Let your fingers walk this way to a couple of posts I have at other places:
Acting Balanced: This one is most out of my comfort zone. Heather was using her blog to promote Autism Awareness Month for April and I offered to guest post about our experience with Robbie being "on the spectrum." It's the first time I think I've really connected his name with the "a" word.
Fit City Moms Blog: This is my usual monthly post for Fit City. This month, I was inspired by a Rite Aid commercial about 15 minutes and wrote about 15 minute starts to better health and fitness. I'd love it if you would come over and share your thoughts too.
All Things Aging: You've been there. You end up in the grocery store line that seems to move the slowest. What if the cashier is an older person? How would you respond? Visit the post and tell us WWYD?
Finally -- and I didn't write this one -- check out a special report on the Royal Wedding by my friend Sarah's 3-year-old son. Love this!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Fragalicious
It's another fragalicious Friday. Little bits and bobs, to borrow a phrase from the Brits in honor of the royal wedding, floating around in my brain.
Bit: I hosting a Vera Bradley tote bag giveaway. If you're a Vera fan or you just want a great bag to carry library books in, be sure to check it out. The winner will be announced on Monday.
Bob: Coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton begins in just 3 hours. Maybe I should just stay up? Will you watch?
Bit: Today was the last Weight Watcher meeting in this at-work series. I ended on a good note, losing 2 pounds since last week. I'm going to try to keep the momentum going. Especially after reading this inspiring guest post from Annie Weighs.
Bob: Speaking of momentum, Charlie's class is having it's roller coaster exhibition in the morning. I got a sneak peek of several of the coasters -- lots of very fun ideas!
Bit: Mike was uploading some videos for me tonight and was a bit frustrated because I had shot some of it sideways. He said "You are not allowed to be this technologically impaired and still be married to me." I wonder if that was an offer or an ultimatum?
Bob: My blog makeover is well underway. I can't wait to get it uploaded. It's a great, fresh new look!
Bit: Even more exciting than a blog makeover, Mike has a job interview next week. Prayers appreciated.
Bob: Annie leaves on her 8th grade class trip on Monday. I think I might be a little verklempt sending her off and only partially because she'll be leaving me surrounded by testosterone for 5 days. Prayers appreciated for this, too.
That's all the bits and bobs I've got this week. For more fragalicious Friday fun, be sure to visit Mrs. 4444s Friday Fragments post.
Bit: I hosting a Vera Bradley tote bag giveaway. If you're a Vera fan or you just want a great bag to carry library books in, be sure to check it out. The winner will be announced on Monday.
Bob: Coverage of the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton begins in just 3 hours. Maybe I should just stay up? Will you watch?
Bit: Today was the last Weight Watcher meeting in this at-work series. I ended on a good note, losing 2 pounds since last week. I'm going to try to keep the momentum going. Especially after reading this inspiring guest post from Annie Weighs.
Bob: Speaking of momentum, Charlie's class is having it's roller coaster exhibition in the morning. I got a sneak peek of several of the coasters -- lots of very fun ideas!
Bit: Mike was uploading some videos for me tonight and was a bit frustrated because I had shot some of it sideways. He said "You are not allowed to be this technologically impaired and still be married to me." I wonder if that was an offer or an ultimatum?
Bob: My blog makeover is well underway. I can't wait to get it uploaded. It's a great, fresh new look!
Bit: Even more exciting than a blog makeover, Mike has a job interview next week. Prayers appreciated.
Bob: Annie leaves on her 8th grade class trip on Monday. I think I might be a little verklempt sending her off and only partially because she'll be leaving me surrounded by testosterone for 5 days. Prayers appreciated for this, too.
That's all the bits and bobs I've got this week. For more fragalicious Friday fun, be sure to visit Mrs. 4444s Friday Fragments post.
A Vera lovely giveaway
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was heading to Fort Wayne, Indiana as a guest of the convention and visitors bureau. The anticipated highlight of the trip was time spent at the Vera Bradley outlet sale.
If you're not familiar with Vera Bradley,then you clearly don't have ovaries or boobs, it's a company that makes purses, totes, luggage and accessories in a variety of patterns and fabrics. Each year, they have a huge outlet sale where you can find hundreds of items for 40-60% off. The sale is held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and I had no idea what I was in for:
I ended up buying 3 purses, 2 wallets and 1 large duffel bag for $122! And lucky for me, because we were traveling with the convention and visitors folks, we got to by-pass the lines at registration and at checkout.
Oh...you're thinking I said "giveaway" in the title of this post, but I haven't gotten to the point yet? Sorry about that. I just got carried away with all the fun memories of sale shopping. So yes...I DO have a giveaway.
Courtesy of Vera Bradley and VisitFortWayne.com, I have a tote in the Viva la Vera pattern to give to one lucky reader. Annie is modeling it here:
And here's a closer look:
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me what you would do with the Viva la Vera tote -- keep it, give it as a gift (to whom?), etc.
For extra entries, you can:
If you're not familiar with Vera Bradley,
I ended up buying 3 purses, 2 wallets and 1 large duffel bag for $122! And lucky for me, because we were traveling with the convention and visitors folks, we got to by-pass the lines at registration and at checkout.
Oh...you're thinking I said "giveaway" in the title of this post, but I haven't gotten to the point yet? Sorry about that. I just got carried away with all the fun memories of sale shopping. So yes...I DO have a giveaway.
Courtesy of Vera Bradley and VisitFortWayne.com, I have a tote in the Viva la Vera pattern to give to one lucky reader. Annie is modeling it here:
And here's a closer look:
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post telling me what you would do with the Viva la Vera tote -- keep it, give it as a gift (to whom?), etc.
For extra entries, you can:
- Follow the 4th Frog blog and leave a comment saying you're a new follower (or you already follow)
- "Like" the 4th Frog page on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did (or you already like it)
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The anniversary of the moment
Today one of my friends from the blogosphere is celebrating a very happy anniversary. It's not the day she was married. It's not her child's birthday. It's not the date on which she got her first tattoo (I don't even know if she has a tattoo.)
My friend Annie is celebrating her 1 year Weight Watchers anniversary. In that one year, she has lost a whopping 80 pounds and 75-1/2 inches! See for yourself:
My friend Annie is celebrating her 1 year Weight Watchers anniversary. In that one year, she has lost a whopping 80 pounds and 75-1/2 inches! See for yourself:
In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd let Annie take over and tell you how she got started.
Since Amy often blogs about The Biggest Loser and I write a weight-loss blog, I thought I'd keep that theme going here. Amy often writes about her weight-loss struggles so I know her readers can relate to her. Hopefully y'all can relate to me, too!
I've struggled with my weight pretty much all of my adult life. I gained a little while in college, gained a little more after I got married, got A LOT more after we moved to Oklahoma (can we say emotional eater?) and then even more after having my son. My son just turned five years old.
I tried the South Beach diet for about five minutes and knew it wasn't for me. No carbs?! Yeah, right. I have a great love for all things bread, pasta, pizza, cakes, cookies...etc....you get the picture.
I tried Weight Watchers Online, by myself, with a little luck, but it didn't stick. Then, one day, something clicked. I had prayed about it for well over a year, and something finally just clicked. I was ready to lose weight once and for all. I don't know how to describe it, but I woke up singing that Michael Jackson song, "Man in the Mirror" and it starts out "I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life...".
I was ready. Ready to make a change and I haven't looked back. It has been 12 months and as I'm writing this I've now lost 80 pounds. Crazy!!! Weight Watchers, going to the meetings, works. I'm not writing today to talk all about how much I've lost or how much I love WW (I really do, though!). I'm here to talk about that moment of readiness.
So many people start "diets" and then end up giving up. Why? Because they weren't really ready. They may know that they need to lose weight, but something was holding them back before they even got started.
Do you need to lose weight? What is holding you back? Think about it. I bet there are so many reasons and excuses why you're not starting today. A birthday celebration coming up, vacation, weddings, graduations, hesitation to being judged at a meeting, stress at work....whatever it is, there is always something. Yes, there is ALWAYS going to be something to hold you back. It is far too easy to give into those reasons and make up more excuses as to why you haven't started.
Is there a perfect time? No. It is that simple, there is no perfect time to start a weight-loss journey.
I started on April 29th, 2010. What was special about that day? When I woke up that day, there was absolutely nothing special about it. When I went to bed that night, it had become the day that was going to start the rest of my life. That was totally cheesy, I know, but it is so true!
But this isn't just about the weight I've lost. More importantly, I have gained self-respect, energy, better sleep, happiness that I didn't know was missing to begin with, and a happier family because of it, and deeper faith as I fully rely on God to get my through tough times on this journey.
Are you ready? Fight through those reasons and excuses, pray about it, do whatever it takes to finally get ready and that moment will come to you as long as you're open to it.
Are you ready to be healthier? Are you ready to be happier? I would love to hear about your moment!
Annie
Annie
Congratulations Annie! I am really so thrilled for you (and a wee bit jealous). If you want to keep following Annie's journey, be sure to visit her at www.annieweighsblog.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
An avian tale
The short story, as tweeted by my husband:
We had a nest of 4 robin eggs in a waist high bush. One of our children was a little too curious and now there are 3. #lifelesson
The rest of the story:
Ever since we discovered the robin's nest near our front door, we've been very careful to avoid using the front door as much as possible. We didn't want to disturb Mama Bird. We were especially pointed in telling Robbie to stay away from the nest, that if the Mama Bird smelled human on the nest she would abandon it and the babies would die.
Last night, Mike and the boys were heading out to get supplies for Charlie's roller coaster project for school. Robbie said he would wait in the car. I didn't even notice when he went out the front door. A minute later, he came inside wailing hysterically.
"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!"
It didn't take long to figure out what he didn't mean to do. He had gotten curious about the nest, reached it and picked up one of the eggs and crushed it. I think he just didn't realize how fragile the eggs were and he didn't know his own strength. (Grapes of Wrath, anyone?)
He was SO upset. Almost inconsolable, really. We talked -- once I could get him to quiet down -- about how he did mean to go over to the nest and reach in and how that was disobeying what we'd told him about staying away. I told him I know he didn't mean to hurt the baby bird, but that disobedience has consequences and there was nothing we could do to help the baby bird now.
I told him I didn't know if the Mama Bird would come back to take care of the other eggs or not. Mike and I decided that if she didn't come back by morning, we'd call the DNR or a local nature center and see if they could take the eggs and incubate them until the birds were ready to hatch.
But within about 10 minutes, Mama flew back to the nest, poked her head in and ATE THE CRUSHED EGG! I couldn't believe it. So much for grief and being fearful of human smell (grubby, little boy, human smell at that).
Once her snack was over, she flew off, only to come back a while later and take up her perch over the remaining three eggs.
Now, that is a life lesson.
We had a nest of 4 robin eggs in a waist high bush. One of our children was a little too curious and now there are 3. #lifelesson
The rest of the story:
Ever since we discovered the robin's nest near our front door, we've been very careful to avoid using the front door as much as possible. We didn't want to disturb Mama Bird. We were especially pointed in telling Robbie to stay away from the nest, that if the Mama Bird smelled human on the nest she would abandon it and the babies would die.
Last night, Mike and the boys were heading out to get supplies for Charlie's roller coaster project for school. Robbie said he would wait in the car. I didn't even notice when he went out the front door. A minute later, he came inside wailing hysterically.
"I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry!"
It didn't take long to figure out what he didn't mean to do. He had gotten curious about the nest, reached it and picked up one of the eggs and crushed it. I think he just didn't realize how fragile the eggs were and he didn't know his own strength. (Grapes of Wrath, anyone?)
He was SO upset. Almost inconsolable, really. We talked -- once I could get him to quiet down -- about how he did mean to go over to the nest and reach in and how that was disobeying what we'd told him about staying away. I told him I know he didn't mean to hurt the baby bird, but that disobedience has consequences and there was nothing we could do to help the baby bird now.
I told him I didn't know if the Mama Bird would come back to take care of the other eggs or not. Mike and I decided that if she didn't come back by morning, we'd call the DNR or a local nature center and see if they could take the eggs and incubate them until the birds were ready to hatch.
But within about 10 minutes, Mama flew back to the nest, poked her head in and ATE THE CRUSHED EGG! I couldn't believe it. So much for grief and being fearful of human smell (grubby, little boy, human smell at that).
Once her snack was over, she flew off, only to come back a while later and take up her perch over the remaining three eggs.
Now, that is a life lesson.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Shhh....quiet, please
It's quiet in here. The kids are asleep. The dog is asleep. Mike is at a movie. I had the television on, but the recorded show I was watching is over. All I hear is the tapping of my fingers on the keys and the hum of electronics plugged in.
I hate to sound stereotypical, but the older I get, the more I enjoy -- even crave -- this kind of quiet. If it weren't for the kids, the radio in my car might go for days without use. My kids seem to be able to filter out noise that I just can't tolerate. It's nothing for the television to be on in one room, a computer game buzzing and ringing in the next room, and a radio to be on two rooms over.
It's too much for me. I like to think that I'm a pretty good multitasker, but I just can't think straight when there is so much noise competing for my attention. Earlier tonight, on the way home from church, the radio was on and the kids were bickering and chattering in the back seat. We drove past a hotel and I suddenly had this fantasy of checking into a hotel all by my lonesome for the night, just for the quiet.
Sometimes I think I'd do well on one of those silent retreats -- though people who know me well, might disagree. My biggest challenge would not be the auditory silence. It would be the electronic silence.
I've gotten quite good and shutting off/out the noise that hits my eardrums. But I'm not so good at shutting out the noise that bombards my eyes and my intellect. The stream of Facebook messages, the endless collection of e-mails, even short 140 character messages on Twitter can take up some pretty hefty space in my head.
I don't really have a plan in place, but I do think that I'm going to try to build some more of that quiet into my days. Maybe just 10 or 15 minutes. No laptop. No phone. No circular parade of pontential blog posts rolling through my brain.
Just me. And the quiet. And the hum of silence.
I hate to sound stereotypical, but the older I get, the more I enjoy -- even crave -- this kind of quiet. If it weren't for the kids, the radio in my car might go for days without use. My kids seem to be able to filter out noise that I just can't tolerate. It's nothing for the television to be on in one room, a computer game buzzing and ringing in the next room, and a radio to be on two rooms over.
It's too much for me. I like to think that I'm a pretty good multitasker, but I just can't think straight when there is so much noise competing for my attention. Earlier tonight, on the way home from church, the radio was on and the kids were bickering and chattering in the back seat. We drove past a hotel and I suddenly had this fantasy of checking into a hotel all by my lonesome for the night, just for the quiet.
Sometimes I think I'd do well on one of those silent retreats -- though people who know me well, might disagree. My biggest challenge would not be the auditory silence. It would be the electronic silence.
I've gotten quite good and shutting off/out the noise that hits my eardrums. But I'm not so good at shutting out the noise that bombards my eyes and my intellect. The stream of Facebook messages, the endless collection of e-mails, even short 140 character messages on Twitter can take up some pretty hefty space in my head.
I don't really have a plan in place, but I do think that I'm going to try to build some more of that quiet into my days. Maybe just 10 or 15 minutes. No laptop. No phone. No circular parade of pontential blog posts rolling through my brain.
Just me. And the quiet. And the hum of silence.
Oh bunny...
Today was a busy day. Soccer game, church decorating, birthday party and laundry, laundry, laundry. It was so busy that by 7pm, we still hadn't colored Easter eggs or even gotten the baskets out yet.
Robbie was getting a little impatient to get the festivities going, so he brought the baskets out and asked if we had Easter grass. I said, yes. "It's in a bag under my bedroom window. You can go upstairs and get it. It's by the windows."
There was a small part of me that thought maybe sending him upstairs was a bad idea. But most of me wasn't really paying attention. Until...he came downstairs with the Easter Bunny's stash that was NOT under my window, but was hidden (or so I thought) in my closet.
The bag of candy was mostly still sealed up. But Robbie was waving one of the Nerf guns I'd bought (because nothing says "Christ is risen" like plastic and foam warfare).
"Mom! Can I have this?"
Well, crud. Mike and I looked at each other and asked "now what?" I just took the discovered contraband and said "This is not for now."
Robbie wasn't so easily re-directed. A few minutes later, he handed me this paper:
So, Easter "crisis" averted. For now. Who knows what questions tomorrow will bring.
Robbie was getting a little impatient to get the festivities going, so he brought the baskets out and asked if we had Easter grass. I said, yes. "It's in a bag under my bedroom window. You can go upstairs and get it. It's by the windows."
There was a small part of me that thought maybe sending him upstairs was a bad idea. But most of me wasn't really paying attention. Until...he came downstairs with the Easter Bunny's stash that was NOT under my window, but was hidden (or so I thought) in my closet.
The bag of candy was mostly still sealed up. But Robbie was waving one of the Nerf guns I'd bought (because nothing says "Christ is risen" like plastic and foam warfare).
"Mom! Can I have this?"
Well, crud. Mike and I looked at each other and asked "now what?" I just took the discovered contraband and said "This is not for now."
Robbie wasn't so easily re-directed. A few minutes later, he handed me this paper:
Oh bunny!
I was able to quick-change the subject by suggesting a family viewing of the movie "Tangled," which was really enjoyable. When it was over, at 9:30pm, we still had eggs to color. So at 10pm, Mike took the kids to bed and I headed to Target to try to undo the bunny debacle.
At one point, I had Mighty Beans for Robbie, a Chewbacca t-shirt for Charlie, and a Nerf Gun for Annie in my basket. I think I circled the inside perimeter of Target at least 3 times, trying to decide what to do.
I didn't really have the discretionary funds to buy new Easter gifts and the last thing we need in my house right now is more clothes. But the Nerf gun was going to have to make an appearance. So, I ended up getting the Nerf gun for Annie -- I decided not getting her one would leave her unfairly defenseless against her brothers. I opted to give Charlie the 3-pack of sugarless bubble gum I'd previously planned to split among all three of them. And a I picked up a box-tops-bearing box of fruit roll-ups (which we never buy) for Robbie.
The Nerf guns will make an appearance on the mantle as a gift from Mike & me. Everything else is from the bunny. And hopefully that will be the end of that.
I'm not so married to the idea of the bunny, but I do enjoy the mystique of Santa and I'm afraid that once the myth of the Easter Bunny is revealed, Santa won't be far behind. And in the instance of both holidays, the kids are very aware of the real significance of both occasions.
So, Easter "crisis" averted. For now. Who knows what questions tomorrow will bring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
