What's your name again and why are you sleeping in my bed?

If you're a parent, you know that sometimes you forget a little bit about who you are. And if you are a married parent, sometimes it seems like you might have a roommate who keeps going in your wallet for money and occasionally asks to see you naked. Yup. Sometimes life interferes with really living and it's important to remember to make some time to re-connect.

B at Life in the BAT Cave is hosting a Date Night Restaurant.com Giveaway. Seeing as it's been so long since Mike and I have been on a date and our cash flow is currently involuntarily restricted, I thought I'd toss my post into the ring.

To enter, you just have to blog about your favorite date night, then submit your link to B. If you don't have a blog, you can just tell your story by commenting on her blog.

Hmmm...my favorite date night. That's a tough one because really it has been about 100 years since we've gone on a date. Our standard fare is dinner and movie, followed by perusing the local bookstore -- Mike in the magazines and me in the mindless chick lit section.

Last summer, we did have a great night at Conner Prairie. Picnic spread, Symphony on the Prairie, terrifying hot air balloon ride. Ok, so maybe that's not a good choice for "best date night."

When I was pregnant with Annie, our date nights seemed to always end at Babies R Us, looking at the endless equipment we imagined our new baby would need. Now, we've graduated to Home Depot where we inevitably disagree on paint colors, light fixtures and which home repair project should take priority. Ooops, arguing. Not a good date night.

Sometimes we try things a little off the beaten path -- an art gallery exhibition, a college basketball game. And sometimes we just stay in.

Actually, that's a good one and something we haven't done in a long time. Feed the kids early, something easy like chicken nuggets or corn dogs. Put them all to bed (or at least confined to their rooms) around 8ish. Then we'll have sushi and one of those fancy desserts for two from the corner grocery store, watching a movie on Apple TV. And if I don't fall asleep before the end of the movie, I consider the date a success.

So there you go, B. Sushi, dessert, and a movie. All in the comfort of your own home, which is convenient in case your "roommate" does ask to see you naked.

(For some really good dating ideas, check out Just Heather's Alphabet Dating.)

Thank God it's Fragments!

Was this week long or what? Always glad to hit Friday -- especially because of Friday Fragments, courtesy of Mrs.4444. Check out her site for more freaks who like frags.



Yesterday I was in a funk. When I left the office, I was totally jonesing for some french fries (because potatoes and oil are a definite cure for what ails you). But something about eating fries on the way to the gym didn't seem right. So I made myself a deal. Workout first and if I still wanted the tasty spuds, I could get them on the way home. Well, what do you know? It turns out 40 minutes on the treadmill did the trick. No fries, no funk.



Two of our kids have birthdays next month. Their gifts from their great-grandmother are coming from the Sherwin Williams store -- paint and a guy to do the dirty work! (Because I am totally banned from painting for life.) So by this time next week, when I need an escape, I'll head to Belize (Annie's new tropical blue room) and when I'm hungry, I might just go nosh on Robbie's Edamame green walls.



There's a thing going on at Facebook right now where you're supposed to pick a Hollywood star that you look like and use a picture of that person as your profile pic. I can't decide who I might be? Rosie O? Kathy Bates? Maybe Katie Couric, the early years if she had had a serious addiction to ice cream, making her gain 50 pounds? Got any ideas for me?



The latest on the Go Red for Women Better U front was an early morning of playing dress up at Macy's. Five women with free reign in a department store before it even opened! We got to try on a bunch of clothes and just act silly for a video they are making for the luncheon. Then they shuttled us to the Estee Lauder counter to have our make up done so we could have photos taken for the luncheon program. Too bad I had to go straight to my workout with "Father" Kyle, the trainer, and sweat off my beautiful painted face!



Charlie's basketball team plays tonight. I am vowing to keep quiet -- even if I have to get out the duct tape. I think I scared some of the other mothers at the last game when my alter ego appeared.



Attenion iPhone users! I keep forgetting to mention this. Mike had an app made for me for the iPhone. You can download it free from the App Store. Just search "4th Frog." Then you can have my posts and my tweets always at the ready! He said he thought it might be available for Blackberry users, but I'm not sure about that.



Finally, please keep Hope, a good friend's 3 year old, and Jeanne, Charlie's teacher's wife, in your prayers. They are both very, very sick and could use all the prayers we can offer.

Feeling funky

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel like you're in a funk? That's me today.

I'm not sure where it came from. Yesterday was a pretty good day -- lots of Go Red for Women fun stuff (clothes, makeup, working out with Kyle) and a much-needed evening in with girlfriends. Plus, today is the first sunny day we've had in a while.

Yet, I'm still feeling out of sorts and a bit like I might cry. Let's examine the anatomy of a funk:

• Husband recently downsized and the reality of that sinking in.
  
• Cat needing sudden and not inexpensive surgery (Is it bad that I was weighing whether or not we should pay for the procedure or go for the cheaper, more final route?)
• House a crazy mess and activities every night of the week that are keeping us from getting a handle on it.
• Collision of the pressure of wanting/needing to lose 10 more pounds before the Go Red for Women luncheon in 4 weeks and the feeling that I'm losing steam in doing the things I need to do to get me there.
  
• A good friend's baby and a teacher's spouse both critically ill.

Can I just stop here and scream for a minute?!

Ok. So what can I do about it?

• Pray. (Check!)
  
• Eat something. (Not advisable in light of the 4th point above, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that French fries might help.)
• Blog. (That always seems to help.)
• Go to the gym. (Headed there soon.)
• Hope that tomorrow is a better day.

How do you handle those funky days?

Biggest Loser: Malfunction

From time to time, technology fails me. Tonight is one of those times. Our cable receiver malfunctioned and didn't record The Biggest Loser. I did catch the weigh in, but I'm clueless as to what happened before that.

So, I'm asking for some help. Please respond with answers to the following questions:

1. The challenge I enjoyed the most this week was ______________.
2. The winners of the challenge were _____________ and their prize was _________.
   
3. The segment of this episode I could have done without was _______________.
   
4. The "Drama Queen" award of the week goes to ___________ for__________.
5. The "I Kicked Butt" award of the week goes to ___________ for __________.
6. The best trainer moment was _______________.
7. The worst trainer moment was _______________.
8. The team/player I'm ready to see gone is _____________.
9. My favorite team right now is ________________.
10. I picked the team in #9 because _______________.

Ok, watching the weigh in, I'm hearing that Green team has a 2 pound disadvantage and it came from the Red team. Someone clue me in on that, please!

And that's where The Biggest Loser started looking like the Jerry Springer show with the Red team and the Green team mouthing off at each other. Wish they could just toss both those teams off and bring back Yellow and Blue. I think that if Miggy goes home, then Migdalia might stand a chance to let down her guard and do the real work of healing herself inside and out.

Tied. 3-3. Please, Black team. Do the right thing. Keep Migdalia and send Miggy home.

Crap! I think that was absolutely the wrong thing to do. I guess only time will tell.

At home, Migdalia struggled at first, gaining 10 pounds. She's lost a total of 46 pounds, which I certainly won't poo poo. And she's done it as a single mom while her husband is overseas in Iraq. I'm hoping that she's using this time away from her mom to learn how to stop stuffing her feelings. I think her attitude is as detrimental to her health as her excess weight.

To hell with political correctness

I am a first-born. By nature I am a people pleaser. I want people to like me. So I tend to not rock the boat or do and say things that might make people mad. (My husband excluded. That I don't seem to have a problem with.)

But tonight, I'm rocking, shaking, and probably mad making. On the way to the gym a few hours ago, I turned on the radio and was listening to "Your Time with Kim Iverson." The topic of conversation was "Can you turn a booty call into a boyfriend?"

Seriously?

I listened to a few callers who talked about the trials and tribulations of trying to go from "in it only for the 'goodies'" to true love. Kim's sidekick shared her experience with a married man.

Seriously, seriously?

Not to sound old fashioned or prudish, but I'm beginning to see why "to hell in a handbasket" is such a popular phrase. I don't want my daughter hearing this kind of garbage (she wasn't in the car). I've seen Facebook pages of some of the kids her age (Annie doesn't have one) and think "Do your parents know that you are a member of the 'I Have Also Slept with Tiger Woods' group and are they OK with that?!"

And to be fair, some of these same kids are members of Facebook groups like "Above the Influence" and "Jesus is my Savior and I'm not Ashamed." It just screams to me that our kids need our influence and involvement in their lives. Not our lectures, but our willingness to have conversations about why booty calls do not equal love and why they should respect themselves enough to not go giving precious pieces of themselves away in the name of popularity or instant gratification.

I have to really think about the part I play in the perpetuation of all this. I regularly tune in to shows like Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy where affairs are the expected natural order of things. The difference, I know, is that I am an adult. I have a fully informed conscience. I can make value judgements on things I see on TV based on the convictions I have in real life.

We owe it to our kids to help them form those value judgements based on the benefit of our experiences where they may not have them yet. And turning off garbage like Kim Iverson is a good start.

So there, I said what was on my mind. It's not as eloquent as I'd like -- I wanted to get it down and out there before I chickened out. It's probably not politically correct. Likely not popular. Maybe I'll even lose a few followers in the process (Aaack! I hope not!).

But sometimes, even us people-pleasing first borns have to say "enough is enough."

Kicking my can all over the place

A little more than 3 weeks into the Better U challenge, I'm feeling like I could be in a Queen music video..."kicking your can all over the place!"

It's all good and I'm (gasp!) beginning to find that I enjoy the exercise. But just when I start to feel victorious about being able to go for 40 minutes on the treadmill, the trainers over at Life Time Fitness hand me a new challenge that reminds me how far I have to go.

This week's? The innocuous-sounding "group workout." Read about how I fared over at the Better U blog.

Friday Fragments: It's All Good

Time once again for Friday Fragments, courtesy of Mrs.4444. Check out her site for more editions of FF. I'm cranking this one out on my lunch break at the office, so no fancy frog stuff today. Deal with it (please).

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In case you missed yesterday's post, my husband was downsized yesterday. That sucks. What doesn't suck is the amount of people who've contacted him with freelance or part-time opportunities to help fill the void. God is GOOD, people, I'll tell you that.

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I had my follow-up appointment with the cardiologist for the Better U challenge on Wednesday. I've lost 12.2 pounds since December 9 and 3 inches off my waist. Plus, she cut my blood pressure medication in half. Now that is GOOD!

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Annie got a part in the school play. When she brought home the script, I was immediately transported back to high school drama club. GOOD memories. My first role was a 7yo girl who wanted to be a wrestler. Annie's is that of panicky chess club sponsor. And to think she didn't even want to try out.

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Colts vs. Jets on Sunday. As Colts linebacker Clint Session said "We're the ones who got them (the Jets) into the playoffs and we're gonna be the ones who take them out." That's a GOOD plan.

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Thinking about going out for Mexican for dinner tonight. There will be plenty of time to be frugal in our temporarily single-income household. But tonight a margarita sounds MUY BIEN to me!