Sitting Around

So it's time to figure out what I learned this week again ALREADY! For my inspiration, or to join in, check out Musings....

So I learned that I sit around on my butt too much! Between the TV and the computer, no wonder I'm gaining weight and feeling "blah" this spring. I really need to motivate myself to get out there and do something else!

Sliding Glass

Since Wendy told an embarrassing story about her younger days, I will too. But I wasn't "young" in the same sense. Maybe 21? Can't really remember.

So, my friend had moved back in with her parents. We were over at her/their house for a Valentine's Day shin-dig. Now some idiot had decided that it was a good idea to replace the screen door on the sliding glass door with ANOTHER sliding glass door. That's right people - 2 doors! You had to open one and then the other. Well, we'd been traveling back and forth between the house and the deck all evening. And we'd been leaving one of the doors open, so we only had to open and close one door each time. Well, apparently the last person out or in had decided to close BOTH. So I go to walk out and open the first door and walk straight into the second one. No hesitation on my part - just the side of my face and both hands pressed smack against the glass. One of my friends literally rolled on the floor laughing. Nice friends, huh?

Now it's your turn. Wanna play?

Monday Again

True Confessions Monday time over at the Sisterhood. So here are my confessions for this week:

• I lost motivation this week.
• I ate more than I should have.
• I exercised less than I should have.
• I went to 2 parties where alcohol was involved.
  
• I tried to be good - honest!
• And I was in the alcohol department.
• It was the food that got me this week.
  
• I was really excited by my initial dieting weight loss.
• But I think that's all in the toilet now.
• The good news is that I'm the exact same weight (to the tenth of a pound) as last week.
• The bad news is that I'm the exact same weight as last week.
  
• Since I'm a little discouraged about that, I gave in at ate a cookie at lunch.
• A big cookie.
• Hopefully since karate is back on now, that'll help kick my butt a little.

Does anyone own an old house?

Okay, so it's been a few days since I've gotten a decent post in. The hubby left this morning for a week-long training in Delaware. He wanted to hang out as much as possible before he left. And my friend Jenn was in town from Washington, so we had to see her as well. Needless to say, I've been a little busy.

So I wanted to ask if anyone owns an old house. We have been looking at buying one. We currently live in a brand new place, or at least it was new when we moved into it 4 years ago. We were so bummed that it lacked character that we decided we would one day buy an old house and fix it up. In the last 4 years I have managed to give my new house plenty of character with lots of paint to cover up the beige walls, new furniture, and lots of homemade creations.

But now is the time to buy a house. The housing market is (hopefully!) at the bottom. We have seen several really cool old houses. All of them need some serious work - some more than others. We put in a bid on one house that got turned down. Now we are looking at a second house and trying to make a decision. So, am I ready for this?

I think that part of the problem is it would mean moving to a new town. Since we moved to Idaho we've been discussing the idea of moving to Weiser. Yes, that is the actual name of the town. Maybe that's half the problem! For those of you who don't know where it is, you might want to Mapquest it. It's probably very enlightening. It's a very small town on the Idaho/Oregon border. I grew up in a small town and always said that I was going to leave and never look back. Well, technically I did that. I never thought I'd want to move back to the town I grew up in, though as I get older the idea doesn't seem so bad! That's really not an option though. My husband cringes at the very idea of living in California. I knew from the time we got married that we'd eventually end up in Idaho. We met in Colorado, but he always missed his family. But we managed to move to a decent size town. Living in a small town would be a challenge. Mostly I think I'm concerned about the shopping. Weiser is an hour from where we live now and nearly an hour and a half from Boise. In all honesty it's not that far and I'd probably only make the drive once a week, but it's still a change. I don't deal well with change. And I just started a karate class here. I'd probably only be able to make that once a week instead of twice (and probably not at all after we have kids since it's on the days that I work). Living in Weiser would be closer to most of my friends and would cut my commute to work in half. That's always a nice bonus. And the older I get the more I cherish the idea of a small town where you know all your neighbors.

The house itself has lots of great features. It is a cool bungalow/craftsman style house. It's got all the original woodwork inside including built in cupboards, wood paneling in the dining room, hardwood floors, original doors/doorknobs, etc. And it had a claw-foot tub! I've always wanted one of those. It's got a great front porch and a screened-in back porch. It's the same size as our house now plus it's got a basement that could be partially finished to at least house a laundry room and wine cellar. It's got a cool old-school laundry shoot from the second floor down to the basement that I love.

Now for the negatives. It's on a rather small lot. My husband would see this as a positive thing, because it means less yard work, but I think it would take some adjustment seeing as how our current yard is HUGE. It doesn't have a garage, so we'd have to put one in (and take up more valuable yard space). The kitchen needs to be remodeled, but that's the case with every house we've looked at so far. It still has lath and plaster walls which have cracks that need to be repaired, though my husband assures me this isn't such a big deal. It still has knob and tube wiring and possibly the original plumbing. Both of these things scare me to death. My husband assures me that if they've made it for 100 years that it's not likely there's anything wrong with them, but the idea still frightens me. We would have to put in another bathroom upstairs to create a master suite and remodel the current bathroom. Both of these things aren't huge issues, but they are a little daunting. Oh, and did I mention that the house is dark, dark brown and has orange trim around the windows? Yes, ORANGE! And it's on the historic registry with a plaque out front and everything (which I happen to love) but that means you have to get exterior changes approved which I've heard is a pain in the butt. And the last thing I have issues with (and probably the hardest one to deal with) is that it's rather dark inside. I know that installing better light fixtures and shades that allow light in will both help with that, but how much?

So, I guess now you see my dilemma. I've been trying to debate out all the pros and cons and come to a decision. It took me weeks (and 2 trips to look at the house) to decide what I would do to all the features I wasn't crazy about to make it work. I finally got an idea of how it would look when we were done. It was harder to see the possibilites with this house than with the first one we liked. I usually think it's a good sign when I can immediately see what I would do with a place. But my husband and I have spent so much time debating what we'd do to this and that in this house, that I think we're both getting into it. It might be fun. And we wouldn't move in until some of the basics were done (the kitchen for sure!). I just don't know. I'm not very good at making decisions. I have decided lately though that it's really not that big of a deal. Some things like this seem like a huge ordeal now, but in 5 years I won't even care. If I end up not liking the house, we can always move again. If I hate living in Weiser we can always move back to our current house since we're planning on renting it out. If I like the house, we'll still be living there. Every house I've had has had some flaws, some things I didn't like. I just got used to them or fixed them. Anyway, I suppose I should quit rambling now. This post has gotten quite long, but I've been debating this for awhile. So if anyone has any good ideas or opinions on the subject, please let me know!

A Friday Funny:

New Challenge - Shrink Into Summer

So today is the beginning of the new challenge at the Sisterhood. I usually weigh in on Mondays and this last Monday I was at 137.8#. The last 2 weeks I've consistently lost 1 pound per week, so that'll be my goal for this 8 week challenge. that would put me down below 130. Sounds do-able to me - unless I get pregnant. Then my goal is just to not gain too much! 5 pounds for the first trimester is what's supposed to happen.

And I guess I started the challenge a bit early. We went out to dinner last night for my FIL's b-day. Of course they picked Mexican food. Why, oh why? I always want something covered in cheese with a side of rice covered in cheese and a side of beans covered in cheese. I resisted temptation last night! I ate the chips and salsa/refried beans very slowly, so I didn't consume much in that department. I stuck to water instead of the mango margarita I wanted. And I ordered a tostada. It had one fried corn torilla on the bottom (not so healthy) topped with beans, shredded beef, lots of lettuce and tomatoes, and a little cheese. It also had a big helping of sour cream and guacamole on the top, but I scraped most of that off (not all of it, that would just be wrong!). I entered the calories into SparkPeople.com and it looks like my dinner was under 800 calories, which is pretty good for eating out! I didn't meet my calorie goals for the day, but I did stay under 1800 calories, so that's pretty good considering all the challenges. And quite frankly I didn't know we were going out to dinner until after I'd already eaten a large lunch. So, I guess this is a good way to start off the next challenge. Who else is in???

What I Learned This Week

It's time for What I Learned this Week from Musings of a Housewife. So here it is:

• I learned that some things that you think are really important right now don't matter that much in the long run.
• I learned that sometimes praying really helps me find peace even if I don't come up with an answer.
• I learned that sleep is highly undervalued by some people!
• I learned that I am ready for spring...
  

True Confessions Monday

Well, it's True Confessions Monday, so here's what I have to confess:
1. I love Easter candy.
2. I hate more Easter egg Whoppers than I can count on Sunday. Okay I could have counted them, but I lost track.
3. I don't enjoy walking my dogs, but I try to do it anyway.
4. I should know how many calories I'm eating but...
5. I've learned a lot since logging all my info into SparkPeople.com
6. I really want to get pregnant but I'm afraid that I'll gain a whole bunch of weight that I'll never be able to lose.
7. And I would really like to lose some more weight before I get pregnant.
8. Someone today told me that I shouldn't be trying to lose weight if I'm trying to get pregnant, but honestly I've been trying for so long that I can't put off the rest of my life.
9. I'm tired of people telling me that I don't need to lose weight especially since
10. I've gained roughly 15 pounds in the last year and a half
11. But I have managed to lose 2 of those so far in the last couple of weeks.
12. I'm hungry... why am I always hungry??? I think this is why I gained the weight in the first place!

The Local News...Funny Stuff

So I was watching the local news last night. I never watch the news, and now I remember why. It's not that I don't want to know what's going on in the world. I would love to stay informed. But nothing happens around here, and a 30 minute newscast could be reduced to 10 minutes if they just left out all the "fluff" pieces. Also, the Boise area doesn't attract top-of-the-line newscasters. We were watching our local Fox news station last night, which is the WORST! Fox news is an hour, and remember I already told you that 10 minutes would be sufficient??? They usually have trouble finding stuff to fill the time. There are usually a few seconds at the end of the news where the newscasters just sit around chatting - like I want to hear THAT! Anyway, last night they had a piece on a town that's for sale in Britain. I'm not sure exactly why this is news, but I guess that's beside the point. Honestly I wasn't really paying that much attention, until they ended the film of the town with a local dog lifting his leg to pee on a bush. Yes, you heard that right... the local news thought they needed to include a clip of a dog urinating! Just in case it was important to you to know that the town up for sale included poorly mannered dogs just like any other town. Now THAT'S news!

Spring Reading Thing 2009

It's time for the Spring Reading Thing 2009! Here's my reading list between now and June 20th:

1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen for my book club in April.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for my book club in May.
3. I Remember by Lorissa Wilfong Holt for my book club in June. I can't seem to find it anywhere, so I can't post the link. Hope I'll be able to find it when it's time to read it.
4. Piece of Work by Laura Zigman. Got it on the clearance rack at Barnes & Noble. Not quite halfway through and need to finish.
5. Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. I'm halfway through -- need to finish.
6. Marley and Me by John Grogan. I've had it forever and have never started it.
7. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I started it, put it down, and then never picked it back up -- even though I was really enjoying it.

Ummm, I think I'm gonna leave it at that for now. I'd love to read more, but I have to be realistic!

Wendy's daughter wanted to see a picture of my cat, so here it is. Enjoy! You can see my reply to your comment for more pet info... Not much exciting going on today. Just got back from the fertility doctor, and I ovulated yesterday (which I was pretty sure of), so hopefully we got the timing right this time. If not, it's on to IUI next month. Just hanging out with the hubby for the rest of the day. He wants to brew, and I want to clean the dead plants out of my yard, but it looks like it's gonna rain. Why does it always do that when I want to work outside? It was gorgeous yesterday, and did I get out there? No! Oh well. There's always tomorrow!

What I'm Reading...

Life is Funny

I figured it would be good therapy to join the Life is Funny carnival and try to report on something funny on a regular basis. It really got the wheels rolling ...

Anyone who really knows me knows I'm not a very funny person. I don't "get" most jokes. I am, however, very sarcastic. And I do like to make fun of people (sometimes behind their backs but mostly to their faces because it's much more amusing that way!). So, this challenge might be a little, well, challenging.

I guess the funniest thing I can think of at the moment was my surprise when I came home from work and my husband was no where to be found. I sent him my usual text message telling him when I left work and that I was on my way home. No response ... the ... whole ... way ... home. Now I have a 45 minute commute, so even if he accidentally put his phone on vibrate or is on a conference call or in a meeting, he usually gets back to me before I walk in the door.

So when I got home and hit the garage door opener, his car wasn't there. I sent him another text. "Where r u?" No response. Finally, a whole 5 minutes letter he texts me back. "I'm in Seattle. Having drinks with a client." Hmmm. This would not be so unusual, usually. He travels quite a bit, but he was just in Seattle on Monday, wasn't he? He flew there and back the same day for some stupid training class. I know he did. And I swear he told me he wasn't going anywhere this week. Or next week. But then there was that time when we were on the phone and he was babbling on about something to do with work and appointments, and I kinda phased out. Did I really miss him telling me he'd be gone on Thursday night???

At this point, I'm a little mad because he didn't tell me (or I don't remember him telling me, which is the same thing, right?). I text him back that I had no idea he was going anywhere. And he didn't even say anything when he kissed me goodbye this morning. And his reply is "Tomorrow noon. Love u." Huh? That's it? No explanation. No "I TOLD you. You must not have been listening to me." (That last sentence requires a whole new blog, but it's something that's frequently said in the Zoo, from both human participants.)

So I guess it's not actually funny so much as me making fun of myself for being oblivious to what's going on around here. Oh well. At least after typing it all out, now I just find it amusing instead of irritating. That's gotta be a good thing. And at least I'll have sole possession of the remote control tonight. So it's off to make some dinner for one... It's just another day in the zoo!

I need to shrink!

Help! I need to shrink a few pounds. Okay, maybe more than a few pounds. More like 15, but who's counting. Actually, I'm already down 1.1 pounds, so maybe it's just 13.9 to go. I'm trying to be optimistic. I don't know why I've gained some much weight in the last year and a half -- other than the 2 knee surgeries, the new medication, the fertility hormones...

Needless to say, I need help and motivation (especially BEFORE I get pregnant!). So I joined SparkPeople.com and am also joining the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. Maybe between these two sites, I'll received the drive to keep going instead of giving up this time.

What I Learned This Week

So, from looking at a friend's blog, I discovered the What I Learned This Week blog and decided to participate! So, this week I learned that I am braver than I think. I was able to give myself all of my fertility shots for the first time instead of having someone else do it! I also learned that my husband is sometimes right -- dang it!!! And I enjoy working outside in the sunshine. It's not too sunny today - kinda cloudy and overcast - but hopefully it'll clear up! Well, that's it for now, but I just wanted to get started!

First Post

Okay, so this is my first attempt at starting a blog. It will probably take me awhile to get going, but after reading blogs from all my friends, I was inspired to try my own. The title of my blog is Life in the Zoo, because I feel that things around here are crazy sometimes! I have 2 large dogs, 1 cat, a job, and a husband that travels. I am going through fertility treatments. I am part of a book club. I take karate classes. I like to try to find time to scrapbook, quilt, shop, read, ebay, play around on the internet, keep up with email and Facebook and MySpace, and then I still have to do all the piddly little chores that never seem to get done -- laundry, cleaning, errands, etc. It's amazing I'm sane!!! This picture actually shows a calm moment in my life, which is probably why I chose it. It was before a date night, and we were looking pretty darn good! I think I was also 10-15 pounds lighter in that picture as well, which makes me feel good! Anyway, I'll try to keep up with the blogs and see how I do..... can't wait!