Numbers

290   The number of days since my last blog post. YIKES.

18   The number of days I have been "shredding". I'm not talking cheese here kids...I'm talking exercise. A couple weeks ago (19 days to be exact), I bought Jillian Michaels' "30 Day Shred" workout video and I'm loving it. It's just my style- only 20 minutes long. It's a great combination of strength training and cardio and after just 18 days I'm seeing a difference in both my mid-section and my energy. After nearly *ahem* eight years of no real regular exercise attempts and some serious added poundage, it's TIME for a CHANGE.

1   The number of months until my baby starts kindergarten. Cue panic attack and emotional breakdown.

6.5   The number of weeks until my best bud from childhood gets married! With my sis and I as bridesmaids, Sassy as the flower girl and the hubby and the sister's boyfriend as ushers, this is going to be one serious good time.

5   The approximate number of months until my best friend The Dish gets hitched too! You can see just how excited she is here. I have the honor of being a bridesmaid in her wedding also, and I am beyond excited to see what amazing things she comes up with for her big day. I could. not. be. more. PUMPED!!

2   The number of sodas I have had in the last three weeks. This, my friends, is amazing. Part of my whole "Goodbye couch potato body, hello fantastically fit mama" deal is giving up soda, alcohol and sweets as often as possible. I will admit that I am NOT strong enough to give all of these things up cold turkey, or even *gulp* forever, but cutting down hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be, and I take great satisfaction when I tell myself "no" and my self actually listens. If that made any sense.

48  The number of hours until Handsome's sister and her husband arrive from Minnesota for a week long visit! We have been counting the days for weeks now and we are so excited for some camping at the beach, have a growler or two of Ruby's at McMenamin's (I think I'll have to allow myself one pint glass), do some kite flying, tidepool exploring and lots of laughing!

7   The number of times Sassy-pants has come up to me during the writing of this blog post with some sort of imaginary beverage from her play kitchen. I am currently enjoying a nice "apple-chino" with coffee sprinkles and cranberries. Apparently. Next on the menu...blueberry frozen yogurt. And I'm being charged sixty bucks, she says. This better be the BEST imaginary blueberry frozen yogurt I've had in my life.

6   The number of weeks I have been unemployed. I have some seriously mixed feelings about this. Way back in May I was notified that I was being "riffed" due to my seniority level, and someone from another school (whose job was eliminated) was going to be moved into my position. This was not easy news to take. Especially since Handsome and I had, shall we say, very specific family plans which were effectively shattered by this news. It took some time, but I came to terms with my layoff and I made the best of my remaining weeks at work. It made it a little easier to know that I wasn't the only person in that position..there were actually four office staff members total who were going through the same thing. We also lost a large number of very valuable and hard working teachers, knocking the staff population down by almost a third. My last few days at North were very emotional, and I was overwhelmed by the reactions of my co-workers. I received countless offers for letters of recommendation, was informed by dozens of people that they were looking into any and all possible job leads for me, and I was showered with hugs and kind words. I miss North SO very much, but look forward to possibly volunteering a few hours of week once Sassy starts school next month, assuming I'm still unemployed then. In the meantime, I'm enjoying time at home with her, knowing that this will be my last shot at one-on-one time with her with school right around the corner. I'm also spending lots of time commiserating with my sister and her boyfriend, both recent U of O grads who have joined me in the work search. I feel grateful to have had so much time to spend with these guys! So like I said, mixed feelings about this whole "unemployment" thing, but I'm taking things as they come.

4   The number of "pleases" Sassy just threw at me to go outside and ride bikes. The sun is finally out, my happy-go-lucky kid is all smiles, and it's an opportunity for this mama to get some more exercise.

Feelin' good and SUPER happy to get back to blogging...see you again soon!