CAUTION: Woman In Progress

The Amazon fairy visited my house yesterday and look what she left me! Much excitement ensued. My problem now? *sigh* Which one to read first...

...but it'd just put you to sleep. For reelz. Weekend of boring. Just me cleaning and shopping and laid out on the couch in front of the boob tube. Fun reading, no? One thing I did do that might not put you to sleep is watch Dear John. I watched it twice. Been waiting to get if from Netflix for, like, EVER! so I figured I'd get my wait's worth. It's a pretty good movie, too. And can I just say...Channing Tatum is like, hot all over with a side of "make me drool" sexy? Oh. My. Stars. (True confession? The second viewing of Dear John was mostly just me drooling over "John." YUM.) Something about that hot body/handsome face in such a touching broody stoic and sensitive hero of a movie character just really...well. Okay. Not to overshare, but, yeah. He wouldn't have to beg. LOL (okay, so maybe a little overshare?) Second best part of the film, though? I don't wanna spoil it for ya but, it totally had a glimmer of a Happily-Ever-After, un...

I'm ever so thankful that this week is over. It's just been one of those crappy, crazy, spinning-my-wheels weeks where nothing has gone right. Everyone's conspired to drive me bananas and I've gotten nothing accomplished. And I joke about going crazy but I think it might be a little true. It's taken me five tries to get the student assistant schedule right. I've left of entire days for people, gotten Tuesdays mixed up with Wednesdays and once when a co-worker sent me a corrections for his student, I changed Friday instead of Monday. *sigh* Wednesday when I got home from work, as I was putting Libby on her leash to go outside, I noticed that my wrist felt naked. Looked down and my watch was gone! So I called Mama to see if I'd lost it in her car. She looked and couldn't find it. Libby and I searched the driveway and carport thinking maybe I'd dropped it on my way in the house. Didn't find it. I thought, well, maybe it fell off in the bathroom ...

Romance Junkie , originally uploaded by JanaBelle . A mere nine weeks old, she tried her first book stealing attempt.

Tryin' to steal my book!

The temps down here in good ol' Northeast Mississippi have been hovering near 90 for the past few days. 70's in the morning, 90 by late afternoon. This is cause for much celebration 'round these here parts. Tis considered a "cool front." Woo to the Hoo! (Please hurry, Fall. I miss you!)

So, after last week's emotional roller coaster with the scales, I'm finally back on track. Whatever it was weighing me down last week (literally!) is gone. I weighed yesterday and it was the number I'd last weighed in the Friday before. (Aug 13) I weighed the same thing this morning so (hopefully) that means it's my actual weight. Which *drumroll* puts me at having officially lost seven pounds in 6 weeks. That's just over a pound a week which is exactly what I've been working toward. So yay! And I owe it all to my handy dandy refusal to be beaten by the scale. :-D I have officially begun doing 45 minute "walks" twice a week, 30 minute "walks" twice a week and a fifteen minute walk once a week. I think (in my infinite wisdom...NOT) that that variation will work well in keeping both my metabolism and my motivation going. Meanwhile, I am now bringing my own lunch to work. (In case you didn't know, my mother used to bring enough lunch f...

So a couple weeks ago I took off work a couple days to help Sis2 get the kids' rooms put together. Turns out we only had time and resources (we ran outta money...*sob) to get to Lyssa's room. Granted, we didn't do a major overhaul. She already had all the right "bones" in place, we just cleaned up the disaster area, rearranged some small furniture (the small bookcase, her play tent and her baby furniture), and hung some stuff on the walls. Here's what we did: We hung the clock (over the bookcase) and the photo frame (over the toy chest), moved the bookcase to the little nook by the window and set Lyssa up with a little library of sorts. Now all her books, and drawing/craft materials are in one area and all set up with her little table and chair set.  We also set up her canvas toy box and a lounging chair in that area for easy out of the way access. Scanning clockwise, we set up her "baby station" in the opposite corner with her rocking chair ...

I need to start drinking more. Maybe start keeping a flask in my desk drawer or something. Ya'll, for reelz. I think I'm being slowly driven to insanity. I nearly busted a vein in my forehead this morning. People not listening to or comprehending my instructions just makes my blood pressure rise to head exploding levels. Not great. And to think, I vaguely remember a time when I was like the coolest, most patient and laid back chick in Mississippi. And now I've got a head exploding blood pressure caused headache and my acid reflux is making me want to spew. And all because of stress. Where did happy-go-lucky go? Oh right. It retired with my supervisor. Also, I think the muscles in my neck are about to snap. That's a bad thing, right? I need some Calgon, Zachary Levi and a Mudslide, in that order--or simultaneously. Whichever. Thank the good Heavenly Father above that it's Friday.

Emmy is a good little babysitter. Both of her younger cousins adore her. No matter who has either of them in their arms, when Emmy walks in the room they reach for her. And when she needs to put them down? (you know, to go potty and whatnot?) she has to peel them off of her to get them to go to someone else. But then I can understand their affection for her. I'm pretty fond of her, myself. She's such a sweet natured little girl. Well, not so little anymore. She'll be eleven in November. ELEVEN. *sob* Mah, bay-bee's growin' up too fast! Before I know it, she'll be sixteen and refusing to come to MS to see her decripit ol' Aunt Jana. That's why I soak up every bit of Emmy love that I can now. Ethan-man (or Efan, as Lyssa calls him)...well, he's just such a little man. You know, when Alyssa was a baby, she took to the pacifier the day after she was born and refused to give it up until she was nearly 2. Sis2 and Goofus had to convince her that it had...

I know that nothing worth having is ever easy. That being the case, I also know that this whole weight loss thing is going to be next to impossible. But. Prepare for some whining. And no, I don't want any cheese with my whine. I'm watching my weight, thank you! lol So. I missed two days of working out this weekend. I had Sis1 staying with me Friday and Saturday and no way no how am I suffering through the humiliation of having my sister see me doing my indoor walk routine. (And before anyone suggests a regular outdoor walk, it was 99 degrees with a 116 degree heat index. No thank you!) Normally I wouldn't worry too much about missing a couple of days because I've missed a couple of days before with no problems. BUT...(there's always a but, right?) This weekend being Lyssa's birthday weekend there was extra food intake. I did the best I could to not OVER indulge. I truly did. (I ordered an appetizer for supper at Applebee's instead of a huge over portione...

She was just under a week old. And I weighed twelve pounds less. And had my old glasses. And a perm. (though you can't tell it, cause just like now, I kept it pulled up.) She lived an  hour and a half away from me and I was sad about that. That watch I was wearing? Totally dead now. I was almost scared to hold her when she was first born. Then I didn't want to let her go. Her third birthday! She can sing all the songs from her VBS CD. She calls DVD's "DDD's" and asked specifically for some new ones for her birthday. My second chin is almost as big as she is. Dora is the only character she really gives two figs about. All Dora all the time. My new glasses are getting kinda old. She'd throw her brother under a bus for a cookie. She has a brother! Her favorite color is purple. I still never want to let her go.

Doesn't look a day over two, though. LOL She really is growing up so darned fast, though. Pretty soon my baby's not gonna be my baby anymore.

Or, "How to Explain that I Simply Lack Ambition" After I received my undergrad in Communication I went straight to work and that was that for me and school. I've never been a big fan of homework, tests or writing assignments. While I do enjoy writing, I don't enjoy writing on a specific topic chosen for me on which I am graded. Just don't like it. I also don't like to study and it was only by the Grace of God that I was either a) smart enough to not have to or b) chose a major easy enough to not require it that I was able to skate through twelve years of elementary/high school and four years of college without having to do much more than glance at my notes thirty minutes before a test. And while I did go through a brief bit of a quarter life crisis that had me signing up for more classes back when I was 24, I quickly came to my senses after the first class meeting and dropped that insanity like a bag of bricks and never looked back. School and I? Call i...

I'm a terrible aunt. I spent two precious afternoons with two of my precious babies (and by "my" I mean my sister's) and entirely forgot my camera one day and simply didn't dig it out of my purse the next day. And those are some CUTE kids, ya'll. And I'm not just biased because they're mine. They're just cute. But they're also a bit of a handful and also fun to play with. Which explains how I forgot to dig my camera out of my purse  yesterday to take any pictures. I was too busy having FUN with them (in between decorating/cleaning) to take the time to take photos. And besides, the most precious moments aren't ones you can capture on film (or digital files, as the case may be) anyway. Moments like Tuesday after lunch. Sis2 was cleaning up the lunch dishes and Lyssa was standing in my chair doing her usual monkey routine while I soothed Ethan with his "I want more lunch and I'm ready for a nap but by George I don't want to go...

The computer at my desk still has no internet. *sniffle* Probably because I've been out the past couple of afternoons. Maybe since I'll be here the entire day I can get one of the system's folks up here to help me out. Fingers crossed!

*The virus on the computer at my desk got "cleaned" Friday. Late, late LATE Friday. As in, 15 minutes before I was set to go home. But. Still no internet. Systems dude told me before he left to play around on it for a bit and let him know if there were any problems. So I dutifully logged on to the internet to "play around" and...Ugh. No connection. So I emailed him. And as of this morning, I've still not had anyone come restore internet connection to the computer at my desk. (I'm writing from the ref. desk computer.) So if you're wondering why I'm not commenting on blogs, twitter or facebook, that's why. Not that you've probably even noticed my abscense, right? lol *Figuring out new ways to save money is rough. Literally. *sigh* I finally broke down this weekend and bought cheap toilet paper. Having been a Charmin girl for so long, my behind isn't thanking me for that at all. Not one bit. But, I saved $2 and was able to buy everything o...

Just as I was getting ready to power down and go home yesterday, I clicked on a photo link on Twitter and BAM! a stupid virus hit my computer. Ugh. I hate computer viruses. I mostly hate that you can never tell when or where you're going to pick one up. The photo I clicked on was by a reputable source...an author's tweet, of all things. So yeah, you just never know where those nasty little beasts are lurking. *sigh* I always hate having to contact our systems department to come clean them, too. I know it creates extra work for them and makes me feel twenty sorts of guilty. Anyway, not knowing when I'll get my computer back, just wanted to warn ya'll that I'll be off-line after 10am central time today. So if you email me and I don't get back to you? That's why.

Seriously...YA'LL! It was 109 degrees at one point yesterday afternoon. One hundred and nine. Degrees. As in, one zero nine. As in *thud* I"ve passed out because it's so hot. Of course, that's only what the thermometer on one street said. The one at the bank about five miles back said 103. So, which one was wrong is anybody's guess. But once you get past 100--heck, once you get past 95--it's hot no matter what the thermometer says. I don't even want to KNOW what the heat index was. I can only guess that it had to have around 120 or so. Blech! I am so entirely and utterly ready for fall. I'm SO over Summer. And all ya'll who come February when it's snowing start saying, "Ugh, I can't wait till summer." To you I say, "Ugh. NO SUMMER!"

They are oh so deliciously loose today. It's amazing the difference a mere five pounds can make. I only wish I were wearing my pretty panties today since whenever I sit the top band of said panties shows now. (Was that TMI?? hehe) Keep having to pull my shirt down over them. Thank goodness I now spend most of my time locked away alone in the stacks. hehe But oh, what a wonderful problem to have. Granted, the scale still likes to do that horrid up and down thing. And if I weren't as educated about scales and waterweight and stuff (from years of dreaming about losing weight) I might be tempted to be depressed today. But, knowing what I do and feeling my pants being so loose I kinda mock the scale a little for being such a jerk. ;-)

Where does the day go? Sheesh. I was about to tweet something stupid and I remembered...I haven't even blogged yet today! SHAME. So naturally, the blog comes before stupid tweet. So here's what I was about to tweet... Healthy food tips for the day: A veggie tray always cancels out the sliver of Texas sheetcake you just ate. Except I'm not sure that would have been 140 characters or less. Twitter makes me be quick. Except I end up spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to cut my tweet by 20 characters or so to make it fit and still make sense. Oy. Also, Texas sheetcake?? YUM. I don't know what was better...the cake? or the icing? And I'm not usually much of a cake fan. But this was delicious. Thin, moist and chocolately. Not cakey at all. I think there's a similar recipe in The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook that I'm going to have to try and see if it's as good. Not that I need to be baking (or eating) cakes. :-/ Oh, I also  had a bit of ...