My Survivor Opinion....

Last night I watched Survivor and now there getting down there with only eight people left so it's easier to know who everybody is and have a real strong opinion about the different players so here's my take:

Russell: I really don't like this one. It's amazing watching him play the game and see how big headed he is but gosh I wish they would get it together and vote him off....(they won't, rumor is he makes final 3)
Parvati: I don't dislike her as much but her alliance with Russel annoys me. She is playing him like a fine tuned instrument right now though and you have to give her kudos for being able to read people and not suffer the paranoi everyone else does. (Another final 3?)
Sandra: Her I like. She is smart and switching to the other side almost worked last night....(Final 3 and I hope she wins)
Constance???: Blonde heroes chick that switched to villians and ruined it all last night.....gah. Go home already!!
Rupert: Poor guy is on the wrong side of the numbers I think and just can't seem to convince anybody when he knows what's going on.....
Colby: Blah!! I loved him the first time he was on the show but this time not so much.
Jerri: Getting lucky in the villians alliance but her days are numbered. I still like her for flip-flopping on Rob.
Danielle: Liar.....she is such a drama queen about the clue to the hidden immunity thing. Of course if I was Amanda I would have followed her constantly when going back to camp and told everyone she had the clue.

Sometimes I wonder if people who are on the show don't watch it later and realize what an idiot they were....

Not much going on.....Chad had soccer last night and is still loving it. He cracks me up though. He can run around that soccer field, flying here and there, with no problem but at school when they did the mile run he claimed he couldn't run that much because he has trouble breathing. Sometimes with him I think it's more a matter of how much he likes something. The only question though is it trying to get out of something he uses his asthma or is it a matter of liking something so much he plays down his asthma??? I used to think he was making it up until we went to the doctor once and he did some breathing exercises with Chad that showed he really was having trouble. I think tonight we may pull that stuff out again and check......

Rubik Revenge vs Me.........the winner is

The Rubiks Revenge (4x4x4) has been defeated!!! Okay I was mildly obsessed with solving the thing and have worked on it off and on for the last couple of weeks and last night I finally won.....yeah!! I did use the computer to help some but for the most part you can learn different moves but you have to figure out what they are doing to your cube and then apply them. There is no step by step solution really. Of course since I messed with that last night I did not go for a walk so tonight while Chad is at soccer I need to go walking. Unless I come home early from work and go walking then......hmmmm

A New Week.....

Well this weekend did not go as planned but it all worked out anyways and was fairly relaxing. Now the start of a new week and I'm going to attempt to be uber confident this week and make it a good week....lol. Chad has soccer but other than that we don't have a whole lot going on. I'm going to try going for a walk every day this week after work or in the evening sometime. I have a match on e-harmony that I may meet next weekend so that's a little nerve racking. Hopefully that will go well. It will be weird though to go on a date. I haven't done that in forever....lol.

Blah

It's Friday but I am definitely fighting the doldrums here. I have little or no motivation to get moving right now. At least last night Chad got me moving. He had soccer so we went a little early and kicked the ball around and then stayed late and took turns kicking at each other in the goal. I used to love doing that with my brother Kevin. We always used the Juniper in front of his bedroom window as the goal and the tree, or stick really, in the middle of the front yard as the line where you had to kick from. It's actually amazing we never broke that bedroom window now that I think about it....lol. Oh well, maybe we'll go swimming this weekend or something. I'm not sure if it's supposed to rain or not but at least at the YMCA we can swim either way.......

The Blahs....

They decided at work to go with 32 hour work weeks for everyone. Which I suppose is at least better than having to go out on the floor, although that may still be a possibility. We'll be able to draw unemployment on the hours short so it won't be as bad as it could be.  Honestly in a way I think this is just weak management and they're going to end up losing a lot of good people. Most people are not going to be able to afford this all summer and if they haven't already started looking for another job, they will start now. What this is telling everyone is that there are no employees valued any higher than any other. At least that's the vibe I got from some people in CS. Oh well, for now I still have a job which is a blessing to be most thankful for......

Random.....

Yesterday I was all off kilter schedule wise because I had to go to the review hearing regarding child support. Nothing has changed so I don't forsee them changing the amount of support but I won't find out for a few weeks. Last night Chad had soccer and he really seemed to like it. Then we found a walking trail over behind the High School and went walking for a little bit. We didn't walk the whole trail so we'll have to go back and explore some more.  I'm hoping to find out about the job I interviewed at this week sometime, the sooner the better. Keeping my fingers crossed that I get it especially with the slow down at work!!!

The Busy Weekend is Over.....

Whew what a weekend. Saturday we cleaned in the morning and then the busyness began. Chelsea had to be at the school from noon until 9:30 for the play. Clay spent the night at Ryan's and I went out with some friends to the cities. Chad spent the evening with my mom and dad who picked Chelsea up after the show and then picked me up when my friends and I got back to town, around 3:30am. My mom and dad are the best!!!

Sunday was pretty crazy too with getting Chelsea to the school by noon, grocery shopping, going to the play and then my mom and dad took us out to eat. Did I mention how great my parents are??? I think I need some time off to recover from my weekend off....lol.

Oh well....back to work and the dentist today....ick.

Weight: 214 (my period and not exercising last week)

Finally the week is coming to a close. This has been a really hectic, yet long week. I'm looking forward to taking the boys swimming tomorrow and getting some exercise in. I grounded them for the week but it feels more like I punished myself sometimes...lol. Chelsea will wrap up the show this weekend. I'll go again on Sunday to watch it as will my mom and dad.

Weight: 212
Breakfast: Cereal, milk, strawberries, OJ
Lunch: Cheeseburgers and goldfish
Dinner: Frozen pizza
Snack: Hostess Fruit Pie (I know, very naughty)
Water: 1 bottle

My Little Girl......

Yesterday was all about Chelsea! She took her road test in the afternoon and passed. She was practically vibrating she was so excited. Her face was bright red too. I was so proud of her. Before the test her nerves were really getting to her and she almost started to cry. She's tough though and made it through. Then last night was family night for the school play. Chelsea is on stage crew and is really liking it. The play was pretty good and seemed to go off without a hitch. Chelsea said there were things that went wrong but from the audience standpoint is was very well done. Yeah Chelsea!!!

Weight: 212
Breakfast: Cereal
Lunch: Chicken Sandwich
Dinner: 2 Cheeseburgers
Snack: Mini Sub from Herbert&Gerbert at work
Water: None (I really need to work on this)

oops............

I forgot to set the alarm last night and woke up late this morning. So Chad doesn't have to rush I'm going to drive him to school, which gives me a little extra time this morning to settle down. I hate when I get up late. Especially now that I've gotten used to getting up early and easing into my day.

In work related issues, I e-mailed the supervisor regarding our choice that we need to make. It will be interesting to see what his response is or if he responds. It was very stressful trying to decide what to say and what not to say. Ultimately I had to go with a cut in hours dependent on what hours the production position is. I did offer to work production in July if I could be gauranteed going back in DP in August.

Weight: 212
Breakfast: Eggs, Muffin, OJ
Lunch: PB&J, Chips, Pop
Dinner: Chicken Alfredo
Snacks: Goldfish
Water: None

Work and Kids

At work we had a meeting at the end of the day that was not very much fun. Basically we are slowing down for the next few months (May-August) and our department needs to do something. Apparently the choices are: 1) Reduce everyone's hours. The example given was 32 for everybody but it could be lower. 2) Volunteer to go out on the production floor and be an operator for the next few months. This would require a shift change to whatever shift your needed on. or 3) Some people will be fired, right now the guess is 4 people. None of the above sound appealing at all. I really can't afford the drop in hours but right now that would have to be my first choice. The problem with option 2 is what if business doesn't pick up in September. Now whoever is out there is one of the easiest people to get rid of. And of course 3 is just a bad option all around. It would be really nice to hear something from the place I interviewed at last week. I want that job more than ever now......

On the home front, the boys are in trouble again. I believe a grounding is called for......joy!!

Yesterday:
Weight: 212
Breakfast: Cereal and oj
Lunch: Hamburger Helper and Salad
Dinner: Ranch Frozen Dinner meal (not very good)
Snacks/Dessert: Goldfish
Water: 1 bottles

A Nice Weekend

The weekend was nice. The weather was beautiful first of all. Can not complain in that area at all. Friday night Chelsea and I had to go by the library (we both had books to pick up) and then the mall (Chelsea needed a swimming suit for school). While we were out we ate dinner at Pizza Ranch.....I really have to stop doing that. Then it was to bed early. Saturday we had to get up early, at least for a weekend, because Chelsea had drama all day Saturday. The performances are this coming week so they are doing the final run throughs. She's pretty nervous. The boys and I cleaned there room, put some more of their stuff in storage, and then went swimming at the Y. It wasn't crowded at all which was nice. Saturday evening we had pizza for dinner, watched TV and the boys played with friends. Sunday was a kick back kind of day. I played on ancestry.com looking up stuff as best I could. It appears we are distantly related to John Hart who signed the Declaration of Independenc on my mom's side. That family goes way back to coming to America in the early 1600's. Chelsea and I went and got groceries and she practiced driving. She has her road test on Wednesday this week.....yet another thing for her to be nervous about. She definitely has a lot on her plate this week. Dinner last night was Hamburger Helper and salad.

All in all it was a good weekend. Not to many meltdowns by me or the kids.....lol

We went to the Y again so I walked on the treadmill. It makes me giggle sometimes how totally out of shape I am. Here I am trotting along at 3 mph with the incline at 3, sweating but happy, when somebody climbs on the one next to me and starts off at 5 mph. By the time I left he was up to 10 mph. I think if I was in that good a shape I'd be outside running on the paths in the city.....lol. Clay did not go so there was no fighting. I'm not sure what it is but taking all three somewhere just rarely works out. Very frustrating that they can't get along. I think tonight we have some shopping to do, so no Y, but the boys and I will probably go swimming tomorrow while Chelsea is at drama.

Weight: 213
Breakfast: Pancakes and one piece of bacon and oj
Lunch: Chicken Alfredo and salad
Dinner: Pizza
Snacks/Dessert: Malt balls
Water: 2 bottles

Exercise and Interviews

We went to the YMCA last night and it felt good to exercise. I forgot how good I feel afterward. I'm definitely going to have to figure out how to work this into my schedule, if not every day at least most days. Today we will go again when I pick Chelsea and Chad up. Going before 5pm is nice because it isn't real busy. Monday we'll go later, around 7pm, so the boys can go swimming.

The interview went well. The job really reminds me of the work I did at Elk River Machine and Acromix. I think it would be a great fit for me, I just hope they agree....I should hear one way or the other within the next two weeks.

Weight: 214
Breakfast: Sausage, Egg, Muffin, Cheese (not fast food)
Lunch: Roast,Potatoes, Carrots, and Salad
Dinner: Creamy Chicken Alfredo and Salad

Dessert/Snacks: Grapes, Apple
Water: 2 bottles

Random.....Very Random

Yesterday we signed up for a 6 month family membership at the YMCA. Tonight we are going to go there after school. I will get to exercise while the kids play basketball. They also have a couple pools and a couple racquetball courts. Today is also interview day. I applied for another job and I'm really hoping I get it. We'll see out the interview goes later today. Fingers crossed.....

Weight: 215
Breakfast: Sausage, Egg, Muffin, Cheese (not fast food)
Lunch:PB&J Sandwich (2)
Dinner:Frozen pizza

Dessert/Snacks:Chocolate malt balls from Easter
Water: 1 and 1/2 bottles

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've had a busy morning so not much time to post. I cleaned the apartment yesterday which was nice. Chelsea made dinner from start to finish.Tonight I'm hoping to get grocery shopping done and go by the YMCA to see about a membership.

Weight: 215
Breakfast: Pancakes, one piece bacon, orange juice
Lunch: McDonalds....I know bad idea
Dinner: Pot Roast, carrots, potatoes, and salad
Dessert/Snacks: Piece of chocolate
Water: None

Easter Weekend

This weekend was beautiful. Such nice weather for the holiday. Friday night me and Chelsea played soccer with some other kids in the buildings. That was fun. The Saturday Chelsea and I went shopping for Easter outfits. I actually got a dress. Chelsea looks good in everything she tries on but we managed to narrow it down to one dress. Then Saturday night we played soccer again. Sunday we dressed up and went to Church. After that we went out to eat at a buffet with my parents and a movie, "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3D. It was very good and very funny.

My conclusions after this weekend. I either need to find a time when I can start to exercise every day so I can lose weight or I need to not be so unhappy about pictures of me.....Maybe if I log my weight on here every day and what I eat and what exercise I do I can figure something out.

Weight: 215 lbs
Breakfast: Kashi Go Lean cereal, 1% milk and strawberries
Water: None
Lunch: Ham Sandwich, Brownie, Pop
Dinner: BBQ Spare Rib, Noodles
Snacks/Dessert: Ice Cream

Work...

Ahh it's Friday at last.....this has been a crazy long week at work. We got the lecture about writing errors up so of course people are starting to do that again which stinks because always becomes very petty. I don't see how it helps our "team" when we have to do that to each other. Oh well, there is no convincing them of that.

I have a job interview on Wednesday next week. Maybe I can get on somewhere else and do more programming type work. I like where I'm working now but there doesn't seem to be much of a future there and it is just very uncertain day to day. If I don't get this other job I'm going to look into acquiring some certifications to put myself in a better position for finding another job.

Weather, work and dentists.....

The weather is absolutely gorgeous the last couple of days. Yesterday I left work early. We are slow and they are asking people to take time off if possible, and since I was going to have to leave a little early anyways, I went ahead and took a half day off. Chelsea and Chad had to go to the dentist to get some cavities taken care of. They were not happy. Chelsea did okay but Chad really had a hard time with it. Hopefully this will make it easier to convince him to brush his teeth every day.

Doctors....

I took all three kids to the doctor yesterday. The older two for check-ups and Chad based on a referral to see about low dosage trial to treat his ADD. I'm not too big on using the medicine to treat it and we are making diet and behavioral type changes as well. We'll see how he does on the medicine though for the next month. Maybe it will give him a kick start kind of and he won't always be on medicine. The older two were fine. Clay had to get his DTP shot.....he was not overly thrilled by that. Chelsea had blood drawn to check her iron and what not and those came back normal. So by the grace of God I have three healthy children for another day!!!

Movies, Movies, Movies....

This past weekend we watched four movies. They were:

Unaccompanied Minors - This is about some kids traveling at X-mas time alone that get stuck at an airport. Most are kids from divorced parents going from one parent to the other. It was kind of sappy at times but it did have some really good laugh out loud moments. Overall I'd give this movie a B since I probably would watch it again.

2012 - This is a movie about the end of the world. The action and special effects was neat but it was a very sad movie. Kind of hard to watch a movie that has that many people dying in it and not be a little depressed. At least the dog survived. It was interesting though and actually a pretty good movie. I'd probably give it a C because although it was a good one to watch I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.

New Moon - The second movie in the Twilight saga. I could not get into the books. The first movie was good but this one in all honesty I hated. I was jumpy watching it and the ending was horrid. Definitely not my cup of tea. I'll go with a D-.

The Blind Side - This was my absolute favorite movie of the weekend. I would watch it many times over given the chance. I read the book and they did an excellent job of making that book into a good movie. This one is about the Touhy family taking in Michael Oher off the street and what Michael was able to do with the opportunity he was given. Most definitely an A+ movie.

I just finished reading a couple of books now that I picked up by chance in the library. One of the authors I had read before the other I had never heard of. The books are "Made in the USA" by Billie Letts and "Between the Tides" by Patti Callahan Henry. They were both excellent and after thinking about it they actually have a common theme. They both address how events in your childhood can have a profound affect on your life. The characters in "Made in the USA" were younger, 15 and 11, but the girls mother died when she was 6 and she felt it was her fault. This affected her self-esteem and her ability to bond with others. In "Between the Tides" the main character is older, probably late twenties or early thirties. For her it was when she was 12 a family friend that was 2 died. Again she thought it was her fault but what compounded the problem was her family moved away within days of it happening and she had believed it was because of her that they had to move. In both books they were wrong. The deaths were tragic but in no way their fault. Not only does this make me consider my life and how events may or may not have affected how I live now but I also look at my kids. How is what they have gone through in the past going to affect them later? How can I help them understand that not everything that happens is because of them so they don't carry any unnecessary burdens?

I'm running late today but I'm trying to stay in the habit here so I'll go ahead and write a quick post and tomorrow maybe write more. I got my bike fixed last night and can now shift gears again. Woo Hoo!! I get such a feeling of satisfaction and pride when I figure something like that out. Turns out the issue was how the cable was getting connected. The internet is such a handy tool...

Yesterday we went and got some stuff for cleaning and lubricating the bike chains. I was thinking of getting new chains for the bikes but after finding out how much that will be.....maybe not. Plus, the kids won't be riding theirs very much. I did try working on my bike to get it to shift but no success. Last night I did find some stuff on the internet though so hopefully I'll get my bike tuned up and shifting right tonight.

Not much else is going on so I guess that's it for today. Friday Chelsea is going on a bike ride with her boyfriend......oi, I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be dating........

Yesterday I was naughty and got on the computer after work. I really shouldn't have and it definitely made it harder to get everything done last night that I should have done. I did play outside a little with the kids and referee a few fights. There are a lot of boys in these apartment buildings and they do like to wrestle with each other. The only problem is as soon as one gets hurt they go tell and then everybody is in trouble. It's a little frustrating because you never see some of these other parents outside watching their kids but yet they want to pass judgement on what happened based on what their kid said because lord knows they would never lie to cover their own tail end.....lol

My goal today is to do some research on collaborative problem solving and also some research on tuning up our bikes for the Spring....woo hoo!!!

The weekend was nice. The weather was cool but not cold and the sun managed to come out both days. Friday night Chelsea had a date and went to the movies. It's hard to believe sometimes I have a 16 year old daughter. She's pretty smart people wise though and I trust her quite a bit. It's the other people, boys mainly, I have trouble trusting...lol. Saturday I did laundry and pretty much lazied about all day playing on the computer and such. Chad spent the night at a friends who lives right next door. Yesterday we went to Church and cleaned up a little. I also took the kids, plus a couple friends, to the park up in the neighborhood here. We played a little touch football, catch with the frisbee, and a fun game of follow the leader. I really need to exercise more because the walk was rough on me. Or maybe it was more the game of follow the leader.

For church we did try a different church. It was interesting and all but I think we'll be going back to our regular church next week. It was funny because it almost felt like through the sermon at this new church I was being told to go back to my regular church. That maybe I need to move on from the divorce and it's me that is focusing too much on the fact that I am divorced. I need to start focusing on my future and looking forward rather than back........definitely something to think about.

Now today is Friday.....yay! It was a little tougher getting up this morning because I stayed up late reading a book. I'm almost done with it so it's hard to put it down, even though it makes me cry. Last night went well. The group was a little smaller but that actually helped I think because those of us there could really talk about what's going on and offer each other some understanding, if not a little advice. I always feel better after those meetings. I'm considering checking into another group that meets a little more often at the Y called Circle of Parents. If nothing else it's free pizza every once in awhile...lol.

I'm also considering checking into a different church. This is a little tougher for me but I think it's something I have to try. I struggle with the divorce and my own religious beliefs where marriage is concerned but the Church we're members at now is really harsh on that topic which makes me feel even worse. Then I don't want to go at all which is not what's best for the kids. I understand, believe me I do, where there coming from but it just isn't what I need right now, well at the same time I feel like I need to go to Church.....

Another beautiful day is in store weather wise today. Kind of odd for March in Minnesota but definitely a nice break after the long snowy winter we had. I guess starting tomorrow it's supposed to cool off again but we'll see. Anyways last night I got a little more cleaning done....the bathrooms, ick...and then me and the kids played a few rounds of the game Whoonu. So far I'm liking my new routine and I don't feel nearly as tired all the time. Not sure if it's because I'm keeping busy and not moping around as much or what but I like it. Tonight me and Chad get to go to our support group thing. I'm surprised how much I look forward to it but it is nice to have a chance to talk to other parents who have some similar issues and some totally different issues. Work is going pretty good although there is still a chance for more layoffs. I guess we're going to find out by mid-April whether or not our department will get hit by the "reduction" or not.

Last night was a really nice evening. I kept pretty busy cleaning up and helping kids with homework and getting dinner ready. Part of my new strategy is to not sit and watch TV in the evening until at least 7 o'clock and to stay off the computer. I was able to do both and the weather really cooperated yesterday. Then I watched NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles which are two of my favorite shows. Bed time was a little frustrating as the boys had trouble falling asleep which means everyone was kept up a little late. Tonight will be an early night for those two for sure. Oh well, better run.....

Two days in a row...woo hoo...I am on a roll!!

Maybe if I put in writing some changes I want to make it will be easier.....or maybe make me try harder...to make the changes. First off I want to start getting up earlier in the morning and ease into the day a little. Typically I would sleep until the last possible minute and then rush around getting ready for work. Now I want to get up about an hour earlier, do my computer stuff in the morning while I eat breakfast, and just start the day off a little calmer. Then after work I am going to try not getting on the computer but rather getting other things done and maybe doing more with the kids. I believe my computer addiction is pretty bad though because last night it was hard not sitting down at the computer. I will live though....lol

Alright it's been awhile but I'm going to try this again. I am not a huge fan of New Year resolutions so I like to start changing things around March, when the weather starts to change and things just seem to be getting better. This has to be a quick post because I'm leaving for work but hopefully every morning I'll get a chance to put a little note in my blog just for the fun of it or maybe to vent sometimes.