ahh, blogging....

I walked three days in a row! Yay me! It's hard to swallow...the being in bad shape...after years of huffing and puffing, then finally getting serious....getting results...then letting the fitness side just sort of sliiiiide. Getting back up that evil hill is serious business. It's a harsh reality of burning thighs and the old huffing. I brought the little girls with me a few times lately, and Cam is on fire to help me! She says when it's too slippery outside, we are going to get the mats out and work out!

I really wonder about how we're programmed as people. There are the No Excuses group...Paul is one of those. He is as busy as can be, but he works out and eats right. If I had a choice, I would choose this chair and to blog, or to read a book in my comfy bed. Or to sit on the deck in the sun. In the pool even, I would rather lounge about than swim. I have to MAKE myself do things. Laziness is just in my blood.

And here's some good news: my MRI came out fine, which is of course wonderful, but then why do I get the wonkiest symptoms...that come and go? I am thinking pinched nerve somewhere...it does kill me because an MRI is so expensive. Oh well.

This Friday I go to the cardiologist for a stress test...yay, I get to huff and puff on a treadmill in the dr.'s office!

This fine morning, I am heading to the dentist with Jonathan. Miss Char and Miss Cam scored a sleepover with at Emily, Abigail, and Mirielle's house last night. I will come back from the little city and pick them up, then go back to that city for gymnastics class. Paul and the older kids are working at the basketball game tonight at the Dome, but I am staying home with the rest of the kids...Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jon, Char, and Cam. I promised them a cozy evening.

I just had some quinoa for breakfast. I know it's high in carbs, so I measured carefully to make sure it was only one serving. I ate it with just a little bit of cream and no sweetener, and it was really good. It has a lot of protein in it.

This coming Saturday is one of our girls' hotel sleepover nights. They are the best! All of the moms there have lots of kids...so we don't run out of things to talk about. It's good for our hearts to be together, we don't gossip or backbite, but we encourage each other in our battles, and it's so nice to be with such good friends who aren't trying to one-up each other or be "right". We are getting old, I am the youngest of the group...

I so hate driving in the winter. And winter is back, here in central New York state...after some days of warmth, days of rain, the snow has brightened our windows again. The transition from rain to snow makes the roads slippery.

In the Never A Dull Moment scheme, our red minivan is back from the shop...the engine light thing fixed (a sensor causing not enough oxygen, or something like that). But something is still wrong with a different sensor, which was caused by the body repair shop, according to the auto shop in town. The little details in life...phone calls and appointments and things to straighten out...no wonder we love our vacations.

Yesterday was an amazing day. We stayed home, except for our walk, and except for me driving to town to get the minivan. We did school, and the girls made slime with flour and dishwashing liquid. Camille is fascinated with making pulley systems from linking all the dog leashes, stringing them out the kitchen window down to the swingset in the back yard, and sending things down in a basket. They have been playing Barbies, reading library books (no tablets or movies or t.v. during the day!), and there are gym mats covering most of the living room floor. They do not get bored.

Our dinner was yummy last night. I cut the chicken breasts into big pieces, rolled them in flour, and browned them in olive oil...then added them to two cans of cream of chicken soup with extra water in it...and simmered it for almost an hour....the chicken came out so tender and yummy. Cam helped me peel five pounds of potatoes for mashies, and all of them got eaten. We had broccoli and corn too.

It was very chilly in the dining area, so we had our dinner in the living room....with the fake fire place going, and watching, Antiques Roadshow, Civil War Relics Edition...it was nice. We like to shout out how much things are worth...not that we watch it very often, but it was a good episode with lots of history. One guy had an actual prosthetic arm from a great great grandfather, with a picture of him using it, and lots of letters...one letter was written and signed by Walt Whitman, who felt compassion for wounded soldiers who couldn't write to their loved ones...(that was assessed for like twenty grand).

Anyway. It's time to leave for our dentist appointment...