4 LOSS
Tina - 1.4 GAIN
Danielle - NO CHANGE
Jessie - NO CHANGE
Steph - no report
And welcome back CYNwho is reporting no change this week.
This week's total - 0.8 LOSS!
Yes, I know it's Wednesday...I'm a little behind this week.
ANYWAY, My week, weight wise, was not good. Here are my results:
Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs.
Last Week's Weight: 212.4 lbs.
This Week's Weight: 214.6 lbs.
Total gained this week: 2.2 lbs.
Total lost since October 8, 2007: 49.8
It also seemed to be tough on everyone else as well, but we still had a loss over all. Here's Leigh's post:
Last week we contunued the contest where everyone who reported a LOSS had their name added to a drawing for a lot of 100 Mary Kay samples! The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Danielle!
This week our contest is sponsored by Ciara who writes the Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog! She is offering a hand made bracelet as a prize this week!
And check it out! We had an over all loss again this week (barely, but it's still a loss)! Congrats to Clara for being this week's biggest loser of 2.5 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 1 loss
Tammy - 1 gain
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 1 loss
Grace - 2.2 gain
Leigh - 1 gain
Clara - 2.5 loss
Dette - no change
Julie - 1.4 gain
Cheryl - no report
Audrey - 2.4 loss
Christy - 3.2 gain
Tina - no report
Danielle - 2 loss
Jessie - no change
Steph - no report
This week's total - 0.1 LOSS!
Well, I surprised myself this week! I worked out 5 out of 7 days for anywhere from 30 minutes to an entire hour! I have to admit that thus far I'm am totally loving my Wii Fit, and apparently so is everyone else in the house as well. Last night I even used one of the aerobics activities that I opened called Free Step where you can get it started and then do a basic Step (from like a step class) for 10 or 15 or 30 minutes, set the type of counter you'd like to hear from your controller and the pace of the count/rhythm, then watch TV or a movie or whatever, and it'll keep track of your steps and tell you when to change sides based on the number of steps (usually at 100). I did 30 minutes of that last night while watching Ever After on TV and really didn't notice the time, nor did the counter bother my hubby who was also watching the movie.
Any way here are my results:
Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 216.2 lbs
This Week's Weight: 212.4 lbs
That's a LOSS of: 3.8 lbs
TOTAL Lost since October 8, 2007: 52 lbs.
So I lost the 2.6 lbs I gained last week PLUS and additional 1.2 lbs. That made me the biggest losser for our group this week. Here how everone else did according to Leigh our group moderator. Please stop by and pay these wonderful people a visit:
We currently have a contest where everyone who reported a LOSS had their name added to a drawing for a lot of 100 Mary Kay samples! And since I currently don't have any other prizes, we will have the same contest this week. Just remember that maintaining doesn't count, sorry! Also, if you have a prize to donate that would be GREAT!! Just let me know!
The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Dette!
And check it out! We had an over all loss again this week! Congrats to Grace for being this week's biggest loser of 3.8 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 1 LOSS
Tammy - 0.5 GAIN
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - no report
Grace - 3.8 LOSS
Leigh - 0.5 LOSS
Clara - No Change
Dette - 1.5 LOSS
Julie - No Change
Cheryl - No Change
Audrey - no report
Christy - 1.4 LOSS
Tina - 0.5 GAIN
Danielle - No Change
Jessie - 3 GAIN
Steph - no report
This week's total - 4.2 LOSS!
Well overall the group did FANTASTIC! Me??? not so much. I gained, but I did lose in the body fat category. I also received a wonderful gift from my inlaws for my birthday (which was a week ago today), but it didn't arrive until yesterday. I got a Wii Fit Bundle and I had a fabulous time working out for over an HOUR!!! I am soooooo sore today too, but that's not a bad thing. My hubby worked out for 30 minutes and "Big Stuff" and "Little Bit" worked out right besides us too and laugh out loud when one of the Miis that was "running" with us fell down in a fantastically laughable fashion too. I'm hoping that this will push me to exercise more than I have been. Now, here are my results:
Beginning Weight: 264.4 lbs
Last Week's Weight: 213.6 lbs
This Week's Weight: 216.2 lbs
That's a GAIN of: 2.6 lbs
TOTAL Lost since October 8, 2007: 48.2
The rest of the group did MUCH better and here is Leigh's post:
"Last week we announced a contest where everyone who reported a LOSS had their name added to a drawing for a lot of 100 Mary Kay samples! The motivation worked! Nearly everyone reported a loss this week. So we will have the same contest this week. Just remember that maintaining doesn't count, sorry!
The names of this week's "losers" were dropped into a coffee cup and this week's WINNER is Ciara!
And check it out! We had an over all loss again this week! Congrats to Cheryl for being this week's biggest loser of 4 pounds!! Be sure to cruise over to her blog and congratulate her!
Chris - 4 GAIN
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0.4 LOSS
Grace - 2.6 GAIN
Leigh - 2.0 LOSS
Clara - no report
Dette - 0.5 LOSS
Julie - 0.8 LOSS
Cheryl - 4 LOSS
Audrey - 0 CHANGE
Christy - 1.6 LOSS
Tina - 1.4 LOSS
Danielle - 1 LOSS
Jessie - no report
And please give a warm welcome to Steph who lost 2 pounds this last week!
This week's total - 8.1 LOSS!!"
For me this week went better than expected:
Starting weight: 264.4 lbs.
Present weight: 213.6 lbs.
Weight lost this week: 0.4 lbs.
TOTAL lost: 50.8lbs.
This week we are adding a contest! It seems we all need motivation after all. So, for everyone who reports a LOSS (maintaining doesn't count, sorry!) on the next weigh in will have their name put in a drawing for 100 assorted Mary Kay samples! So drink your water and count your calories. We can all do this!
And check it out! We had an over all loss! Congrats to Christy for being this week's biggest loser of 5 pounds!!
Chris - 3.2 LOSS
Tammy - 1 LOSS
Life With Hashi-Thyroid Blog - 0.4 GAIN
Grace - 0.4 LOSS
Leigh - 0.5 GAIN
Clara - 0.5 GAIN
Dette - no report
Julie - 0.2 LOSS
Cheryl - 0 CHANGE
Audrey - 2 GAIN
Christy - 5 LOSS
Tina - 1 LOSS (from last week)
Danielle - 2 LOSS
Jessie - 0 CHANGE
This week's total - 9.0 LOSS!!
