Food!

We went to Waldo Pizza the other night for dinner. It was so good! They have something like 4 different styles of crust to satisfy most people's desires. We have always gotten the thin crust with everything. They really load it up! It is so good, but not too good for the WW stuff. Oh well, you still have to eat, right?

I am having troubles keeping up the energy and excitement with my weight loss. I keep gaining and loosing so I'm not really getting any closer to my goal. In fact, I am a little bit further from my goal than the last time I posted about it. I still have less than 10 to go, but I don't think I will make it by my birthday unless I really step it up in the next three weeks. That seems so daunting, so I am just going to do my best and it will come off when it comes off. I am still a lot better off than where I was back in October when I started this journey. I know that the things you want most are the things you have to work for the hardest, so I just have to keep on working.

I am growing a small garden this year. I don't know if much will come from it, but it has been fun watching everything grow. I was out watering it this evening and saw my first tomato! It is exciting since this is the first time I have even tried to grow anything. I hope I get some more, but it is still early. I had some zucchini blossoms, but they have all fallen off. Does that mean I should start seeing some zukes? I am having pretty good luck with the basil and mint I planted, so I will start using them more when I cook. I don't know how to use the mint, but I love the smell of it. Maybe I'll just put it in my tea. Maybe I should start drinking tea. The watermelons aren't doing much, but I will be patient with them. They have doubled the amount of leaves since I planted them, so they are at least growing.

Back to work tomorrow, but with a holiday at the end of the week. I can't wait. I don't have anything planned, but you can always get excited about a four day week and three day weekend! Plus, the holiday is paid!

My Brilliant Daughter

As you know, I think the world of Katie. She is growing into such a charming young lady. Every day she says something to make me stop and think. She is forming her own ideas of things and copying sayings and mannerisms from others. Here are a few of the fun things she has been doing recently:

-As we were watering the garden a few days ago, I accidentally got her a little wet with the hose. Nothing was done except me apologizing to her for getting her wet. We continued watering everything then went inside and she started stripping down. I told her she didn't need to change and that the water would dry. She turned around, looked at me and replied in a very exasperated tone, "But just LOOK at me!" I could not contain my laughter.

-I was tucking her in to bed last night and she asked for her "cooking dollies." I thought, "Cooking dollies? What are those?" Then I saw the Raggedy Ann doll lying on the floor. She wears an apron. Katie wears an apron when she helps me in the kitchen. COOKING DOLLIES! So I had to find the other one, the one that was from my childhood. Remarkably, the two different generations of Ann dolls looking quite the same. She was happy after that.

-I am getting glimpses into the future as how it will be getting Katie out of bed and ready for school. On the weekends, we get to sleep a little later, so Katie gets to come to our bed when she wakes up. She likes to wake up on her own so she can do this. She knows that if we wake her, there won't be any morning snuggling in bed. This morning I went to wake her and she said very calmly, "go away mom so I can wake up on my own." I went into our room and a few minutes later she comes running in all happy and smiles.

-She got a new swimming pool at Grandma's house yesterday. She was pretending to be in the ocean and the waves kept taking her away and bringing her back. Then a shark came so she bopped it on the nose and it went away. I love her imagination!

-She keeps talking about "the other Katie" and that she wants to go play at her house and have her come play at ours. Too cute! (The other Katie is Andrea's little girl that we had the pleasure to meet in Minnesota.)

Two wheels less

I feel accomplished. I did what I said I was going to do. I rode my bike to work. Of course, it started raining, but it didn't really get going until I was dismounting. I feel exhilarated! I highly recommend it, if you can.

Weekend Update

Isn't that the name of a show on NPR?

Katie and I had an enjoyable Saturday. Ben was off at the bowling alley all day for Coporate Challenge stuff, so it was just the girls. We started by going to my WW meeting (I lost 3.2 last week then put 1 pound back on. I don't know if I will loose the rest before my birthday or not.) and Katie was so very good. Then we got some breakfast. We wanted to go somewhere, so we collected Grandpa and headed over to Loose Park. It was so peaceful and pretty there. Katie got to feed the ducks even! There was a lady throwing out some corn for them, so Katie very politely asked if she could feed the ducks too. She is becoming such a polite little girl! She thought that was fun. Then we started meeting people walking their dogs on the same pathway. Every time we approached someone, Katie would ask to pet the dogs. I think some of the owners were surprised that a 3-year-old would ask before doing, but you never know if the dog will be aggessive or not. Thanks to Katie's asking, we avoided one dog that didn't have much dealings with little kids so we had no worries! We made our way to the playground so Katie could play. They have a very cool playground. This is one to keep in mind for a special playground trip. After we finished at the park, Grandma met us on the Plaza for lunch at Panera. Then we all headed over to the Nelson Muesem to check out the cool stuff. We had a great time all day!

Sunday we went to church and did the normal stuff. We went to Jack Stack (note to Andrea-we gave you some of their stuff in your basket) and chowed down on some fantastic BBQ to celebrate Father's Day.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. I hope you all had a great one!

Blog? What blog?

Do you ever feel like blogging is too much of a chore? I kind of feel that way right now. I have much to post, but I just don't feel like it. I still love reading blogs, I just don't feel motivated to put forth the effort to give you something to read. So basically, you can count on a new post about once a month!

We took a trip over Memorial Day to Hastings, MN to visit Andrea and her family. She has a daughter also named Katie, so I think the girls were a little confused at first. We had such a relaxing time with Andy feeding us so very well. It is great that he had such a fun time cooking for us. I didn't have any trouble eating his offerings. I only had a little setback with the weight loss, so all is good. We visited the Mall of Americas while we were there. It was neat, but not as neat as I was expecting. Oh well. Hype doesn't always do a place good. I was able to sneak away and go to three very different yarn stores while I was there. I gravitate towards yarn stores like a bug flies to the lighted zapper. I think I need to start leaving my wallet in the car when I go to yarn stores. I found some great stuff that I am itching to try.

I seriously need to stop buying yarn. I have more than enough to get me through the next couple years. I have two projects in mind that I still need to buy for, but other than that, I need to stop! At least through the summer. We will see if I can do it.

Katie and I planted a little garden this year. Ben built two flower beds for the front of the house a couple years ago, so Katie and I filled them with Vinca this year. I also have a couple mint plants, a couple tomato plants (no worry of salmonella there!), so basil, a few watermelon plants, and one lonely zucchini. Here's hoping to a productive edible garden! My peach tree will be giving us a lot this year, if all goes well.

I am about ready to graduate from Olathe Civic Academy. This is a program that you apply for and learn about all the different areas of city government and services. It has been an interesting experience and I encourage and residents to apply for next year.

Life keeps going and I am along for the ride. I just wish there was more time to enjoy fully.