Fishing with Ella

I am in Kansas City and today Ella and Matt went fishing and I went along to take photos. Ella had a great time. She even decided that minnows are fun to play with.

Working from home

We are having the work done to fix the issue with water getting into the basement so I am working from home. Rather distracting at times due to the sounds of a jackhammer and chunks of concrete being thrown into the dumpster. They found a gaping hole under the foundation leading into the crawl space which is where the problem started. Then it ran against the blocks of the basement walls and came through where the mortar had given way. This, along with a french drain that will run from the back of the house to the front yard, should solve the problem.

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

Today is my daughter's birthday. My baby is 31. Not sure how that happened since I'm not much older than she is!

I am truly blessed to have two wonderful daughters. I'm a very proud mom.

How you look at it

It isn't just all in how you say it, but also all in how you look at it. For example, this morning I was looking in the mirror (I find myself doing that more and more these days) and thinking to myself, "not bad, not bad." Then it suddenly struck me that a few years back when I saw this weight for the first time I thought, "you fat cow." The weight does look different when you are heading down rather than when you are heading up.

The past few weeks have been pretty good to me. The week after the Palm Springs vacation I lost another 4 pounds! That was very nice. But then, last Thursday night Jake made some of his "Super Bowl Bean Dip" to take to work on Friday and I just had to have some. This stuff is so frakking good. 2 pounds of hamburger, 3 pounds of cheese, onions, 2 cans of refried beans (side note: when were the beans fried the first time?), salsa, and jalapenos. So I took some into a bowl and added fat free sour cream (as if at that point it would make a difference), got my lower salt chips and ate myself stupid. Friday evening Jake brought home from work the leftovers, so I had some more. Saturday morning I woke up with my eyes so swollen I couldn't put in my contacts, and I was making serious dashes to the bathroom due to the fat and jalapenos. Plus those 4 pounds from the previous week had returned. So lots of tea for me, as well as water and moving around all day. Told Jake not to make the dip again for Sunday. We snacked on veggies. Monday morning, those 4 pounds were gone, plus they took a friend along with them!

I'll never be one of those people who deny themselves all the good stuff in order to be thin, but it did prove that some foods just aren't worth the pain and suffering they cause.

Palm Springs vacation

Jake and I spent a long weekend in Palm Springs. Primary purpose was to see his folks who are in a nursing home, but secondary purpose was to just get away together. We don't do that as we should. We were both so relaxed. The weather was wonderful. We had a good breakfast at Sherman's http://www.shermansdeli.com/. My serving was so big that I immediately split it in half before I started eating and then added to the take-home part because it filled me up. Jake and I shared the leftover for breakfast the next day! We also had supper at the Blue Coyote http://www.bluecoyote-grill.com/. The weather was perfect for eating outside.

One of the best parts of the vacation was just sitting outside and reading. Here is a picture of Jake doing just that. This was taken on the patio at his brother's house.

As for the weight loss, it was only 1 pound this week, but considering the good food and good drinks we had I am satisfied with the 1 pound loss. This week, I am staying away from the chips & salsa and margaritas!

What is with contractors?

Jake made an appointment with a masonry contractor to come out last night and give us a bid on some work in the basement. He didn't show up nor did he even call. Finding someone to do a small job is difficult. We've even had one company tell us over the phone that the job is just too small for them. However, I would think that with the economy in the dumps people would take any job and do it right because it could always lead to more work in the future.

The good news is that the dumpster leaves my driveway tomorrow! Now we have to take stuff to Goodwill. We took 5 boxes of old engineering books to Powell's to sell. They bought one book - for $1! But at least they recycled the rest. The books just weren't in good condition due to mildew and/or age. We have another 5 boxes that need to go and will try again. Perhaps this time we will at least make the gas money.

One of the reasons Jake is right for me.

Jake and I met on line, back in the hay-day of AOL. Our mutual interest in aviation history brought us together. I like B-17's and C-130's. Jake has ridden in both. Below is a short excerpt from a story he wrote recently about how his love for airplanes in general, and B-17's specifically, began. Somewhere in a photo album is a picture of a six year old Jake standing in front of the Memphis Belle. You've gotta love a man who can write a 4 page story in a couple of hours and even includes punctuation!

On a trip to visit his Grandmother's house in Black Oak, Arkansas from Decatur, Alabama, a young lad's family makes a stop in Memphis, Tennessee to see some of the sights. The family stops near a National Guard armory because the father wants to show something to the young boy. And there it was.... A huge big green airplane on a concrete pedestal. It was the neatest thing this six year old kid had ever seen. It had these big tires and all those engines and stars on the sides, with so many machine guns sticking out from it from everywhere. You never saw a bigger smile on a kid’s face. "What is it dad?" the young boy asked his father. "It's a B-17 son. It's called The Memphis Belle. It's a pretty famous airplane and I got to ride home in one like this one when I came home after the war. I'll always remember that ride."