I added some more links to my list:
Consumer Reports (Sees Chocolate = Consumer Reports Best Buy - rated Very Good due to the "milk and dark chocolates with a lot of notably fresh, crunchy nut pieces. Includes well-blended toffees and caramels with real butter flavor." One caveat: some pieces more sweet than flavorful.)
Google Image Labeler thingy. The Google link has proven to be frighteningly addicting. It's "just" this little game that takes two minutes, gives you a score so you've entered into a competition unwittingly and you actually feel like you're contribute to the indexing of internet images (for Google--but we all know that Google is the world). Fun and productive!
***
At about 2 am this morning, I was asleep. I then awoke. I could hear that Lucy was sad in her own bed, so I went into her room to get her. About 30 minutes or three hours later, our dog was standing on the bed waiting to be let out. I was a little peeved. Even at 2, 3, 4 or 5 in the morning, my mind registers the fact that, if no one opens the door for the dog to go outside, the dog will go downstairs.
And I will be cleaning it up in the morning.
So I let the dog out.
I was so tired! (Stop and re-read the previous statement like a whiny 12 year-old. ...Thanks.) Anyway, I was so tired! And I knew that I would be waking up at 5:30am to "meet" Denise Austin. I had never tried a Denise Austin video before before, so you can understand my slight anxiety.
I was tired, I was anxious... worn out... Had a two-year old angel and gigantic puppy crammed into my sleeping space and I was not happy. I think I told Brian (who was asleep, but I'm sure it registered in his subconscious--because his subconscious is very perceptive) that "I am going to die if I have to keep waking up like this." I remember thinking that I had just said something almost profound. This was before I let the dog out. When I came back, the dog had jumped into bed in my spot and Brian was basically in the middle of the bed. Add one Lucy and you get about three square feet of space left over. This is when I said, loudly, "Brian, can you move over, please?" It was not a question.
He did move over. And I did sleep.
I would have just slept somewhere else, I have no problem with that, but I was afraid that if I wasn't in the room to wake up with the alarm, it wouldn't happen.
I was so tired! (Yes, the whiny voice still applies--thanks for verifying.)
***
When I grow up, I don't want to lose my temper, ever. I also want to go at least five decades without whining, even at three in the morning when all other people within earshot are sleeping. When I grow up, I will look pleasant all the time and all of my "passion" wrinkles will just fade away because I will be rock steady ALWAYS. Like this, maybe.
Interesting fact: In my experience with my father, he has only raised his voice to me one time ( I was being a true teenager at the time). I think it's amazing that he made it all these years with that kind of a record.
I know that I've got it easy. One kid. She sleeps through the night a lot of the time. She falls asleep in her own bed most of the time. She sleeps in her own bed much of the time. I just need to learn how to go to sleep earlier, (hence the resolution) and let the dog out just before bed instead of just before dinner. Easy.
***
Despite my continuing sleep deficit, I did wake up on time this morning.
Meeting Denise was wonderful. She has a knack for coining memorable phrases--they roll naturally from her while she instructs and encourages. The DVD that Rachel and I worked out to is called "Shrink Your Female Fat Zones." I'm pretty sure they got the title from one of Denise's other videos.
"Now, ladies: we're going to shrink your female fat zones. No more jigglies!"
This routine has a good "core" section to it. Final verdict: In addition to knowing her stuff and being astoundingly encouraging, Denise can open her eyes very wide.
We decided that Denise's video would be a good one to mix with DDR or running. And we tried it by plugging in the DDR pads after the Denise Austin DVD skipped one too many times. We still haven't gone running (COLD!), but we have talked about going Friday. Wahoo! Now, back to DDR.
I am sure that among my thousands of readers, there will be several hundred who have taken up DDR as a major player in their fitness training team of tools. (Awesome metaphor!!! Jealous much?) This is a tip for those of you who have done so:
When you have a freeze arrow, instead of just standing there, you can squat!!!
I know. It's a revelation, isn't it?
And another one: jumping may make you look sort of ridiculous and insane, but it sure gets a heart rate up more than just stepping!
Needless to say, I was dragging this morning when I got up to exercise. I debated whether or not I ought to just go back to sleep downstairs on the couch so I could let Rachel wake me up when she arrived. That way I would get an extra 10 minutes or so of sleep. Instead, I put away laundry, cleaned windows, and washed my face. I am responsible at times. I was so happy that I did get up. After early morning laundry, cleaning, Denise and DDR, and seeing a friend, I was much better equipped to be a good human being today.
***
Brian is such a good daddy--got Lucy in PJs right after dinner. Within an hour, Lucy decided it wasn't time for "Js" yet, and was last seen playing train with the four new laundry baskets I picked up at Target (tar-zjay) today. Laundry baskets work hard at our house. They serve as stools, totes, luggage, trains, laundry/Lucy carriers, etc. It was time to replace the broken ones. When Lucy discovered them, she declared that they were all hers. I set the stack of them on the floor for her and she proceeded to line them up. She then loaded the passenger car with her luggage and carry-on items and climbed in herself. She was wearing her birthday suit--sometimes with a backpack and galoshes, sometimes not.
