Dec 07,.... Dec 08 Even I can see the difference

Happy Birthday Jamie

week 52 on weight watchers

I lost .8 this morning which I was VERY happy with considering my brush with death this past week. (Do NOT ever refer to it as just a cold!) I swear each nostril contains a pound of.....ok ok I will stop but you know what I mean.
Donnie knew I was ill when I was not hungry over the weekend, since that NEVER happens. Anyway I am now 69 pounds down from my highest weight and next Tuesday marks my one year back on plan. I am trying to think of some spectacular way to celebrate. Of course it is also the start of Scrubs 8th season and so we may have to commemorate during commercials.
I did do two fun things today which are in effect a celebration of my commitment to health. First I bought a pair of designer jeans (TJ MAXX totally on sale!) in a regular person size 14! Now I am a bit of a muffin top above the waist, but a loose shirt hides that. Also my legs swim a bit in the pant legs as my belly is still the roundest part of me. Top and bottom I am much thinner than in the middle!
The second fun thing I did was to sign up for a one year membership at Planet Fitness. It was only 99$ and is five miles from my house. Tim gave it to me as a Christmas gift although I am suppose to give him the money back in four months from my insurance company when I prove to them that I have gone. Still it is a nice gift.
We had a quick tour of the place and the two exercise rooms are much larger and busier than the Y. It felt VERY intimidating and I am glad I did a Y membership 3 years ago so at least I have some familiarity with the equipment.
They expect it to be very crowded until about February when all the New Years Resolution people drop out. I know it happens, heaven knows I have been a well meaning dieter low these past 24 New Years Eves. I bet though that if more of the January folks got encouragement of the positive kind they would stick with it longer.
I am hoping to seriously lift weights as I think more muscle mass will help burn the calories with out my having to eat much less! Plus it is getting tricky to run on the roads, I slipped today putting in my four miles, and I do not dare ride my bike out there.
So I shall dedicate myself to treadmill running and the elliptical machine. I taught myself how to download music from CDs to computer to my new jogger's MP3 player and so I am really one of the cool kids now.
It still feels strange to think of where I was last year at this time and where I am now. Of course I know how easy it is to get distracted and gain it all back. I do feel like I have to be ever vigilant. But I am filled with much more hope this year than last.
I have a lot of people to thank for their encouragement. Like Margo and Reenie who were always willing to offer encouragement and sound advice. Or PJ and Joe who were willing to go riding with me!
Or remember this summer when I ran 5 miles! Five whole miles, and at the races edge Maria, Reenie, Eileen and all the kids stood cheering me on. That means a LOT.
Mary and Holly always have great compliments at the ready and Donnie listens to my endless obsessing and tummy growling. And lets not forget Lorraine at WW and all the ladies whose own stories humble me, challenge me, amuse me, and inspire me.
My back has strengthened so that I can now do real jumping jacks, which I have not been able to do since my back injury almost 18 years ago. It is an odd sensation though to do all that bouncing around. My sturdy Victorias Secret keeps the girls snug, but my loose skin below my belly button gets all squishy and swishy as I jump. I may have quite a bit of loose skin there when all is said and done and it does look a little odd. But unlike plump fattened from below skin, at least it is healthy and harmless!
Ah well they say it takes up to 18 months after weight loss for loose skin to regain whatever elasticity it is going to have and I certainly have a ways to go before my body reaches whatever equalibrium it is going to possess.
Meanwhile I have spanking new designer jeans in a regualr persons size, a new gym membership, and new goals ahead on this weight loss adventure. Me and my loose skin are gonna run and dance and sweat and tone in the New Year.

Retroactive sympathy required.

I feel so much better today that I think I need retroactive sympathy for how terrible I felt yesterday and the day before! I did stagger through have-tos on Saturday but Sunday I missed out on fun stuff like visiting the Edwardses and play rehearsal.
Thankfully I awoke this morning without the pounding sinus headache that plagued me so. I cannot begin to describe the fluid that apparently struggled to free itself from my nasal passages. Let's just say icccccccccccchhhhhhhkkkkkkkk and be done with it.
Apparently I missed a balmy outdoor kind of day yesterday but Jamie and I did manage a short hike down by the old two lane highway, this morning. I still feel weak as a kitten and about 30 minutes was all I could accomplish but it felt great to stretch my legs and smell the great forest scents. We also found about a half dozen holly trees that we will have to remember next year when it comes time to decorate for the holidays.
The tree came down tonight, on purpose. as it is too tight a squeeze in the living room. I normally love it up as long as possible. But our legs have grown too long and our bodies and stuff take up too much space to be able to have both a Christmas tree and a usable living space.
The kids have been enjoying their vacation even if I have been out of commission. There are plenty of good things to play with and everyone is very polite to one another in an effort to try out siblings belongings. The honeymoon will soon end but I am enjoying the peace while it lasts.
Joe has been intent on teaching me various Nintendo DS games, but I notice he only wants to replay the ones he can beat me in. It makes me laugh and unlike Donnie who has a hidden ruthless streak, I am perfectly content to let Joe be the game master.
I wish I could be profound like my friend Margo's blog but I find myself rather lacking in great insight these last few days. I still think I was laid low by some form of Bacterial Terrorism. It is rather lowering to think I merely have a cold. Clearly I am valiantly fighting some dread disease.
But all things in perspective. Watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 on the tv when their air flight is redirected and the mom is trapped on the plane with all the fussy kids....reminded me of times long ago when we had 6 in diapers and my back would go out. Or when we had 9 kids under 10 and my gallbladder acted up.
There was the month when we had 7 kids under the age of 8 and EVERY one of them got the chicken pox. Every blessed one of them, including the 6 week old baby.
At least this time I only had to worry about myself and not too many other things. Don managed to feed everyone and I heard they were all on best behavior for the Edwardses. Tomorrow is business as usual. Don goes to work, Nikki and I have basketball practise and weight watchers at the same time in two different towns. And Tim will take the other kids to New Bedford to the Whaling Museum for Science Club. Corey has already fled back to college where he BETTER be securing a coop job. all in all we wind up 2008 on a good and bustling note!
My Mantra back in January 2008 was A HEALTHY WEIGHT IN 2008.
Tomorrow is my last weigh in for 2008 and it is a much better number than the beginning of the year. I can run and bike ride, I am eating healthy and although it certainly is not easy, it is doable. Lets see what 2009 brings?

I am sick

A simple cold combined with that time of the month makes for a lovely mix of blech and blah. Now I have not been sick sick in about ten years. Living in this house full of people, animals, and having minimal hygienic requirements (really, as long as the table top and toilet seat are clean, what more needs to be done?) I have always been immune when anyone else got sick. Even being exposed to the various germs at the Detox and school never got to me.
I am a scrupulous hand washer but have never particularly avoided those coughing stuffy sneezy folks around me. I just never get sick. But poor Corey came home Sunday with a sore throat and stuffy nose and apparently spread it like manure. I got it, Jamie got it, Mary got it and poor Matt looked like hell warmed over on Christmas.
I also felt terrible on Christmas Day but was so appalled that I even caught a cold-a simple cold! that I refused to admit it. Well today it kicked my butt. Don, Maria, Mary, and I had a field trip back into the Boston public library to do historical family research (I know too geeky for words but this is what we do!) Maria avoided me like the plague because she catches EVERY BODIES cold and it always turns into bronchitis for her. She did treat us to lunch but I was so wiped I did not even finish it. This of course made Donnie concerned because lets face it, I have been on Weight Watchers for almost a year which means not only do I finish every bite of my weighed and measured food, but I have been known to discreetly lick the bowl!
We finished a little earlier than expected and Mary was hoping we had time to accompany her on a few fun errands but I had to get home and curl up in the fetal position.
When we did arrive back at the manse we discovered a HUGE box of healthy and not so healthy treats from my friend Lil. The kids were dying to open it (how fun is this time of year?) and everyone got to pick a fun treat just for themselves. I didn't even eat mine yet...
I ended up in bed for a couple of hours while Nikki and Donnie finished preparing for her Friends Christmas Party. The house looks great and they have pizza which I am in no condition to eat. I did force down a salad but I am counting the seconds until ten p.m. when the giggly girls go home and I can go hibernate.
It really is a simple cold combined with a visit from Aunt Flo (don't you just hate the stupid euphemisms?) I have lived with daily back pain for almost 18 years and barely ever even speak of it. No one is really interested in knowing that every single solitary day I have that electrical feeling nerve pain shoot across my back. I am after all very lucky it is JUST back pain as so many people suffer so much worse. And quite frankly I would rather be the one in pain than someone I love. So I really have developed a very high pain tolerance over the years and am normally not one to bitch and moan.
But I need everyone in the world to know I am well and truly suffering with a COLD and people should send me great gifts and hugs and more Kleenex. I am like Job in the bible today. Woe is ME no one is suffering like I am aaaaaah aaaah aaachooooo. (Shoot now how am I gonna clean that out of the keyboard, sniff snuffle teeny tiny moan.......)

Facebook words of wisdom.

A Christmas Story, Blauss Style

The Blausses ended their Christmas Story 08 much like their favorite holiday family, eating supper at the Chinese restaurant. For many years Aunty Maria has provided the funds for an annual 'go to the movies night'. The last couple of years however it has become increasingly harder to pick a movie we all want to see.
Therefore this year we decided instead to have a dinner out as a family, something we can almost NEVER do. (And some wiseguy would question why we would even want to...) But dinner out with the 9 of us proves very complicated what with everybody's work, school, and activities schedule, so...dinner out on Christmas night seemed like a great idea.
And so it was. We ate and joked and dirtily snickered over the fortune cookie sayings.

Merry Christmas and as Tiny Tim would say, "God bless us, everyone."

Children's Nativity

My mom made the Nativity. It was a favorite of hers, all the kids putting on the Nativity play. Brings back such sweetmemmories of Christmas' past, of performiming in plays with my dad and siblings.
This Christmas started rather groggily for me as we lost power in the middle of the night. So I trooped upstairs with my reading flashlight just incase a kid got up and was frightenned. Of course I am the only one afraid of the dark....
Usually Donnie gets up for kid duty in the wee hours, but he was in a dead sleep and I did not have the heart to disturb him. (Well ok I tried to wake him, but he never moved so I tromped upstairs. Sounds better when I say I let him sleep.) We were all up, even Yon at 7 and managed the unwrapping and breakfast eating and showers before ten a.m. Mass.
Finally we are allowed to sing Christmas carols in church (so sick of dirge-y Advent hymms!) We joyfully sang, mostly on key and I love to watch my Joe who totally gets into it. Of coruse I cried!
Then we raced home and I changed into my new sweatsuit to fit in a 4 mile run. How is THAT for dedication. Mary and Matt came while I was jogging and hung around for the better part of the afternoon. So nice.

Julie intent

Bambam gets a bath for Christmas

Joe wanted to try out all the grooming products he got for his 4H dog club project. Bambam was not as excited about it as his master. Joe is the only pet owner I know who actually gets INto the tub to bath his pet.

Chlling out

What did he get?

Christmas fun

I wonder why things happen in threes?

So the truck went in last week for 305$ in repairs. The van goes in 2 days after Christmas. In accordance with the Problem In Threes Theory, one would expect the station wagon to run into trouble. Instead our oven died. Not the whole stove just the oven, and not all the time. It preheats fine and then suddenly goes out, it can turn back on later as if by magic, only to mysteriously shut off again.
It must be an electrical problem says Jamie who notices that vibrations in the kitchen- like the back door slamming or the dogs wrestling- can cause the outage. Whatever it is, it is not to be fixed until after the van. So, what to cook for Christmas dinner? My plan had been roast beef although many of the kids were calling for turkey. Now it looks like a spiral ham which can at least be heated by the plateful in the micro.
Not complaining though. In this time of economic strain, we both still have jobs, a roof over our heads, and everyone is in robust health.
There is still wrapping to be done and the rest of Yon's presents to be gotten. Otherwise we are all set and ready to celebrate Hanukkah, Christams, Kwanzaa, and the feast of the three Kings. In between we hit both Jamie's 16th birthday and New Years Eve. Fun times.

Words of Wisdom

Each morning the middle school vice Principal offers "words of wisdom" for her listeners. She shares with them quotes or stories that hold meaning to her. She will often ask the kids to see how the quote or story could relate to their own experience.
Last Christmas as a gift, the 6th grade English teacher had her classes invent or copy a quote and explain why it meant something to them. She then bound their work and presented it to the overwhelmed vice Principal. The VP loved the gift and especially adored the quotes the children made up themselves.
This years gift contained a quote and explanation from our Joe which moved her to tears. She felt it gave a sweet insight into the life of Blauss child number 7 and it is her favorite. The quote:
"Its not yours, its not mine, its ours." Who said it? "Anonomous."sic
"This quote is my few 'words of wisdom' because when you live in a family with more than two brothers and/or sisters you might have to share. This quote I rely on because I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters and an uncle who all live here and we can't have most things to ourselves, unless it is something like clothes or money, like I am talking about TV and video games. We all have to share lots of things."

Most Awesome Book Title

Since we are a geeky book reading kind of family I was happily wandering the aisles at Borders finding just the right stories to get for folks at Christmas. Some of the book titles really caught my eye and this one was my favorite. I did not buy it but I am tempted to go back and purchase the book. After all a girl can never learn too much information and you never know when it might come in handy! The book in question?
The Get-Your-Man-To Marry-You-Plan, Buying The Cow in the Age of Free Milk.

The sleeping garden

Tim and Joe

Tim is trying to get the shoveling done, and Joe like some wayward puppy, just wants to play!

Jamie cleaning up

The Astounding Things people say

2 of my friends recently blogged about their concerns over some of the amazing (read rude, unhelpful, hurtful) things that people sometimes say. One of my friends just underwent gastric bypass. The other is over 7 months pregnant.
Their "conditions" make them topics of conversation wherever they go. Friends and foes alike think nothing of offering them advice and gems of wisdom. Perhaps my friends are being oversensitive to take offense and find peoples comments to them unsupportive. You know, maybe their hormones are kicking in, maybe they are just hungry. But then when you hear some of the comments offered to them, if is difficult to see just how anyone could think those remarks helpful.
For some reason weight issues and pregnancy are considered topics that everybody is an expert on and we all assume everyone wants to hear our opinions. Also both my friends are blogging about their experiences and sharing their thoughts and feelings. So naturally they would expect to get feedback. But some of those offering feedback...
When one of my coworkers had gastric bypass another friend said to her "you know you are no fun going out to eat with anymore." A FRIEND said this to her. Later I asked the friend about it. I wondered if the bypass friend maybe talked about it too much, or perhaps got sick partway through the meal. Or maybe the person who had the surgery became the food police telling everyone what THEY should or should not eat. But none of that was true. It was just the non surgery friend did not like to sit and pig out while the other friend ate only a small amount and then was done. In reality it was not about the bypass friend but the insecurities of the OTHER person.
I have bunny friend too who had bypass after a very serious health scare. Following the surgery she could no longer have more than a small glass of wine. Two of her friends stopped hanging out with her because she was no fun to go out drinking with. Sounds silly I know and who would want friends like that? But my bunny friend was hurt, she missed their friendship.
Then there was my pregnant friend who was told by her mother in law. "You look great this pregnancy, so much better than last time when you looked so bloated." Now how is that for a left handed compliment?
As Don and I were Christmas shopping this year a woman known and revered (or reviled!) for her frankness said "Wow you dropped a ton of weight. But really, are you actually happy? Aren't you hungry all the time?"
The stunning part was she sincerely wanted me to answer her! Mostly peoples comments do not bother me. Of course some folks opinions I really respect and therefore give their words a lot of thought. But the others either amuse me or roll off my back, unless I am REALLY hungry:>)
I think because all of us have self image issues of one sort or another at one time or another, we can be sensitive about weight related and pregnancy related comments. But why would anyone in their right mind say to someone- just of out surgery- that having gastric bypass is an EASY way out of anything?
So we all muddle along on our journeys, one friend about to give birth, another recovering from bypass, still another in midst of divorce. (BOY she really puts up with a lot of unsolicited advice!) I have a friend who recently had a breast reduction and even having that very personal of surgeries did not make her immune from the helpful comments of people. My single friend always has others trying to hook her up. People make assumptions about her single status as if it is something to get over or fix.
I guess all of us are easy targets for someone's unsolicited advice. The trick is to know when to really take something under consideration and when to secretly decide the other person is totally nuts and simply disregard their words.

It Is A Girl

My friends Jamie and John just had a baby girl, Colleen Rose. I wish them the best.
I wish it was me...

A Weight loss blog entry

I just noticed that I have not written lately about my ongoing 2008 health challenge. The year is drawing to a close and I am currently 67.2 pounds less than my highest weight. I exercise 6 days a week mostly for an hour (sometimes I can only squeeze 30 minutes in.) I am still running about 3 days a week, usually 4 miles per outing but I have sweat ed out a couple of 9 milers.
Still go to weekly Weight Watcher meetings, haven't missed on yet. Apparently I am unable to achieve any significant loss without the help and support the meetings provide. True it has been a stress some mornings getting there. And I do lose income because I do not sub that day.
But for me, the meetings are an important key. I weigh in that morning and then good or bad it is a fresh start. I need that because some days are more challenging than others.
I just finished reading Oprah's magazine article about how embarrassed she is that she gained the weight back after she "got it" all under control, as if it is some sort of moral or work issue that needs options, solutions, and then moving on. But I don't think getting it- understanding the concepts of eating less, eating healthy, and moving more- mean you will stay at a low weight.
For whatever reason some peoples bodies or brains push them to a higher weight. Not that everybody won't develop a little beer belly over time. But I truly believe that big ole fat people are fat because their internal mechanisms make it a daily challenge not to be.
Do I think fat folks can get trim and healthy? Well I am staking my life on it! But I think Oprah was fooling herself that just by mastering the healthy habits meant she somehow would no longer have to struggle.
Is it fair that some people are able to keep their body at a good weight, eating whatever they want and never lifting a dumbbell or jogging? Well no of course not. Is it fair that every day I have to think about food, how much, how often, and what kinds? Hell no!!!!!!
Then again my brother-in-law is battling stomach cancer (can you call it stomach cancer if your stomach has been removed?) Every day he has to think about when and how much liquid to take and time it in regards to when he eats solids. He was one of those naturally trim and healthy people, never ill always swimming, hiking etc. He even lifted weights. He never ever gave food a thought, just ate when he was hungry and stopped when he was satisfied (BTW it is still hard to fathom only eating when hungry, most fat people have no connection to that, You eat because it is there, it is time, you are happy, you are sad, you are lonely, you are bored...)
Now, no matter what he is doing or where he is he has to eat or drink a certain amount of this or that. For the rest of his life!!!!!!!!!! My nurse friend who had gastric bypass is suppose to do the same thing. But she isn't and is STEADILY GAINING THE 100 POUNDS BACK!) But for my brother-in-law, still in a fight with cancer, it IS a matter of life and death. And so every single blessed day he does what he has to do. He carefully measures out and times his liquids and solids. He diligently exercises.
Does he hate that he always has to spend so much of his energy thinking about it? Well, what is the alternative for him? He could be dead. Suddenly wasting precious time to think about food doesn't seem like such a hardship.
So the other night as I was plotting the next days menu and Donnie said sympathetically, "Poor you, will you ever be able to reach a point where you don't have to think and plan it all so much?" I believe the answer is no. I think this is my journey.
Another interesting thing to tack on here, which I am still contemplating.... I spent almost 7 straight days feeling like I was starving to death. Since I keep a food journal it was simple to track my intake, clearly I was not going without. Tuesday night for instance Don and I went out to eat. I had a big delicious meal, filling my anyone's standards. But my stomach continued to growl like I had never eaten. That entire night I felt more and more famished. By nights end after being able to hear my tummy growl, in the car Don offered to stop at Friendlies. I had to white knuckle it and say no, go to bed and proceed to be occasionally awakened that evening by hunger.
The constant hunger is not apparent today. But I think it means something that my body spends much of its time certain it is starving. Thankfully it is not every second or I would never be able to keep going. Clearly the signal in my body is broken or stuck or wrong. Hopefully as I reach my weigh loss goal and learn the skills needed to maintain these faulty signals will be less (or dare I hope, go away all together?) But I have a feeling that for some people their signals will try to push them towards a higher weight than is healthy for them.
But we shall see. So today I fret for poor Oprah and a friend who is recovering from gastric bypass. I think my friend has a long road ahead and although the surgery may have been the right choice for her, it certainly is not an easy choice. And if not careful, it is definitely not a permanent one.
Gee this does not seem to be a cheerful end to the entry today. Lets, see, what can I say that is goofy and fun??? Well you know that when I look down I can see all my piggy toes now. Also I can bend over and touch my toes with just a little bend to my knees. Pretty cool huh:>)

Snowstorm Friday night?

Ooooh, I hope so, I love the snow. Donnie promises if it does we can go for a midnight snowshoe stroll all around.....ever since I got him the darn things we have had next to nothing of the white stuff.

Donnie and Bambam nap

Don had to be on the ice just before 6 a.m. this morning. He and Bambam find a moment to rest their eyes before we decorated the Christmas tree.

The old folks

Champ at 13 and a half, and Lily at 9 and a half. Both dogs prefer to spend the afternoon resting on the couch and the rest of us have to make ourselves comfortable around THEM!.

The Village

Part of the infamous village, sitting above the front door. The other day when I was stepping outside part of the village collapsed in an obvious attempt to crush me. I persevered but one of the banks did not make it. Behind the village is a painting done by Don's mother.

Decorating the tree

Julie puts the finishing touches on the tree.

It is 2:20 a.m.

Funny how this time feels so familiar to me. For many years I breast fed one kid or another at this early hour. We had a water bed and Don would always get up, change the baby and then bring them to me. He would feel guilty that I would have to be awake. In his mind he had the easy part, staggering awake, changing a squirming baby, passing them off and then dropping back to sleep. I would nurse, sleepily switching sides and then tuck them back to bed. Heaven forbid they decided that 2:20 am. was playtime! Then I would studiously avoid eye contact and be as boring a could be until they fell back asleep.
Later, for two and a half years we had a very special foster son Shaun who had significant breathing problems and he was my constant late night companion. Shaun had to be medicated around the clock every four hours, with one 6 hour night shift. But for weeks on end he had to be medicated every two hours and most nights that fell to me. Not that Don was not willing. But he was often more hindrance than help. Many nights I would hear Donnie clamber upstairs to medicate Shaun with his asthma machine. The trouble was, Donnie would fall asleep half hanging over the crib. Suddenly on the baby monitor, I would hear the machine sounds mingling with the sounds of Don's snores. Then I would sleepily climb the stairs to find poor Donnie fast asleep hanging over the baby.
For the past 7 years however if I was awake at this time, it was to take care of my drunks and addicts at the Detox. I must admit, as much as I love being home and in my own bed every night, I do miss them. And it must seem strange to you, but in a way I miss the night shift. Work on the graveyard shift is so different than the regular 9 to 5 world. It is so intimate and it feels so
immediate and urgent.
I am substitute teaching at the middle school and high school now and I truly love it. Still it does not have the intimacy and urgency that the night shift does. Of course it is mostly a whole different population with a whole different (mostly!) set of problems! But every once and a while I think about those deep late night conversations, the kind that can only happen at 2 a.m. and I miss my former colleagues and clients.
Tonight we celebrated my mother-in-law's 80th birthday and it was a lovely tribute to her life with a variety of family and friends gathered. Afterward we unwound at JJs Pub where I had a few too many drinks on an empty stomach. Now I am wide awake, sipping water, well aware that I have 9 o'clock Mass and all the typical kid demands. Don has been asleep for a while as he has to be on the ice at 6 a.m.
I can always do Mass and fall back to sleep and even Don can take a nap after his early morning games. It is much better that I am home now and not awake working at this time only to try to squeeze in a little shut eye between kid Have Tos.
Still: Mark,and Moe, Marsha and Wanda, and my other late night cohorts: we had a good thing going at 2:20 a.m. and I am grateful for the experience...

Ok, the previous post was a little down

But leave it to Julie to add laughter and light to a dreary and stressful day. 10 minutes after she found out about her Brown deferral, her friend Danielle came to sleep over. Tomorrow the senior class is going on a field trip to Newport, and as we are driving Danielle, she is spending the night.
Well it seems Danielle has never eaten over (strange considering they have been buddies all through high school!) So Danielle was a little caught off guard when we all said grace before eating. She was much more comfortable however with the good natured bickering as she has 2 younger siblings.
But then Julie wanted to show off all the goofy songs her father has taught her over the years. You know the kinds I mean, the ones with vaguely fresh words or ones that imply worse. Donnie takes great pride in a having his children sing them while I glare at him and he stares innocently back. So Julie happily sang about the peanut on the railroad track and the second verse about the guy on the shanty roof. Having found an appreciative audience in Danielle she went on to sing about the women in France who wear no pants, then sang (new to me) one about a woodpecker and his sore... you get the idea.
Donnie filled in a verse about some other inappropriate song and as every one (except me- I have a role to play, the disapproving mom!) howled with laughter Julie commented, "Dad that innuendo is so like the ones in Hamlet!"
Only Julie could compare her father's silly verses to Hamlet, and only Julie would use words like innuendo....gosh I love that kid.
We still don't know if Brown wants her or not. But they have to be crazy not to grab up a truly Authentic individual like her.

Julie heard from Brown

Her Early Decision application to her dream school...has been deferred. This means they neither accepted nor rejected her application. WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT???????
We have been sitting on edge for a few weeks waiting and wondering. We assumed they would say yes welcome to Brown and slightly feared they would say Sorry NO. But it never occurred to us they would say wait and see. Now her application goes in with the regular pool of applicants and we find out the end of March..... BTW this year, due to the Common Ap they are expecting to receive an additional 10, 000 applications along with their traditional 19,000.
Of course the pressure is worse now than before. We now need to apply to a number of other schools, very complicated in itself. Plus she feels compelled to retake her SATs in case her low subject test score in French is the reason for her deferral......
That is correct. You no longer take a math and English test. In addition to those there are all sorts of subject tests, what a nightmare!
Brown insists that most Early Decision requests get deferred and she is welcome to send any additional information that may help them in their decision. Do you think it would help if I bake for them????? My poor Jubee. Her workload to maintain her spot at high school is enormous....now it will increase as she prepares to retake tests, prepare her art portfolio for other schools, try to think what other info she can get to Brown, and apply apply apply for more schools......Come to think of it....poor me!

Jamie got Auto

Jamie just heard from Old Colony where he is a Freshman. He was accepted into their most popular (and some say toughest) program. He is taking Automotive whoooo hoooooooo. You realize what this means. Blausses will have their cars fixed for cost!!!!!!!

Queen Elizabeth the second

Friends from England recently had an exciting encounter with the Queen. I mean the REAL queen. Our friend Cindy's mom was rewarded by the Queen for all her work with children. At the Investiture ceremony the Queen usually pins the award and moves on after a polite murmur. But here she is seen chatting away with Cindy's mum, how cool is that!
In her email Cindy adds a funny anecdote.
"Will send more photos as soon as i get chance. Tell Jamie we saw one
of the horse guards fall off his horse, right outside Buckingham Palace,
in the parade for state opening of parliament. The poor soldier was in
full dress uniform, high boots, metal breast plate and back plate and
the metal helmet with the plumes. His horse reared up and he went off
backwards. I felt really sorry for him, he must have been hurt but I
guess that was nothing compared to falling off your horse in the
courtyard of Buckingham palace during a parade with the queen!"
Someday I will get to England....Perhaps the Queen and I shall discuss our Tiaras!

Simple woman

FOR TODAY 12/07/08...
Outside My Window... it is not even light out yet!
I am thinking... will Joe fall back to sleep so I can go back to bed and catch a little sleep myself? Or will he need another emergency bath.
I am thankful for... chocolate milk, old cartoons, and a warm red bathrobe.
From the kitchen... slightly burnt toast with a little cinnamon sugar from one of those cinnamon bears. And the aforementioned ch milk.
I am wearing... my short sashed robe with little monkeys on it.
I am creating... my blog, a birthday cake for Debbie and memories for Joe he will not recall until he has sick kids of his own. THEN he will truly appreciate me.
I am going... to play rehearsal tonight, Nikki's first basketball game opf the season, our middle school musical, and Mass unless Joe is still blechy...
I am reading... A Christmas Seduction (another regency romance) and Trickster Travels a really interesting biography of a 16th century political who traveled through out the Christian and Muslim worlds as a trader, merchant, scholar and slave of Pope Leo!
I am hoping...no one else gets the stomach bug, that Don wins the megabucks, that I get a puppy for Christmas...or a baby either one is fine.
I am hearing... water dripping in the bathroom and dink the little dinosaur cartoon.
Around the house... EVERYONE else is sound asleep, even the dogs are delicately snoring. Only Joe and I are awake.
One of my favorite things...is getting to see Deb a lot since we are both in the play.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: well there is not enough space to write out the calendar of events. But highlights include a luncheon with Maria.
Here is picture thought I am sharing... well I cannot share a picture now because I am too sleepy to remember how to move a picture to the lower part of the screen. Is it click drag, drag click, blah blah?

That is "The Fat Man's Prayer" by late comic Victor Buono.

Lord, my soul is ripped with riot
Incited by my wicked diet.

"We are what we eat," said a wise old man,
Lord, if that's true, I'm a garbage can.
To rise on Judgment Day, it's plain,
With my present weight, I'll need a crane.

So grant me strength that I may not fall,
Into the clutches of cholesterol.
May my flesh with carrot-curls be dated,
That my soul may be polyunsaturated

And show me the light that I may bear witness,
To the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
And at oleomargarine I'll never mutter,
For the road to Hell is paved with butter.

And cream is cursed; and cake is awful;
And Satan is hiding in every waffle.
Mephistopheles lurks in pepperoni,
The Devil himself in each slice of bologna.

Beelzebub is a chocolate drop,
And Lucifer is a lollipop.
Give me this day my daily slice,
Cut it thin and toast it twice.

I beg upon my dimpled knees,
Deliver me from jujube's.
And when my days of trial are done,
And my war with malted milk balls won,

Let me stand with Heavenly throng,
In a shining robe -- size 30 long.
I can do it Lord, if you'll show to me,
The virtues of lettuce and celery.

Teach me the evil of mayonnaise,
And of pasta a la Milanese.
And crisp-fried chicken from the South,
Lord, if you love me, shut my mouth!

Amen

Stolen moments and doin nuthin

It is eleven a.m. and I have accomplished a big NOTHING this morning. School never called looking for a sub so I went back to sleep and then woke off and on too lazy to get up, a call from nature to hard to ignore and fall back to sleep (but the bathroom is waaaay upstairs) so I just drowsed lazily.
Now I am tying my sneakers preparing for a big 6 mile run. After of course will be all the various house, animal, and kid stuff that will keep me at a race pace. I often joke that I get even more accomplished by 8a.m. than the Marines do! So why do I have to make myself relax and give myself permission to get nothing done? I wonder why we only let ourselves just do nothing except on vacation, as if our every moment must be accounted for.
Uh oh, the school nurse just called. Joe is feeling sick to his sotmach and the stomach flu is going around town, can I come and get him? See? Now why did I waste even one second of this morning thinking I should GET something done, be productive, tackle the bills, laundry, etc? There will always be someone somewhere who needs or wants something.
Stolen moments of laziness need to be treasured.

She is singing my song

Is Patchy The Pirate one of Santas Elves?

Patchy makes herself comfortable on the rocking chair and uses the ho ho hat as a comfy pillow. The cats really get into the Christmas spirit.

Getting close

Instead of sending one of those Christmas cards with all the kids maybe Don and I should just send this. Or perhaps the picture of Paleface in the Santa sled.

collage of nena's surprise

We surprised Don's Mum for her 80th birthday. 7 of her 11 kids (counting steps and birth!) and most of her grandchildren met up with her at a tree farm for a hay ride, hot cocoa, cake, and a pick your own Christmas tree. She was VERY surprised and it was a lot of fun even if it was not horse drawn! A tractor ride through the woods is always an adventure!

Santa's sleigh is filled with...

Donnie touched up the paint on the Santa sled that my mom made. I had washed the lambs wool and placed it in the sleigh then ran downstairs to get the Santa and Mrs. Claus that always ride in the sleigh. But when I mde it back upstairs I discovered a certain someone had decided to nap...

If It Were Three WiseWOMEN instead of Three Wisemen

3 WiseWOMEN
Would have...
asked directions,
arrived in time,
helped deliver the baby,
cleaned the stable,
made a casserole,
bought practical gifts.
And there would BE
Peace on Earth.

Getting down to business...

I have spent good part of the day and evening pecking away at all the Christmas paraphernalia, trying to decide what stays and what goes. It can be hard to toss away a paper ornament carefully crafted by a first grader who is now herself married and possessing of her own Christmas tree. Or deciding the fate of those Christmas plug in window candles that came from my mother's, and we never use. (We have not an empty plug socket to spare!)
Can I repair the little drummer boys hand? Will anyone notice that this Nativity scene has only 2 Magi? And does any other family besides ours, have decorations with chocolate fingerprints and sticky candy cane residue permanently attached to them?
I have never heard any of my friends and neighbors say they have to scrub their ornaments before they use them. Or that their Advent candles have melted onto their faux Advent wreath. Do these things only happen to our family?
Today Jamie returned from a sleepover, Julie spent the day and evening at a friends, Corey had 6-9 19 year old boys over to play football and track mud into my house. Both Nikki and Joe have sleep over buddies. Donnie has been in and out, refereeing hockey games, making continuous trips to drop off or pick up kids and visiting hardware stores. (He is determined to display every blessed Victorian house and needs just the right shelving, brackets, screws etc to accomplish this feat.)
I try to lay out all the decorations, ceramics, cloth, photos, displays, and so on to see what we have, what should be cleaned, or hidden in the trash, and wonder where in our full to the rafters manse can any of this stuff go. I know some people have rooms carefully color coordinated with themes and everything. But I try to cram all our treasures wherever I can and I know I do not really get the concept of less is more.
The Christmas songs play merrily along and the patter of little feet (ok thundering size 13 sneakers) sound above me. The cats keep climbing in and out of the holiday boxes and have twice found the ribbon before me...
A month from today and Christmas will be over. It may just be possible that I will have it all sorted out by then.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just the 11 gathered around the dinner table today so that was nice. I got to cook every one's favorites but I did not have to worry about how the house looked.
I do always find it fun this time of year to overhear people discuss how many they have to cook for on Thanksgiving. Since there are 11 of us (if Mary and Matt come to visit) when we are all gathered or 9 otherwise, I always cook for a crowd. I think it would be hard to make a meal for only 2-3.
I managed to get a 2 mile jog in this morning but the kids conveniently woke us up too late to make it to 9am. Mass. Only Tim attended the football game. (Carver was victorious.)
The day was loud and mostly cheerful. We of course played Guitar Hero. Keep your fingers crossed as Matt has a job interview with them a couple weeks from now! They brought the apple cider and a delisc. sort of healthy apple trifle for dessert. I of course made the chocolate pudding pies but we will be bringing them shortly to Donnie's sister's house where we gather for another dessert.
I was able to stay on Weight Watchers nicely today. Yesterday however I got ambushed by fresh baked Tim brownies and so took a hit from them! Today has not been a problem since I am the chef.
We went for our traditional after dinner walk to scope out possible Christmas trees. We also made and ate the Hardtack in honor of our Pilgrim fore bearers and their terrible struggle for survival that first cold winter in the New World. We also went around the table, as we always do, mentioning what we are thankful for. I got a mention in there twice so those 2 kids are my new favorites!
Hope you all enjoyed gathering with your families and that you have much to be thankful for. I know I certainly do, and I am thankful for each one of you my blog reader friends.

Why the faux Victorian house display?

Why do people like those ceramic light up village displays that take up tons of flat space? I am as ho ho jolly as the next person. I beg to put the tree up early. I sing Christmas carols all season long and I do not even mind when the Christmas season commercially starts right before Halloween!
I dutifully pull out all the Christmas boxes from the attic and clean and repair the traditional decorations, many from my own childhood that my mom made. (She did not pass her crafty gene onto me.)
But I never understood the fascination of the imitation houses and trees and frozen ponds and faux snow that people so joyfully deck their table tops, counters, and shelf spaces with. We have a collection of them, not a single one bought by me, that I never set up. Some years Don does however and he takes a great deal of pride in the skillful designs he makes from cardboard boxes covered in snow and houses set just so.
When Yon joined our family, after my parents deaths, he came with a bunch more of those houses. Momma had great fun setting them up along their mantle in the family room (built shortly after our marriage) or on her long pine table.
They do not trigger nostalgia in me however as I never particularly paid any attention to them. The Nativity set she crafted in ceramics, of children putting on the nativity play makes me weep. The ornaments she made, the embroidered decorations she created, and the favorite decorations can all make me smile. But those Victorian houses, churches, and store fronts just seem like a waste of energy and space.
I had dragged all the boxes down however to sort through and come up with a more tidy way to store all the holiday paraphernalia. Every Christmas type thing we own is currently taking up space in my bedroom. My thought was to fix what can be fixed, wash what needs to be cleaned and chuck out what is broken or too stained to really be appreciated. In my mind I had a half formed thought that I would send all those houses in their broken and dusty boxes to the dump.
But Joe and Jamie took one look and now they are conspiring with their father to set them all up. ALL of them. Which means I have to sort through them all, clean them, and see what is and is not broken, and separate them from the rest of the holiday stuff.
Don has not set them up in years because of course he never remembers to do it when he has free time and I conveniently never remember to remind him. But now the boys are all gungho and even Julie is interested in seeing the display. Sigh.
I will have to plead and cajole to get the tree set up before the 24th and then throw myself in front of it to keep it from getting it taken down on the 26th. (Don loves the tree, the picking it, cutting it down and the setting it up to decorate. But he hates how crowded the living room gets and the inevitable fights over who gets an unobstructed view of the TV and who has to watch it between the branches! So he will procrastinate and negotiate to try to have the tree up for the shortest acceptable time.)
But hours and hours will go into setting up those foolish houses. Numerous trips to the hardware store will be necessary in order to have the right elbow screw or ratchet something or other to stabilize the display. Since the only space even available in our house is on the shelving above the front door, all the trophies have been taken down to make way for the Christmas village. I have no interest in dusting and storing said trophies (boy we are a multi- achieving family, a few slackers would keep the trophies and awards down to a more manageable level:>)
Well I have put off getting at the rest of the boxes, I have cleaned and sorted 15 houses so far and I am sure there are more to go...
Very few things get me into a Scroogy mood this time of year but these foolish houses and all the work they require could get to me. At least until Don has the grand unveiling and I watch Joe's eyes light up at the display. (Unless of course the power surge from all those light up houses blow out the fuse and we are plunged into darkness.)

Monday Evenings

Tonight after dinner I go Christmas shopping, plus search for an anniversary gift for Mary/Matt. They will be married 2 years tomorrow. The traditional gift would be cotton and the modern gift is china. I wonder if there are Chinese Sheep?
Also manana is my baby brother Yon's 36th birthday so I must pick up a couple of things for him too. He wants me to bake him a cake. Then after I tuck Donnie into bed I am heading into the Detox to catch them between shifts. I am going to return some dresses I borrowed from a couple of my old coworkers who kindly offered me clothes to use during our vacation. It will be fun to see everyone!
Substituting for the 7th-8th grade math lab teacher went well this morning and I got back on my bike for the first time since St Lucia. All and all a good day!

The Play is the thing...

It is play rehearsal tonight for the production of The Robber Bridegroom. For the life of me I cannot remember when the show goes on, I am guessing early March. I joined after the parts were already cast once I realized that my Sunday nights would be free, due to leaving the Detox.
It is a musical, and I have not been in an out and out musical probably since high school and My Fair Lady. Oh most of the Hanson Community theater plays have music but that is certainly not the same thing.
Lets see, the last play I was in would have been Peter Pan with my Nikki as a firefly, Jamie as young Michael, and Julie as a shaggy Nana. Before that it was the much more sober Out Town. My mom still in deep grief over my father's death had to leave the building during the last act, so affected was she by the scene at the cemetery.
I have been doing the plays off and on since I was in the 4th grade and over the years acted with my siblings, my dad and eventually my kids. I almost always have a teeny tiny part, sometimes no lines, other times just one or two.
Occasionally I have risen above the part (read that to mean I over acted my hiney off and brought down the house). Many years my most important contribution was at the parties after the performances at the local pub. There reigning as "Isabella" my stage persona I have led the cast of characters to a merry evening of play recap and general mayhem.
Other times I have actually gone and learned something about the craft from our directors and some truly talented fellow thespians. The fascinating part about community theater is how it exposes both talented actors and those whose talents lay elsewhere to the opportunity to go above and beyond and create a magical moment.
I would like to think as Thorton Wilder's Mrs Gibbs or Dickens' Anne I contributed to some fine theater. I do know as Wes' Isabella, third nun on the left, the other flower girl, the second vampiress, the crowd, the townsfolk, the ghost, the villager etc..... I had a great deal of fun.
So now I am trying to memorize the words to There's Nothing Up and the risque Deeper in the Woods. I tend to sing in the sang key as whomever is next to me so the trick will be to find a fellow townsfolk who DOES sing on key. We shall see. It is great to be back on stage though in whatever capacity.

You better watch out, you better not pout...

Can I mention just one more time, how great it is not to have to work the night shift anymore? Today I have spent cooking and cleaning and doing kids and animal type stuff. There were sleepovers, drop offs and pick ups, a very chilly outdoor 4H meeting, a freezing 5.5 mile run, one bunny burial, and prep work for the annual Friends Thanksgiving (we are supplying roasted carrots and my famous chocolate pudding pie.) I am able to accomplish all this without totally feeling exhausted which is soooooooo very nice.
In addition we were getting the last of the window air conditioning units up into the attic, searching for the mitten bag, and putting weatherproofing plastic over the lower windows. I was also inspecting each electrical outlet in the house searching for vampire appliances.
Vampire appliance is the new catch phrase for anything that uses electricity when you think it is turned off. Don has a 10 percent reduction in pay so all the kids have been asked to think of ways they can each save 10% in their life. I joke with them that everything must be reduce, reuse, or recycle.
Christmas music is playing (less than 5 weeks til the big day) and I am bustling all about loving this time of year. I adore the early Christmas music and the commercialization, it is all fine by me. I never tire of being reminded about how close Christmas is.
I already have started my list and- as I always put on there first- I am asking for a puppy or a baby. I never get one of course, well not yet anyway. But it never hurts to ask Santa.
Nikki and I spent a solid hour putting straightener perm in her hair and she is pleased with the results. Don had early mornign games nadh e hasn ot stopped fixing and doing sicne he got off the ice. I do admire the way he is able to completely ignore kid stuff as it swirls around him. I have not yet mastered that skill!
I made and consumed a healthy gorgonzola, cranberry, and chicken salad for lunch. I jsut cannot get over how much fun stuff you can squeeze into a Saturday when you are not up working the last few nights going into the weekend!

A Few final shots