Thanksgiving

So, yesterday I attempted my first Thanksgiving dinner.  Yep, I'm how old and I'm just now cooking Thanksgiving dinner?!?  What can I say....I DON'T COOK!  And when you have a husband who loves cooking turkey, there's no need to learn.

However, this year, Nick worked Thanksgiving morning at Target, so it was up to me to get the turkey in the oven, and do basically all the cooking.

I did pretty well.  The turkey was done, and looked lovely.  My problems came with the timing of the rest of the dinner.  There were potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, and gravy to make.  Unfortunately I made a beginners mistake, and started making all the other dishes BEFORE the turkey was finished.  Needless to say, the turkey wasn't finished when I thought it would be, so all the other food was cold by the time we got to eat it!  

Needless to say, I was bummed.  Oh, who are we kidding; I was BEYOND bummed.  I had very high expectations (my first mistake), and the perfectionist in me took over.  Nick and Brandon loved the food, and Nick attempted to make me feel better, reminding me that this was my first time doing this, and that my turkey turned out better than the one he cooked last Christmas (that was very sweet of him to say!)  Oh well, live and learn.  

I found this picture today, and it made me laugh.  My dinner might not have turned out the way I really wanted it too, but at least my Thanksgiving didn't look like this:

It says, "And you thought YOUR family was dysfunctional"

However, knowing me, I probably would've LOVED to be sitting at this table!!

What Week Are We In???

Well friends, until life slows down.....(like next summer), my weight loss challenge is over, and maintaining my current weight continues.  Call it an excuse, call it whatever you want, but there is simply no time to exercise. 

I miss not being able to exercise, I really want to loose that last 20-30 pounds, it's just not going to happen for a while.  So I will take with me the tools I've learned and keep using them until I can really get back on the bandwagon and do this right again.

I came across an article a few days ago, and I still can't decide how I feel about it.  A man named Drew Manning, who is a personal trainer, has decided to go from being extremely fit, to fat, and then fit again to help show people how it's done.  Read his story here.

Someone please explain this to me.  I can't figure out if I'm offended by this, or if I should be applauding him for wanting to help so many people.

Pros to what I think he's doing:
- learning how hard it is for people who struggle with their weight; that it's like an addiction to many
- his transformation has been disgusting to watch; something that might help people realize how quickly they can become obese

Cons:
- he's a personal trainer....do you really think it will be that difficult for him to shed this weight?  He's got access to all the right equipment, he's got all the knowledge, and HE'S A MAN....we all know they loose weight easier than women!!  If I could afford a personal trainer, and someone who could cook for me, I'd be down the last 20-30 pounds too! 

Yeah, I don't think I like this.  It feels like a slap in my face.

His challenge is almost over and then loosing his weight begins.  It will be interesting to see just how quickly, and easily he does it; because I have NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that he will look just like his before picture, in no time at all.

Be sure to check out the link at the bottom of the article; he has a blog, and many videos on YouTube where people have told him what he had to eat each week.

The Neverending Move to Utah

There's a running joke in my family about my mom.  Every time she drives to Utah, something goes wrong.

The first time she came, last year when Nick and I moved, she was driving my car, and Nick was driving the moving truck.  Towards the end of the trip we were separated.  Mom and I ended up in nearby Cottonwood Heights, while my brother-in-law guided Nick into Sandy.

When she came for Christmas, she took the train, so there were no problems.

Mom came to visit us during the 4th of July weekend this past July.  Again, she ended up in Cottonwood Heights.  That has also become a joke:  we believe she will eventually live there since she seems so drawn to it!!

Friday night mom moved from California.  We thought it wouldn't happen until after she retired, but life has a funny way of turning the tables on you and pushing you the direction you need to be going.  My brother-in-law, (BIL for short) took the train to California to help mom pack up, and drive the truck.  She rented a trailer for her car to be pulled on, and they were on the road by 8pm California time.

All was going well until 4:15am Saturday morning.  In the middle of NOWHERE, 30 miles out of a town called Winnemucca, they had only five hours left til they would arrive.  Mom was driving and felt the truck jerk.  A few minutes later she looked out the rear view mirror and noticed sparks coming up from behind the trailer.  One of the tires on the trailer had not only blown, but was smoking and completely turning into tar.

She called the truck company and they told her it would be 2 HOURS before they could get someone out to them.  Mom asked if she could just take the car off the trailer and leave the trailer behind.  She could, but it would be considered abandoning the trailer and she'd be liable for it if anything happened.  They decided to wait.

2 hours comes and goes......and no one comes to fix the tire.  She calls back again.  Apparently the truck company had two other trucks with problems and instead of making it clear that there was now a THIRD truck, they accidentally told the tire company it was only two trucks.  The tire guy had already fixed one truck and left.  It would be another two hours.

Four hours pass and a Highway Patrol Officer notices their truck and stops to find out if they're ok.  They tell them the situation and he lets them know that he will drive past again in about two hours to see if they're still there.  I would've thought he could do more, being a Highway Patrol Officer, oh well.

Now six hours into the mess, the tire guy shows up to fix the trailer.  He takes one look at it and realizes there is no fixing it.  (Yeah, I think my mom and BIL had already tried to tell the "powers that be" all about that!)  The truck company is called back and they have the NERVE to actually tell my mom that they have to stay with the truck until sometime SUNDAY before they can get another person to them!  The lady on the phone tells the tire guy to just leave them there in the middle on nowhere.  Oh, and by this time both of their cell phones have died.

The tire guy gets involved asking to talk to the person in charge of the truck company.  He explains that HE WILL NOT leave them there with this truck, stranded.  They are finally told that they can leave the trailer and that my mom won't be held responsible for it.  Gee, didn't mom try to do that 7 HOURS AGO?!?

So then my BIL gets into mom's car to drive it off the trailer.  The tire guy immediately notices that the trailer the company gave mom is too big for her car, and that if she drives it off, it will probably damage the undercarriage of her car.  They continued to drive it off, and it made a lot of noise on its way down....something was probably damaged.

After spending nearly 7 hours stranded, waiting for a company that claims to provide 24/7 roadside assistance, they finally got back on the road.  Five hours later, they arrived.

There are so many things wrong with this situation.  When mom first called in to report the problem, they were more concerned with the condition of the truck than the people who were in it.  They NEVER asked how they were doing; if they had food and water, etc.  The company screwed up the maintainence order and they had to wait 5 hours for someone to arrive.  After discovering it couldn't be fixed, they had the NERVE to try and tell mom she had to stay with the truck until who knows when on Sunday, without a cell phone, in the middle of nowhere!  And during one point in this mess it was also discovered that the trailer the company rented to my mom was NEVER SUPPOSED TO LEAVE THE YARD!  It's a PIECE OF JUNK and had problems to begin with!  Gee, you think?!?  We all wondered how it made it out of the yard.....do they not put signs on these things that say "Out of Order", or "Do Not Rent"?  Shouldn't they?!?

This company is going to get an ear-full, that much I KNOW.  Mom had to spend more money on this trip since she ended up having to gas up her car twice.  She will also have to pay to have a mechanic look at her undercarriage, and fix it if any damage was caused driving it off the faulty, too large trailer they gave her.  We all think she should demand they not even charge her for the truck and trailer at all.

We are all grateful that mom and my BIL were together.  It helped keep both of them calm, thinking clearly, and continued to help pass the time while they were stranded.  The situation could always have been worse, but it was ridiculous enough as it was.

But they made it, and now mom is onto new adventures in Utah.  We are so excited that she's here!

To be continued......

Week Eighteen

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.  That's about all I have to say for this ridiculous week!

Work was a NIGHTMARE all week long, and I ate SO MUCH fast food that I was stunned to see I'd only gained one pound!  I was certain I was at least five pounds heavier.

I'm TRULY, TRULY hoping that this is the week that life will slow down, if only just a bit.  One thing is for sure:  NO MORE FAST FOOD.  Believe it or not, I'm actually getting tired of it!

I'm going to find a way to exercise this week.  I'm hoping after dinner, and after Brandon is ready for bed....around 6:30/7pmish I will be able to put in 35 minutes of exercise, at least three times this week.  Then I will be pushing myself to also exercise the full hour on Saturday.  This is simply getting ridiculous.  I'm maintaining well, but I don't want to simply maintain, I want to keep DROPPING POUNDS!

Wish me luck, and free time!

Chef Brandon

At school this week, Brandon learned all about people who help in the community.  Monday, he was a dentist, Tuesday - Thursday, Police Officer, Doctor, Fireman, and Friday they were all chefs.  Each day of the week he came home with the funniest hats, all having to do with the profession they had been talking about at school that day.

But the chef hat put them all to shame!!  How completely adorable is this?!?

A few minutes ago, I noticed that Chef Brandon was helping Daddy with dinner.  They are making spaghetti...yum, yum.

And just for you, Grandma, a video!  I hope everyone else likes it too!!  5 MORE DAYS TIL GRANDMA MOVES TO SANDY!!!!  Yea, we aren't excited at all!