Bullet Points, Again

• Who knew it was so difficult to buy a microwave? We went to both of the big box home improvement stores tonight and asked about 3 different models and neither store had any of them! Go figure, eh?

• I made kickass macaroni and cheese tonight. I tweaked my recipe just a bit and it was the best yet. I'll definitely make the changes permanent.

• Today involved a lot of running around and I slept terribly last night. I'm exhausted.

• I actually called the number on the bottom of the second to last box of Oatmeal Teddy Grahams that we own and asked what happened to them. Apparently, they weren't selling well enough so they discontinued the flavor. Suck! Liam and Ella both love them, with neither kidlet agreeing on another flavor. Ella doesn't like the chocolate; they both dislike the honey and for some unknown reason, I don't really want them to try the chocolate chip flavor yet. I guess I felt the oatmeal crackers (really, come on, they're cookies) were the best choice and I'm bummed that I can't make that choice any longer.

• OK, seriously...Cloris is still on?! I'm not a Kim Kardashian fan at all, but Cloris is just a joke and has been from the beginning.
  

Numbers

$2.05 - The cost of a large diet coke at McDonald's now. I'm a little pissed. This time last year the same drink cost $1.79. $2 is my psychological breaking point. I just can't justify spending that much on a soda. I mean, I know the previous price ($1.94) was steep, but for some reason, I just won't do it now that it's over $2. Maybe as a treat every now and then, but that'd be it.

50 - the number of pounds I've lost since I joined the gym not quite 10 months ago. That's a really big number and one I didn't even think I'd really ever see. I've lost 67 pounds total since the kids were born and now it's starting to seem as though I may really lose 100 pounds by their 3rd birthday. I'm definitely into numbers (both on the scale and on the tags in my clothing) that I haven't seen in a long while and it is a bit of a mind trick to some extent (I still routinely pick out clothing that is now far too large for me because I can't really wrap my mind around the fact that I'm now 2 or 3 and, in some cases, 4 sizes smaller than I've been in forever).

There was a huge part of me (no pun intended) that was always afraid to lose weight, at least lose it in big numbers. I felt that, somehow, I wouldn't be me anymore if I lost a significant amount of weight. Not that I identified myself as a fat chick (although that was my reality) or even let being fat define me. I just have always felt that other aspects of my personality were cultivated because I was fat. (And, I'm not grotesque or anything, but I've always just been a big girl.) I guess I found other ways to have people pay attention to me and felt that somehow those aspects of me would be lost along with the weight.

I don't think I've ever been happier to admit that I was wrong.

Quickie

I've been searching for a good pair of shoes that are casual, yet sturdy and don't make me look like I have clown shoes on (very, very important!). Most importantly, I needed something that wouldn't hinder me if I needed to set off after Liam as he escapes halfway down the street (which has happened once or twice and I ended up having to run barefoot since my sandals were getting in the way).

While I do prefer to wear something that I can slip on and off easily, as we're heading into cooler weather, I knew my new favorite shoes and my Birks (no, I'm not one of the socks and Birkenstock wearers) would have to banished for a while (watch, though, I will wear my sandals for as long as I can...until there's snow on the ground).

I found them! They arrived today and I'm sitting here wearing them and loving them. So comfy! I will always be a New Balance girl. I have the worst feet in the world to fit...wide with a high instep and they never recovered from pregnancy. New Balance is perfect for me and I'm in love with my new shoes.

OK, I guess that wasn't that quick. But there you go.

Good Lord It Just Gets Nuttier!

OK, it's just wrong that Cloris is still on. She seriously needs to go.

***********

On a serious note, this proposed bailout is just wrong. And McCain's suspension of his campaign? What a show! I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the economy just isn't his thing, or that he can't debate worth shit, or even the handy little fact that he's clearly behind in the polls right now.

Ugh.

I wonder if Sarah Palin is at all resentful of how micro-managed she is. Photo-ops only while meeting with foreign heads of state? I could almost buy Olbermann's suggestion that McCain's display is a ploy to wipe the VP debate off of the map (about 6 mins into the video). It's clear the woman can't hold her own. I wonder when she'll get back to Katie Couric?

I'm viscerally disgusted by all that's going on.

DWTS

Dude, Cloris Leachman is crazy!

Bits

I made this for dinner last night and it was really good. The leftovers were even better tonight! I will definitely try out more recipes from her site. I love using my crockpot...it was a bit of advice from one of the few parenting books I read before Liam and Ella were born and I agree that it makes life easier. I throw the meal together while the kids are still sleeping and then we have a great dinner by the time J comes home. I was so excited to to stumble upon Stephanie's site.

I'm thinking of cheating on my hair stylist and finding someone local. I've been seeing Michelle for nearly 10 years, but I feel as though it's time for a change. I'm in desperate need of at least a serious bang trim.

There was an arts market downtown yesterday and we bought some small pieces from this artist. Her stuff was beautiful. We stumbled upon my sister-in-law, too, who was selling her homemade aromatherapy pillows and knitting up a storm. (And, I so didn't even know that my SIL had an Etsy shop.) I think we'll check it out next weekend, if the weather's nice.

Brain So Full

I've been overwhelmed by everything that I want to write about that I've just been avoiding writing anything. Sorry.

Life is good here. We had a bunch of trees taken down in our backyard last week and at first I was daunted by all of the light and space. Now, though, we're in love with the backyard and can't believe we finally had the work done (it was purely because we had two dead trees that J was convinced were going to fall on the house). It's definitely been the summer of home improvement around here. In this summer alone, we've done more to our home than the previous owners did the entire time they lived here (which was for 25 years before we bought it). Now...the basement, but that's another issue in and of itself.

I'd like to try and make the Highland Games this weekend, but J doesn't think we should try it yet with the kids. Unfortunately, I think he may be right. Next year!

I loathe my chest and tricep workout. Just sayin'.

I also loathe Sarah Palin. I think McCain handed the election to Obama with that selection and I'm thrilled to see the post-Palin bump is over. Tina Fey on SNL doing Palin was great, though! Looking forward to more of that.

OK, more later when I can figure out to say what's rumbling around in my brain.