house of the week...

relaxed me in my chair this morning...
frazzled me after frosting all those cupcakes
Emily and Aaron and some of our company the other night...
cuppycakes
Charlotte Claire

Our pear tree is looking good.

Camille
Aaron and Rosie
Char
Joseph thought Rosie looked nice in this hat.
Camille
In the Real Estate section of the Sunday paper, there is always, "The House Of The Week". This week's house features a huge kitchen with two ovens and a grill. Why don't we have two ovens and a grill? Some of the houses have these huge living spaces, or indoor pools, several bathrooms. And I think, we need that!

And I think, "if we had a huge house with lots of room and plenty of storage space, I would be happy."

I jokingly say when I see a beautiful spacious home, "Those people have no trials at all."

ha.

I quit eating brown sugar on my oatmeal with peanutbutter, went back to putting blueberries in it. Trying to get this weight loss going, it is so so slow. I write numbers down...and when I looked in my handy-dandy notebook this morning, blah, I am the same today as I was ten days ago. I see a good number, then it goes away, comes back a few days later, and it takes a while before I really "own" that number, then finally it changes to a lower one...painstakingly slow. It was not like this before my gallbladder surgery. Not this slow.

The good thing is that I will not give up. I will not gain my weight back, and I will not stop trying to lose more. I will also not eat a Reese's egg because it has 170 calories in it. I can eat a yogurt with berries for that. Or an apple and some almonds. And I would feel too guilty, and I would just want another one anyway.

Yesterday we had a 60th birthday feast for the leading brother at church. He has been a good friend through the years, living what he preaches, being such a good example. Anyway, Emily and Mirielle did the food. They made lemon-pepper and barbecued marinated chicken breast, fried french fries, (I only had one. that was really hard, but I survived), fresh baked rolls, and tossed salad. They also made these yummy looking desserts...rasberries with white cake and whipped cream, layered in cups...then this layered brownie and ice cream thing...I just stayed right away from them. ouch.

After the feast, I went to my brother Bob's house to celebrate his retirement, 37 years as an electrician. I think all ten of his kids were there, some with kids of their own, so there were some cute babies and toddlers there. I made the cupcakes for this party...and I did cave and have two of the small ones...and half a small one that Suze was throwing away. That's one of my downfalls, I was like, "what? Don't throw that away, give it to me!" I need to learn to let the garbage have stuff.

Saturday night we had some company, Sonja said there were 27 of us here. I made 7 pizzas and a hundred wings, and put out some veggies and dip. Abigail brought soda and Italian bread, and I passed out some of candy I got after Easter. It was a busy day in the kitchen...I went from frosting cupcakes to making pizzas.

I never fit my exercising in, then yesterday went by...so when I got home at seven in the evening, I sneaked into my room for 15 minutes of getting my heart going, just 40 push-ups and lifting the ten pound weights, some jogging in place, just a wimpy little work-out. But I felt better not skipping the entire weekend.

Vacation is over. The kids are at college and school, and Camille is totally lost. She is sitting on the arm of my chair. Mondays are always lonely for her, but after vacations she is more lost than ever. I have read her one book, told her what various words spell, and answered many questions. She had breakfast with the school kids, but she wants a PopTart, which I have said, "no" to, and now wants me to get her out, "different" clothes. She is being a big bug, and I feel bad for her. She is reading a chapter book with no pictures now, she loves to sound out words and make up the stories....

Today is warm and pleasant, it is going to be 88 degrees and sunny. My walk with Rosie was absolutely delightful...the smells of spring, the unique greens that have just been born, the wild flowers and the birds singing. I wished I had more time this morning. I forget about my aches and pains when the scenery is so nice and Rosie is being a good dog, only pulling my arm off a few times when squirrels run across the road in front of her.

My brother suggested to me that I train as a Certified Nursing Assistant. I could work at a nursing home for like 14 bucks an hour. Registered nurses make more, but the schooling is alot longer and more intense. I don't know. I would want to make enough that Paul could retire before he is seventy five. It seems fair that I work a few years so he can take a few off. But this place here, this home, takes so much work! I feel like I am finally able to actually keep it afloat, and barely. With Camille going to school, it seems strange that I would just stay home and clean...but if I am not here, who is going to clean and when? Who will wash all the clothes and make the healthy dinners? Who will have a nice snack and lend a listening ear to kids who get off that crazy school bus and need love and normalcy? I just don't know. I think I will wait a bit and see. Just because they aren't babies anymore doesn't mean they don't still need Mommy.

My dream job would be to write a newspaper column. I never ever run out of things to write about. Perhaps they are the same things over and over again, but still.

My arm is falling asleep because my 38 pound baby is leaning on it while I try to type. My oatmeal is gone, my coffee cup is empty and there is no Kathryn or Suze to refill it for me. Wah, I miss them today! And not just for the hot coffee. They are such joys to me. Only like 65 days until summer vacation starts though!!! I LOVE summer, having the kids all here...the non-stop kitchen, the lounging and the spontaneous adventures. The trips to the beach that last 'til sunset.

Mirielle send a package to Benjamin this morning. Cookies. He will have many friends, if he ever actually gets these boxes of goodies. We send a few baggies of baby wipes in each box, because the treats are probably melted.

Well...time to get out of this comfy chair...I have already put some laundry in, mopped up the kitchen floor, but not much else. The sun is shining, and Camille and I want to get out into it.