One Hour of Bliss

I've been working on lightening my load for the past two years. It's been quite the challenge and harder than I'd expected for sure. I've hit several plateaus and had to work out longer, increase the intensity of my workouts and alas, cut calories. The calorie cutting has been the hardest of all. For whatever reason, getting my hiney to the gym has been much easier than watching what I'm eating. Really it's how much I'm eating more than anything.

Anyhoo, I went to Old Navy yesterday looking for some summer bottoms as most of the ones I have are too big. Can't complain about being in that position, however new clothes happen to cost money and I'm a cheap one these days. All the shorts were on sale, but of course the linen pants I wanted were not.

When I tried the pants I was was thrilled and would have paid twice as much for them because they were size I was about 8 years ago! Which shall not be revealed on the internet. I'll just say I've lost approximately 40lbs and am feeling full of myself. The full of myself part is causing quite the expense these days, but I think I'm worth it.

When the weather clears up I'll have Robby take some pictures of me in the garden, which is also looking really awesome these days. I'm bragging and it feels good :)

An Innocent Case of Crabs

The boys recently got crazy robot hands and crabs in a special delivery from Jackie. That's right, crabs...and robot hands. It's weird how well they work together. 

They were outside playing with the crabs and were chucking them in trees and on roofs, you know the most inconvenient of places to get them down from. I quickly tired of retrieving the and wanted to gather them up so they don't 'lose' them again. Being the jokester I am around my mostly socially conservative neighbors I said in a booming voice "give me your crabs!" Two neighbor friends were in the yard with me and were all "seriously Regina!?! They love me...or figure I'm not leaving anytime so they'll play along with the crazy girl next door.

So as I'm writing this, Charlie is throwing something all around the office and I ask him to stop throwing whatever it is. He said "it's not something to throw...it's just a crab. It's just a crab Mommy." Hmmm. I guess that's kid rationale for ya.

Okay, so here are some random photos where the boys are not showing you their crabs!

Here's Charlie & Eli wearing hats that friends Kyle and Eli gave them. Their mom, Beth, told Eli he could have the dino hat if he promised he'd always wear it that way (that is, backwards) and he agreed. And here's proof he's keeping his word.

This is what I found goin down under Eli's cover one night recently. This is his all-time favorite thing to do. I've heard from grown boys that this is to be expected to continue to be an all-time favorite thing to do. 

When he was still in diapers we'd tease and call him DIAPER DIGGER, DIAPER DIGGER! We're like playground bullies with our own kids! Heaven help us. Diaper Digger may need therapy at some point for the hassling he's receiving.

The next two are for Jackie. Robby took these during your visit to the park in April. The cats at the park are kind of cute in a disturbing kind of way. The boys like to sit on their heads.

Eli, Charlie, and their BFF Zach eating popsicles on the front porch tonight. Charlie squeezes his out too far almost every time and ends up losing about a quarter of his treat. 

Zach was running and fell and his popsicle splatted ALL OVER his face. Turns out Orange Dream ain't so dreamy in your eyes. He looked like he'd been slimed. And the fact that he was wailing inconsolably until I could get him wiped a little only enhanced the experience for everyone.

And lastly, here's Charlie doing his best Hot Lips Houlihan. Still happy because this is before he lost his Cherry Melon treat.

Have a great weekend!  We'll be tilling the garden with 'our' new community tiller. The dream of time-share tiller ownership is now a reality. Woot! 

FYI for you...yeah YOU!

If you'd like to leave a comment, but don't feel like making a user name and password, you can go to the comments area and choose Anonymous for your 'identity'.  

If you want to identify yourself you can sign your name like Marianne (Hi Marianne!) did in Comments on the previous post :)

It's great fun to read the comments and I don't want anyone to not post because of the annoyance of a password, etc.

CHICAGO - The Personality NOT the Musical

A quote from a book I recently read:

Many of the people I now count as friends apparently had to overcome some initial repugnance toward my supposedly radioactive personality. Though I’ve never completely understood it, over the years I’ve come up with a few theories to explain this intriguing phenomenon. People are thin-skinned.

This struck me because I cannot even tell you how many times I’ve been told something along the lines of: “you used to scare me” or “you were sooo mean to me” or “I thought you were a real bitch when we first met.” I always find this so funny because these people are clearly still talking to me years later, and are often really good friends. Apparently they decided the pros outweighed the cons and got over it at some point. Or maybe the con (aka my personality) became the pro?

I know I can be up front, abrupt, honest, rude or whatever you want to call it. Robby refers to my ‘radioactive’ personality as CHICAGO. I’ll give him some sass and he’ll say “ooo-kay CHICAGO!” I suppose that the term one chooses for my personality is directly proportionate to how big a pussy you are. Oh, I meant to say thin-skinned. :)

So here are my questions:
Are you spoken to so pointedly about your personality? It can’t be just me…can it?

How do people say they remember you when they first met you?
(Janice no need to answer this one, I already know…you bitch!)

Don't Say A Prayer for Me Now...

One of Katie's posts really got me thinking about the concerts I've attended over the years and all the really fun memories that go along with them. Then I remembered my memory isn't what it used to be! So I'm taking this opportunity to document the shows I can remember, in no particular order, and add notes when I'm feelin' it. The spelling will be poor no doubt.

This is not a complete list, I am certain. Form opinions as you wish. As I remember more and/or find ticket stubs I'll update my list for posterity:

Rick Springfield - my first concert ever. Starkville, Mississippi. My dad brought me and a friend. He stayed for the show cause he was a real music lover and I recall him saying it was one of the best shows he ever saw. Still have Rick's Working Class Dog album on vinyl.

Radiohead - @ DV8 in Salt Lake City for $0.96...yes 96 cents, but really $1 cause they didn't give change. Awesome, awesomeness.

Beck - @ DV8 in Salt Lake City. Not sure if it was one of the $0.96 shows, but either way the venue couldn't have been cooler. He was touring for his debut album.

Smashing Pumpkins - their touring for Siamese Dream totally rocked. I got to see them 3 times while they were on the road for it. Fairgrounds in Salt Lake City, Lolapalooza tour twice...once @ some arena in Las Vegas (hotter than a mother-F-er outside) and again in Mountain View outside SFO, CA, again another summer at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in Golden Gate Park, SFO and lastly not my favorite show of theirs and mostly because of the venue...@ the Delta Center in SLC.

Nirvana - in Ogden, UT @ the Golden Spike Arena. What can I say? An evening I'll remember forever. I was blown away.

Beastie Boys - again, Lolapalooza Las Vegas and SFO. Sabotage was AMAZING and I'm not all into that song, but they rocked it hard.

The Breeders - Ogden, UT and the Lolapalooza tour in Las Vegas and SFO. I swear that Lolapalooza tour was crazy ass good. I recommend they do a reunion tour the lot of 'em.

Morrissey - I missed out on the Smiths...just a little too young, but caught Morrissey in Chicago. He's a pompous ass, but I love him.

New Order & Echo and the Bunnymen - I keep thinking Depeche Mode was there and I keep seeing Dave Gahan wearing white pants. Anyway, can't remember the venue...in the Chicago burbs. It had been raining and flooding around our house for days before the concert. We were lucky to get to the concert with the water everywhere. In my memory this was a magical evening. I probably felt all heroic making it out of my neighborhood to go.

Duran Duran - I lived and breathe Duran Duran starting in probably 6th grade. Posters plastering my walls...literally. I finally got to see them in Chicago my senior year in high school. A friend of mine had read once, years before in Tiger Beat or some such mag, that they like to stay at the Ambassador East hotel in downtown Chicago. Her mom was a travel agent and booked us a room. It's true, they DO like the Ambassador East! OMG when the elevator opened and Simon Le Bon waltzed in I really almost shit my pants. He's not as cute as I had thought. But John Taylor really IS hot. It wasn't just my hormone numbed brain. And Nick Taylor really does wear a ton of makeup and has his hair all done up. Anyway, yeah...nothing like 'Save a Prayer' and 'The Reflex' live.

R.E.M. - @ UIC Pavillion in Chicago. Touring for Life's Rich Pagaent. Really, really cool.

Ministry - Lalopalooza in an outdoor arena in Wisconsin somewhere. I never, ever would have believed it would be so damn good. Really. They weren't the headliners, but they sure acted like it and I think just about everyone in that stadium was shocked by the awesomeness and loved every second of it.

Sinead O'Connor - @ the Metro in Chicago. She ain't foolin' around. I'd never before nor since witnessed such a thing. The place was packed and she was just belting it out with the entire crowed standing completely still and just staring at her. What we really needed were chairs to relax in. As I recall Nothing Compares 2 U was getting to be big at the time and it was great to see her in a relatively intimate setting.

Random Rundown -

The Sundays, Love & Rockets, Psychedelic Furs, The Cure, Duran Duran, Charlatans UK, Primal Scream, Liz Phair, Tori Amos, The The, Pearl Jam, The Revolting C*cks (this is a family oriented website:), The Jesus & Mary Chain, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork, Jane's Addiction, New Order, Echo & the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, Fine Young Cannibals, Bob Seger, Zwan, U2, Tricky (almost intolerable), Shonen Knife, Weezer, Elastica, the Black Crows, L7, the Verve, Green Day

...to be continued.

I never saw The Grateful Dead, but I did hang in the parking lot at what I think was their last time at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Who I'd love to see, but haven't gotten to yet? The White Stripes and The Shins.

Who I'd love to see if they came to town, but I'm probably too cheap to buy tickets and/or am so clueless I'd never know they were here? The Dixie Chicks, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Mary J. Blige, Prince.

Who I'd swear I've seen, but can't muster a super solid memory, so I can't say for sure, but I'll write them down just in case: B-52's, Stone Roses, Foo Fighters, Cracker, Edie Brickell, Mazzy Star.

The Birds & The Bees

The boys from time to time ask about babies and themselves as babies and being in my stomach. The conversations are usually pretty funny because the boys are so innocent and cute. One time Charlie asked if he could get back in! I was all 'dude, that’s creepy.'

The other day the conversation came up again, so I grab my bookmark, which is a picture of me busting 8 months pregnant with my shirt up, showing my full glory and tell them “See Mommy’s belly? Charlie and Eli are in there.” Eli answered “Mommy, did you eat us?”

Not wanting to get Robby and I into an in-depth conversation about baby making, I just chose the laughing route, which quickly led to Charlie asking if Robby can have a baby. Even if Robby could have a baby do you think he would? Did you see his broken hand kid? Not sure we'll be eating anymore kids for a long, LONG time.