Perpetual Calendar

This past Christmas, my sister gave me one of the coolest gifts ever: a perpetual calendar journal. I think I remember her saying the idea came from this, but she changed it up a bit and bought a nice little wooden recipe card box to keep the cards in instead. **Update, I've added photos** Check it out:

I started out so excited that I wrote something for every single day, though as time went on that got hard to do, plus I was writing silly things like, oh let's see...January 14th: "Watched movies all day". Ah yes, memorable.

So I started only journaling on days when something particularly funny, weird or exciting happened and I find I have at least two or three things per week to jot down. I'm eight months in and I can't wait to start reusing cards in January so I can take a little trip down memory lane. As my sis says, "the first year may be the least rewarding, but imagine the archive of special memories that you'll develop over 10 years. Eventually, it will be a daily treat to be reminded of what happened each day over the last decade."

This has been so fun to keep up with, and even as I sat down today I couldn't resist the urge to look back at days this past year and smile. One of my most recent (and wordiest!) entries was on August 2nd, when we spent the night at my sister's apartment in Eugene. The plan was to head down after Handsome got off work on Monday night, spend the night, and spend Tuesday canoeing with a picnic lunch. Here's how it went down (in shortened perpetual calendar speak):

"Day in Eugene started out disastrously. Set out in the AM to have picnic lunch canoe trip. First stop, Starbucks and grocery store. Get fixings for picnic lunch. Off to rent canoes. Canoe rental man nowhere to be found in usual riverfront spot. Not to worry, main canoe rental place is just a few miles away. Can our growling tummies wait a bit? Sure. Hmm, can't find canoe rental place. Have right address? Check G's phone- yes, should be right here. See sign out front, yes this has to be it. Only building in sight is surplus store. Well maybe they rent canoes. Walk inside...very scary. Stand in line quietly, occasionally glancing sideways at eachother with fearful looks. Boys think they have it figured out, rental place around back. Leave surplus store, relieved. That...was weird. Drive around back- no dice. Try pizza place back by riverfront- canoe place moved, not sure where. G finds updated address on his phone. New place just down the road. Drive down the road- again, no dice. What gives? Ok, let's call them. Phone disconnected. That can't be right. Call again- still disconnected. But website is functional! G discovers last website update was in 2010. Okay, perhaps they're not in business. Canoeing = officially out. What next? Open swim at nearby outdoor pool? Sweet. Drive by- place is INSANE. Lines out the door. Forget that. Stomaches officially eating themselves. MUST EAT NOW. Resort to picnic lunch on itchy dry grassy hill while discussing next move. Bowling? No fun, indoors. Mini golf? Blech. Drive to ocean? It's approximately 2:15- this would give maybe 1-2 hours at beach. At this point, sure why not. Start drive to beach. Make it five minutes, plans change again. G discovers indoor free swim with wave pool in next town over. Make 15 minute drive to pool, parking lot doesn't look too full! Could it be? Walk in, place looks awesome. Pay (cheap!), change (rapidly), RUN for pool. Spend remaining hour and a half soaking up as much chlorine as possible. Love. SO love. Day is saved!"

I have to say that most entries are ONE LINE in length, as to save space for the coming years. Well August 2nd is screwed already because this entry obviously took up almost the entire card. I couldn't resist. I'm still chuckling about this day.

Thanks for the awesome gift sis, I can't wait to read this card again in a few years!

**Oh, and if you can't quite see the text on the card in the photos- I have an interview tommorrow! Wahoo!**

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!

Happy Thoughts

Every night we have the same routine in our household. Handsome brushes Sassy's teeth while I pick out her clothes and get her room ready for her to go to sleep. We all cuddle on her bed together and read a book. Lately, we've been reading "Five Little Monkeys". Like, at least the last seven nights. I'm dreaming about monkeys with head injuries.

Anyway, the last thing we do before we say our goodnights is to think about our "happy thoughts" to help us go to sleep. They are usually extremely entertaining, and tonight was no exception. Here are some of my favorite happy thoughts from tonight:

Petting fish that are soft.

Petting nice tigers.

Picking roses and flowers from your lawn.

Swimming in the pool when you're an adult.

Playing games with my sweet mommy and daddy.

Getting married (thanks Casey and Ty!).

...and my favorite:

Laughing loud like a princess.

Oh kid, you are forever making us laugh.

Weekend Fun

Well, it's Wednesday and I'm just not sure I can survive this week...so I thought I would reminisce about last weekend's fun. Friday night we drove up to Sammamish, WA to spend the weekend with my parents, and started the weekend off with a marathon of "Just Dance 2" with one of my best friends. She is a dancing FOOL (and I'm basically just a fool), so she totally took us down. I woke up the next day sore EVERYwhere. Talk about making me feel old and out of shape...

Saturday we went out to lunch with my parents at a restaurant on the waterfront, which was really fun. We even snuck in a little garage saling because let's face it- my dad never passes up a garage sale! We spent the afternoon and evening carving pumpkins while my mom made beef stew, and Sunday was spent watching some serious football. (I LOVE FALL!) Here's a look at our totally awesome pumpkins:

Handsome's...


Mine...


And Sassy's!


I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend, with a little bit of trick or treating at North High for "Safe Halloween". Sassy-pants is dressing up as a princess AGAIN...not that I don't heart all the pink and sparkly things, but when will this phase end??

Blue.

It's a sad day in fishy land.

Our little blue Beta fish has bit the big one.

He has been our friend for two whole years so we are really quite sad.

Sassy-pants does not yet understand the situation and wonders why he is just SO tired.

So. Apparently we are going to learn about little fishy heaven tonight. And maybe make a trip to Petco tommorrow.

The End.

Totally Random

Well I haven't been as consistent with posts as I promised, and I'm seriously lacking creativity these days, so here is a totally random post about recently happenings in our lives. Enjoy.

This weekend is going to be the first quiet weekend we've had in weeks...I'm so looking forward to it! Though the past couple of weeks in particular have been SO MUCH FUN...

Two weeks ago I flew to Minnesota by myself (tickets were ridiculously expensive, so Handsome and Sassy-pants had to stay behind) to attend my cousin's wedding and my grandparen'ts 60th anniversary. It was a surprise to most that I was there and I was SO thankful that I was able to be a part of such an amazing weekend.

Last weekend, Handsome told me that our landlord was planning to stop by and take a look at the house, so I went into a cleaning frenzy to get ready for his visit. As it turned out, it was actually one of my closest friends from my neighborhood who drove down from Seattle for a surprise weekend visit. Best surprise ever! My sister and her boyfriend came up from Eugene and we spent a fun weekend catching up, laughing, and watching some serious football.

I am SO excited for Fall!! I can't wait to carve pumpkins, eat soups and stews, wear turtlenecks and boots, sit by the fireplace, feel the crisp cool Fall air in the afternoon...totally my favorite season.

I have baby fever. For real. Every time I see a little tiny baby or hear about a girlfriend or friend of a friend having a baby, I think about what it would be like for us to have #2. Sassy is going to make a FABULOUS big sister and I can't wait for the day that happens. Hopefully in a year or two, but we'll see.

Tommorrow, I am forcing Handsome to go on a shopping spree. For him, not me (bummer, right??). That man would wear basketball shorts and a Budweiser t-shirt 24/7 if it were up to him, so if I don't drag him to the mall, he'll never go....and he is in desperate need of some new duds. Perhaps he'll put on a fashion show for blogging purposes...? Ha, or not....

"Just Dance 2" for Wii came out this week and we are so super pumped to pick that up tommorrow too. Have you ever played that game? SO FUN! Just Dance 2 looks even more awesome- up to 8 players, dance offs...oh yes, we're excited. Here is a glimpse of Just Dance 1 at my parents (photos thanks to this girl)

I can't believe how much Sassy-pants has grown in the past few months. She is becoming her own self-sufficient little person and I love watching grow and learn new things. One of my favorite things to do with her is read stories, because there are a select few that she knows by heart and it is so funny to hear her "read" them to us. I highly recommend "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear"...such a fun book.

Speaking of books, I have not read anything new in months and I am desperately looking for new reading material. The last book I read was last spring and it was "The Honk and Holler Opening Soon" by Billie Letts...it was a really fun read. Any suggestions for a new book? I'm not looking for anything super heavy, but I'm not too particular.

Well, that about wraps up this edition of "Totally Random"...I'm working from home this afternoon with a sick child, so I best get back to work. Hopefully I will find some inspiration SOON and post something a little more substantial next time.

6 Miles

One of the teachers at the school I work for started a "Fall Fitness Challenge" this past week. It's a $5 buy-in, and for every four workouts you complete in a week you get entered in a drawing to win prizes at the end (the week of Thanksgiving). Plus, everyone who joined the challenge has their name on a board in this teacher's room, and for every workout you put a star by your name.

I decided to give it a whirl because I've been trying (unsuccessfully) for months to get into shape. So far, this challenge seems to be motivating me! I mean seriously- I would be so embarassed to have committed to this but not followed through, especially since (thanks to the star chart) all of my co-workers (and several students) would be able to plainly see if I'm being lazy.

So....I think in order to keep this momentum going, I should also be posting my progress here on my blog...however good or bad it is. This may sound boring, but I really think it will help me stay motivated! And now, as week one is ending, here is what I've done so far.

This week I:

• Ran a total of SIX miles! Woohoo!! This may seem incredibly lame, but for someone who hasn't worked out in years, it's a major feat! I'm only "briskly walking" on the treadmill, not running...it'll take me a while to work up to running I think.
• Resisted my usual Friday Starbucks treat- a grande caramel white chocolate mocha (holy calories, batman!). I'm not gonna lie...I only "resisted" because I got a late start out of the house and didn't have time to stop. Still, I think this counts.
• On at least two occasions this weekend, I chose ice water with a lemon over a soda. That was hard. It's not like I drink a ton of soda (maybe one or two a week?) but when I get a craving for a coke, it's soooo hard to resist.
• This morning I actually planned our meals for the entire week and put together a grocery list, and I'm planning to go grocery shopping after Sassy's nap. Usually our dinner plans are an afterthought. I end up stopping at the store on my way home from work, grumpily and exhaustedly wandering up and down the aisles looking for a quick and easy dinner idea. Then when I get home (completely starving and light-headed, I might add), I grab the first snack I can find- often a handful of potato chips or a cookie. This is not ideal for someone who is hypoglycemic.

I'm really excited to finally be working towards my goals! Speaking of which, my goals for next week: run at least another six miles, stick to the dinner menu, and remember to bring SNACKS to work so I don't have a mental breakdown on the way home from work from lack of nourishment.

Wish me luck and see you next week!