Fillin In

Yay it's Friday! I'm always happy when Friday rolls around!

1. I'd really like a massage right now.

2. Son of a bitch are the words you'd most often hear me say if I stubbed my toe.

3. Possession is what can get you into serious trouble (depending on what you're possessing of course!).

4. It's been a long time since I've seen Captain Jack Sparrow.

5. Marshmallows and fire go together like Vodka and tonic.

6. That Energizer bunny goes on and on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching more Dexter, tomorrow my plans include I am really not sure yet and Sunday, I want to watch the Superbowl of course and watch the Cardinals win!

I Got Bugged

I like to collect things. I really really like to collect items that will help me lose weight. I like to buy videos, workout equipment, clothes, pills, really anything that has to do with something weight lose related. Leo always says 'why do we always have to spend money when you want to lose weight'. This is sadly true I do admit. I don't know why. I just like to HAVE them, the problem comes in because I don't USE them. It makes me feel safe and ready in the event I actually want to start the weight loss journey.


And now I have added another gadget to my ever growing list of collectibles. Except this one seems fun! It's the Apex BodyBugg. It's not anything that I've caught on my feet from walking around the locker room or little bugs that may cause excessive itching. No it's an electronic device that monitors and displays for me how many calories I burn.



This way I can always keep myself in a calorie deficit so I can actually lose weight successfully. I'll upload my food into the site and then upload the data from the Bugg and it will calculate my surplus (my forte) or deficit (my goal). I have a composition book I carry around now to write down everything I eat. I have a calorie counter book and know the websites to calculate calories of the food I'm eating. I weigh food. Have I gone to far? Probably, BUT I am tired of failing at losing weight. I tend to drive myself into an obsessive frenzy that overwhelms me and I give up. Counting calories is the easy part, knowing how much I burn is an unknown and is a key part of the equation. So now I have all pieces, and get ready fat stores because you're closing down. Pack it up and move on.

I am hoping to only have to wear this little bugg for the next 3-4 months until I have achieved my goal. Then I will periodically wear it to make sure my activity level is where it should be and I don't go back to surplus land on a regular basis.

Happy 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday to Don't Touch the Cactus. It's ONE today! Yep on January 27, 2008 I did the first post ever. If you're feeling nostalgic you can read it here. There will be no cake, even though cake sure does sound good. Maybe a cupcake?

The entire reason I started the blog was to chronicle our move across the country and as a means of keeping everyone informed of what was going on with us in the desert. Never in a million years did I imagine I would have THAT much stuff to write about. But kids, scorpions and moving will provide you with all that and more. I have enjoyed writing it even though now there are no more updates on the move since it's also almost been a year. Now you get some ramblings about me and my battle with losing those damn 30 pounds, the funny things the kids do, the struggles of daily life with a job, kids, and all that goes with it. From what I've been told you laugh alot when reading my posts. That makes me happy even if you are laughing at some kind of personal hell I might be going through. I always am comfortable when I am making people laugh (again even at my expense). It puts me at ease.

I've "met" a lot of people through the year from reading other blogs and posting comments on theirs. I am happy to have so many cyber friends. If you haven't checked out anyone on the blog roll you're really missing out.

And so begins another blog year. Hopefully blogs don't suffer from the terrible twos like kids do. But I guess that will keep you laughing if they do.

The Wii Said So...

In the event I needed even more motivation to lose some of my extra friends, I mean pounds, the Wii Fit has provided it for me.
I am obese according to the Wii Fit and it plumped up my little Mii so I am no longer the skinny Mii I created (it's kind of like lying about your weight on your drivers license...I have been found out!).
I am also a Wii Fit age of 41. That is EIGHT years older than I really am. Nothing wrong with 40 or 40+ other then it's NOT my current age. I was hoping for a Wii Fit age of 21 or something. OK not really I wasn't really hoping for that.

So in addition to my running for the 5K, working out with my human trainer, trying to go to Spin class on Tues/Thurs, I'll also be working out with my Wii trainer. She has weird boobs though that might cause me to stare.

I have a couple months to drop some pounds and shrink my Mii. Here's to crankin' up the cardio.

Friday Fill-Ins

TGIF!! And it's time for Friday Fill-ins.


1. Oh, I am so damn happy it's Friday!

2. I'm making changes, big and little.

3. During the night, I like to sleep. (Creative, I know...)

4. My house is worth what now; are you kidding me???

5. Right now I'd like to be on a vacation with just Leo.

6. (hmm...do you really want to know this? Just kidding) My flat iron is my favorite gadget.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to not having any set plans, tomorrow my plans include going shopping with Leo and getting some accessories and "stuff" for our house and Sunday, I want to maybe go on another hike, and take a nap!

Is It Friday Yet?

I am really looking forward to Friday. I am ready to be done with work this week.

I am in a better mood today, I'm thinking positive that it was due to yesterday's workout. I ran and worked with the trainer. I like her, so far.
I ran 4.5 mph and didn't pee! Yay!! And it was easier then Monday so hey I'm happy about that.

I have nothing else exciting to share. Sorry for my boring boring post.

I have an idea: Why don't you post a good, funny comment?

PMS Is A B*tch

PMS has reared it's ugly head this week, I really think it's added a few heads as well. I must have been extremely vulnerable or weak for it to have taken as much of a toll as it has.
I've cried, I've been craving coke (as in the drink, not the drug) and all things "bad" (anything friend basically), I want to crawl into bed for a week and be left alone. I am ready to finish accessorising my house and I'm pissy it's not finished, I don't want to go workout but I want to lose weight, I am becoming obsessed with what I am eating to the point it's making me actually feel crazy and overwhelmed.

I cannot concentrate at work because I don't want to do anything that I should be doing.

And I am reconsidering my thought of running a 5K, not because I don't think I can do it because I am confident I can. It's the fact that thanks to birthing two children every time I run over 4.8 miles an hour I pee my pants. And I've done the kegels. I do them all the time. So I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks and how much I pee. I don't really want to run in public with pee running down my leg. I am motivated to lose weight not have an incontinence issue in public. And I'm not running in Depends, unless they make running shorts these days and I haven't seen those yet. Sorry I'm sure that's more info about me then you wanted to know.

Me and PMS we don't get along. I don't like it and want to kick its ass.

I do feel better now that I've vented a bit. Hopefully next month the work out endorphins will help me ward off the grips of the PMS monster!

Big Day

So today is inauguration day. I'm not sure how long I will be able to take watching this. Sure I am happy that I am able to witness something historical but if I hear someone else mention "black Americans" and "white Americans" one more time, history or not I'm turning that shit off. How about just "Americans"? Or maybe the media is trying to separate the country even more? Who knows but I find it really fucking annoying.

I am not really all that thrilled with the President Elect but with nervous optimism I hope that he will hopefully lead the country properly and remember what the Constitution is and what it means.
Only time will tell.

Back In The Saddle

So I'm back to the gym probably at least five times a week. Three days with a trainer and two days on my own. I took my hiatus from working out in November and was just so frustrated with the whole thing that I pretty much gave up.
But now I'm at it again. I am signing up for a 5K in April so hopefully that keeps my motivation strong. And I have my sister in laws wedding in May. I'm eating much better then before and not really cutting anything out of my diet, simply making better choices and not eating quite as much. But really watching my fat intake, OK so I've cut bad fat out of my diet as in no more fast food or fried entrees. I think I can handle this, but if you make me give up all my carbs then I'm out. But I don't have to so that's good for me.
My goal is still 30 lbs so we'll see how it goes. If I can just lose it I think I'll have no problem maintaining the loss. I've done pretty good maintaining my current weight for the past two years. So I'm good at that part!!
I've asked Leo to hide the scale, since I am a daily obsessive weigher and this is probably not good for me. I think it makes me feel worse because I really don't understand how a person who didn't eat an excessive amount of food can gain TWO pounds in ONE day. So I am only allowed to weigh in on one day - Friday.
Weekends will be the hardest for me because we eat out so much more often on weekends and I am more likely to make bad choices. I'll really have to watch it. I am trying to challenge myself to one full month of good eating that includes weekends! I'm hoping by then, it won't be that hard and it will just be "normal" eating. And I don't eat that much bad food, but I do eat a lot of bad fats and don't eat enough veggies and fruits so we'll be adding more of those in as well. I did pretty good last week- until the weekend...
Now I'm just rambling and feel like all I'm typing is blah blah blah.
So I'm off to eat some Kashi cereal! I love fiber!

Sunday Post

I normally don't post on the weekend, I am not really sure why it's not like I'm NOT on the PC even over the weekend. I am, so I guess maybe I use the blog to avoid work. Yes that's true. I blog to avoid doing actual work when I'm at work.

I've sent Leo for bagels so that I can have a good breakfast to prepare me for the day alone with the kids. I'm sure it sounds like I don't like being alone with them and that is certainly not true. I do enjoy their company most days when they are cooperative and listening.

I had a great hair cut yesterday so I think I may have found my new girl. I have managed to not have to get my hair cut here because I've timed trips back to Tennessee so I can go to my favorite girl. But now the time came for me to find someone here. She's close to home, relatively inexpensive, good and very friendly. I'm sure she knows A LOT of secrets...Sweet Girl also did well, but got a little antsy at the end.

We had a really great time at the Desert Botanical Gardens. I love glass and this exhibit was AMAZING. Chihuly is an amazing artist. If you live in or around Phoenix you really should check it out. If you don't you can see some pictures here. They were really neat at dusk. Very cool. I, myself took a lot of photos. But since it takes me sometimes MONTHS to get photos off the camera you'll be better served with the above link.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. And here's to the unlimited patience I will be calling upon today!

Yay!! That Was Fast!

Seems like just yesterday it was Monday and now it's Friday! I am glad it's Friday. Hell I am ALWAYS glad it's Friday actually. I like Fridays because well it's Friday and I don't have to go to work tomorrow and I can sleep in. And that just makes me pretty damn happy.
And I also love the fill ins!



1. Enough with the political correctness already, don't you think we've gone a tad far,eh?

2. Going to work every day even though I don't enjoy it most days but I have a kick ass schedule and can work from home basically as much as I want and make a damn good salary causes me to be conflicted.

3. I've been craving a good long vacation to somewhere new and fun.

4. The faces Sweet Girl makes, makes me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to on vacation (see #3!) next week.

6. How to approach teaching Sweet Girl to read, how Little Man will react to his bed, will I really be able to stick with my food and workout plan and what do I want to do career wise that will really make me happy has been on my mind lately. (this is such a loaded question! I have had alot on my mind lately!!!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to Little Man's first night in his new bed, tomorrow my plans include a hair cut and brow wax for me and Sweet Girl (well no brow wax for her), and an evening at the Desert Botanical Gardens to see a cool glass exhibit and Sunday, I want to have an unlimited amount of patience and not lose it since I'll be with the kids all day by myself because I got the shaft on going to the NFC Championship game that Leo is going to!

Tomorrow Is The Big Day

Tomorrow is our big day of Little Man getting his new bed. We'll move from crib to big boy bed. It's very sad and I'm trying to think how he'll do. I would like to think he will do great, as he's been sleeping on a cot at school since he started. So maybe he'll get that you're not supposed to get up. But I have a feeling he'll have a hard time because he seems so attached to his crib. The kid doesn't like change (wonder who he gets that from). But I am excited when I talk to him about it and how cool it will be and all that. Maybe he'll think it's cool too.

I just seems so weird. No more crib. No more changing table. And soon no more diapers. Anything "baby" will no longer be around. I'm not sure how I feel about all this. Does it make me want to have another one? I'm not sure.

So keep your fingers crossed for us that we have big bed success! I'm sure you'll hear about it either way!

Ken, You're Really Missing Out...

Welcome to the Barbie Brothel Diamond Castle! Ken is obviously missing out on this fantastic opportunity. Where is Ken anyway? Well he's under the bed with a the other three Kens...Maybe Ken is happier there under the bed? Who knows.

My Awesome Things

Since today is Tuesday and it's PROMPTuesday over at San Diego Momma, I am going to do this today. It's probably a good day to do it, I'm in some sort of nasty funk where I am incredibly crabby and hate everything. I'm calling it WAY EARLY PMS so you should feel bad for my kids and Leo.

Taking time to make myself think of all the awesome things I have is probably a good thing.

Either way, this week’s PROMPTuesday asks that you post about your favorite — or “most awesome” things. What do you love? What can’t you live without? What do you like to watch on TV? What are your favorite websites? What do you use on your hair? (This last one is a requirement.)


So here are a few of my favorite or most awesome things.


1. My Blog. I will tell you this has been the most lifesaving, therapeutic thing I've used to deal with my horrible reaction to our move. Without it I probably would have ended up in an institution. Although there is nothing like airing your feelings out for the ENTIRE world to see how lame and pathetic you are and how you can't handle shit but oh well. It helped me so that's all that matters.

2. The Kitchen Aid Mixer. Yes I LOVE to bake. Another thing I find therapeutic. Sure I only really use it at the holidays but I use the hell out of that thing then and I LOVE it. If I didn't work I might use it all the time and turn into June Cleaver.















3. The Haunting. I watch this show every day when I work from home. I enjoy scaring the crap out of myself at home, during the day, alone. They need to come up with some new episodes. I've seen all of them like 4 times now though.


4. Keen shoes. After wearing them on the hike on Sunday I think I want a few more pairs! They are wide enough for my wide ass feet so they are more comfy then trying to cram my foot into a medium width shoe, that are some times more like narrow width if you ask me. I also love Privo's by Clarks. I am all about comfort these days. A little boring? Yes I know.


5. After Party. This is a hair product by Bed Head. It does great to help smooth out my hair now that's become coarser after having Little Man...And it smells good too! Here is the description (I love the fact it says 'silkify' and I find the shape of the bottle kind of perverted and I'll stop my comments there...) The perfect party favor. After-party hair cream for silky, smooth, shiny, health looking hair. Control the funky fly-aways and silkify your hair.













6. Life is a Verb. I bought this book after reading about it on one of my favorite blogs (Stephanie @ Bad Mom) and I have really loved it so far. It's a great book and I am anxious to keep reading more of it. I can see it will become a reference for years to come.

7. The Twilight Series. Yes I know it's kind of lame. But when I want a quick easy read that is easy to get lost it, I will reread them again.

8. Amazon.com. This is where I generally buy all my books and where I go to check out reviews of certain things I am considering buying.

9. Costco. Where else can you go in and buy an assload more stuff then you actually need?

10. Facebook. I have become addicted to that. It is a good thing I cannot access it at work! I love it, and it's so easy to keep up with people now. Just drop a note on their wall and voila you've kept in touch.

Well my list doesn't seem all that awesome really. I am sure I have some other things I can't live without but right now I can't think of them. I will amend my list if I come up with them!

What Will This Week Bring?

Last week we had a bunch of weird accidents. We had a nice weekend and went for an awesome 3 mile hike in the Superstition Mts. Sweet Girl, Little Man and I were all decked out in new hiking shoes. And we did great. We didn't follow the right trail and ended up going a lot out of the way but it was fun. We had another friend and her little boy join us as well. I think it kept Sweet Girl motivated because she kicked it on the trail. She did awesome. And she would have had a perfect trip if she had listened to Leo and stop shuffling her feet because she fell face first into the rocks. She was unharmed but still, she should have listened. Hopefully she learned her lesson.

Little Man took a couple tumbles as well, but he was OK. He is so slow though. He was probably carried for about 1 mile of our hike on and off. So considering he's only 2.5 he did pretty awesome as well!

We were so proud of them for doing so good. It was really impressive.

I was sporting some new Keen shoes which I LOVED! They are an awesome shoe, they are wicked comfy and a perfect match for the trail we were on. The trail was great, we had over a 600 feet elevation climb, thanks to the new GPS we knew all kinds of fancy stuff.
Leo is still searching for shoes so hopefully he can get a new pair for the next hike.

So hopefully this week is quiet and calm.

Finally! It's Friday!

After a week of weirdo accidents I have to say I am glad it's Friday! So let's have fun with some fill-ins!

1. It's January; Can I keep my resolutions?

2. Having my mom and dad close to us is what I crave most right now.

3. Cork and wine go together like vodka and tonic.

4. An ice cold glass of whole milk is so nourishing.

5. Let us dare to stand up and support the intentions of our Founding Fathers.

6. I'm happiest when I have all my family in my home.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hopefully staying injury free, tomorrow my plans include a possible hair cut for Sweet Girl and myself and Sunday, I want to go on a hike in the beautiful mountains on a beautiful day!

Leo Goes Down

Yep he fell. What did you think it was about, surely not that? Get out of the gutter people, you should know I won't blog about that!

Anyway in what was supposed to be a quick trip to the outdoor mall to make a return it took a little longer since Leo and Audrey took a tumble. We were all crossing the street and then Sweet Girl stops, Leo trips over her, starts falling, hits his chin on Sweet Girls head, comes crashing down on his knee and takes Sweet Girl with him so she smashes her face on the sidewalk.

One second everyone is standing and the next Leo is withering in pain on the ground, Sweet Girl is screaming and I am standing there like 'what the hell just happened?' and am not really sure what to do first. I have to make sure Leo is OK, Sweet Girl is OK and keep Little Man from taking off.

Sweet Girl's mouth is bleeding. Little Man keeps asking Leo, why are you down there? And some nice lady is asking me if everyone is OK. I must have just stared at her, as I was probably in my happy place where shit like that just doesn't happen, so she asks me again is he OK? is she OK? Is there someone I can call? Will he be able to get up? OMG woman, thank you for your concern but enough with the damn firing of questions! I have gone into some sort of mental shutdown. Obviously I am not the person you want in a situation that would require fast thinking and decisions.

Sweet Girl is fine, Leo is finally able to get up and I thank the nice lady very much for hanging with us to make sure everyone is OK. I get Sweet Girl to rinse and spit and then she seems OK. Leo is walking with a limp and a little slow, his chin hurts, his hands hurt and his knee is swelling...and to boot he's got some road rash on his knee as well. The kids go play and Leo sits down to watch them so I can go make the exchanges. The nice question lady stops by again to make sure he is OK. She was a nice woman and did seem genuinely concerned.

And so that makes two days in a row for Sweet Girl and some kind of injury. Should we go for a turkey? Let's hope not.

Little Man is Causing Havoc

Little Man is causing havoc when there are Little People or Barbies in the Diamond Castle around. Or really it's anything that Sweet Girl might be playing with at the time. He gets this devilish look on his face and then begins his destruction sequence. Thus getting the exact result he was obviously looking for...Sweet Girl having a sort of mental breakdown as her "work" of setting up Little People or Barbies in formation is quickly destroyed by a sweep of Little Man's foot, hand or possibly even his entire body. There is screaming going on, and sometimes hitting, and depending on the severity of his destruction Sweet Girl's lips might turn blue from anger (this was a result of the Diamond Castle actually being broken...).

You would think the world was coming to an abrupt end in our house when this happens.

And he LOVES it. You can see the sweet victory in his eyes as the screaming continues. We warned Sweet Girl this day would come and indeed it has. Revenge is a bitch and Little Man is dishing it out BIG TIME.

Then we have to step in for fear Sweet Girl might seriously lose it and could possibly have some sort of convulsion, and to keep from anything else being destroyed. This is only a temporary solution because as soon as we are out of sight, Little Man begins round two...this causes removal from the play area and a possible swat on the bum.

And this is our life right now interspersed with playing well together.

Although sometimes even when they are playing well together they are still plotting something devious.

I cringe when I hear Sweet Girl yell out "Come on Little Man, I have an idea...."

Yeah it's time to take cover.

A Barbie Beheaded

This evening as we were getting ready for our nightly bath (which happened to be a shower this evening), I hear a thud and then the scream.
Then there is a naked Sweet Girl running at me red faced and trying to suck in air for the next wail. All I get out of her after asking her what happened was 'I hurt myself', I kind of figured that part out myself but I was really trying to figure HOW she hurt herself.

Everything seemed fine and calm, until the next round of screaming. This time was because the barbie was missing her head. Then I notice blood on Sweet Girls neck, upon further investigation it appears that the beheaded Barbie took out a chunk of Sweet Girl's neck right by her ear. After a debate between Leo and I if it would require stitches (yes Barbie did a number on it) or if any of Barbie's plastic is in Sweet Girl's neck. It's decided that all is probably fine. And we FINALLY found out that Sweet Girl tripped on the step stool and landed on Barbie, decapitating it and injuring her neck.

So there Barbie sits on the bathroom counter with her head next to her instead of on her body...

Nothing New

I don't have any exciting blog post today. I sat here for an hour trying to come up with what book I would choose for the PROMPT done over at San Diego Momma. I have SO MANY favorite books. It was just too overwhelming for me to pick one so I bailed on it today...

So instead I'll share a weirdo fact about myself.
I do NOT like eating AT a Chinese restaurant. I don't mind eating Chinese food but really only like to eat it as take out. I literally despise going into a Chinese restaurant. I am not sure why.
I know it's weird. And I don't understand it either.

That's all today.

The New Year Brings New Things

So 2009 is here and in full swing. Actually looking back at past years I haven't really made resolutions. But this year I am making some. Some are resolutions and some are goals. But here is a general idea of where I'm heading in 2009.

I do realize I will probably stumble, fall down, and have to get back up again to achieve these but I am not perfect (obviously) so I accept that I may fail BUT will try again.

1. Make some personal changes. I really want to work on the fact that I don't always follow through with stuff I WANT to do or start. This annoys me. And also I am working on others, including being happier, having a better attitude and just plain enjoying the fact I am alive. To help me with this I have a couple books. Stephanie over at Bad Mom posted a book Life Is A Verb, I checked it out and it's been ordered from Amazon. I am excited to read it. Also, Michelle over at Raising Little Women posted about a book - Only Nuns Change Habits Overnight so it's also been ordered from Amazon. I've also started checking out the Happiness Project. So armed with all that reading goodness I'm sure to be successful!

2. Read some Classics. I joined a Classics Challenge on Facebook to read four classics in 2009. I think I can do this one since I love to read.

3. Eat healthier. This is for both me and my family. The kids need to eat better too. I think we can still enjoy our favorites fast foods but not as much as we have been. Sweet Girl is really talking about stuff being healthy so I want to keep that going. Hopefully this will help me lose some extra weight. I am making another attempt to drop some of the extra weight by May for my sister in law's wedding. I am feeling the same motivation I was when I started last July so that's good and I am armed with additional knowledge so that's even better.

4. Enjoy the kids more. They are so funny and life gets so busy sometimes that I don't just sit and enjoy playing with them. I want to do that more.

5. Work on my creative writing skills. I really meant to sign up for the creative writing class at the community college for the spring semester but forgot. So I will try for the summer semester. But until then Deb over at San Diego Momma does a Prompt Tuesday post so I will attempt to do some of those. Maybe one day I'll finish that book I have outlined!

6. Build my Heritage Makers business. I am still really excited about this. I enjoyed making my Christmas cards and got great feedback on them on how they looked. After reviewing some of the Life Is A Verb book, there is a quote in there that goes along so much with the Heritage Makers. It's "In the degree that we remember and retell our stories and create new ones we become the authors, the authorities of, our own life" - Sam Keen. That is the whole point of creating the books and pages with Heritage Makers. To become the authors of our own life and to keep those stories from fading. If you don't know what Heritage Makers is about check out www.OurFamilyTales.com.

7. Get outside (until it gets too damn hot here) and enjoy the mountains around us. The kids like to hike and Leo and I enjoy it as well. So we need to do it more.

8. Spend more time with Leo (wink, wink).

9. Find a church and go to it. MANY thanks to my friend Natalie for giving me some info and food for thought regarding my search. I will give the contemporary services a shot and maybe they will be fine and I will enjoy them. I will go in with an open mind and realize we may have to try a couple different places to find our fit but I want to find out fit soon.

And I think that's about it. This is probably the biggest list I've had ever. But I am feeling good about it.
I'm feeling good about these changes because they are MINE and on MY TERMS (always subject to change to fit how I'm doing with them).
Bring it on 2009.

The New Year

I have been a total slacker in 2009 (not really much different from 2008!) with blog posts.

I rang in the new year, asleep...until I was awaken at midnight by Leo who had just played TWO HOURS of Guitar Hero. I was not feeling great so I hit the hay early.

I have really been giving my resolutions/goals some thought. Back to regular posting tomorrow, regular posting is actually a resolution...

I have decided all resolutions should start on a Monday so my new year doesn't really start until tomorrow January 5th...Don't ask I know it's weird. Did you really expect something normal?? Surely not.