I've Been Saving These

2006.01.11 Sandra Boynton Rocks
We were busy last night. Michael bought a new suit, we went out to dinner
and then to Barnes and Noble to buy some technical books.

While we were there, we read two books to Ben that he liked so much that we
bought them. Both But not the Hippopatomus(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671449044/qid=1137078715/sr=8-6/ref=pd_bbs_6/102-1098879-6776932?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) and Blue Hat, Green Hat(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671493205/qid=1137078819/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/102-1098879-6776932?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) are by Sandra Boynton. Ben loves being read to. He would get the book, hand it to Michael, then sit down beside him as Michael read. Whenever Michael said, "Oops.", Ben would crack up. His laugh made me laugh.

Today, Ben had an appointment with an ear doctor to check his ear tubes. The last time I had him in the office he stayed in his infant carrier. This time he was walking. And it was difficult preventing him from touching all the medical equipment. He was somewhat wary of the doctor and wouldn't open his mouth for him. Dr. Kass was forced to get out the tongue depressor. After the visit, they gave Ben a sticker which he stuck on and peeled off his shirt many times, and once on his forhead. Eventually it didn't stick any more so he handed it to me to fix.

I was going to take the rest of the day from work. But, there were issues and I had to come back to try to fix them. I hate debugging someone else's code.

2006.01.19
Michael and I got Ben from daycare together. Afterwards, we went to the Japanese steakhouse for dinner. This was the first time Ben interacted with the chef. I fed Ben some sticky rice and vegetable dumplings. When we got home, I read to him and played with him. At around 8:30 he requested something to eat. I gave him Cheerios and juice.

2006.01.24 Cassoulet and Crockpots
I bougth a slowcooker last week hoping I would make more homecooked meals. The microwave meals are getting a little tired. For my first recipe I am trying vegetarian cassoulet. Its cooking while I'm
at work. I am, of course, praying my house isn't on fire. Now that I think of it, I should have bought the programmable slow cooker. The recipe calls for 8 hours of cooking and It will be at least 10 hours before I get home.

Tomorrow I will try black bean soup.

2006.01.26 Two more days!
Just two more days before I make lifetime status at Weight Watchers. Michael has been helpful. I bought a brownie last night and he, being helpful, ate it for me while I slept.

A co-worker is married to a chef. She brought in banana cake with banana caramel mousse, topped with toasted pecans. I had a small piece. It was delicious. Plus, we are going out to dinner with Michael's parents tonight. Maybe we can go to San Francisco Oven and I can get the black bean soup.

Ben is changing. I don't see any baby anymore. Last night at the mall play area he slid down a slide for the first time. In addition to that he got on a low balance beam by himself. He also has his own opinions and agenda. He hates his stroller. There is stuff for him to do and we are getting in his way when we prevent him from doing that.

2006.01.27
Last night we went to dinner with Michael's parents. We went to a kabob restaurant where I had a fish kabob and we had a hummus appetizer. It was marinated swordfish, it was meaty and didn't have a strong flavor. I liked it. I was tired and not really in the mood to do much talking.

After dinner, we took Ben to the play area at the mall. He seems to be having more fun. There was a little girl there who hugged him. She thought Ben was cute and her mother says she keeps saying she wants a baby brother.

After the play area, we walked to Nordstrom because I wanted some things from the Bobbi Brown counter. We passed a clothing store that was playing some hip hop/rap. Ben walked into the store and started dancing to the music. He was definitely getting his groove on. He has a combination, dance/bop/walk he does that makes Michael and me laugh.

"I-dee"

Michael and I had a short discussion about Ben's all-purpose word "I-dee". Previously, we joked that it's short for "I demand". But, now I think (and Michael disagrees) that it started as "I see". About a month ago, he would point to something and say "I dee" meaning he wanted it. Now "I dee" means "give me", "again", or "trade"; to me it all boils down to "I want".

Nothing much happened today...

Michael returned with me to Weight Watchers. He really didn't do that bad. To say he hasn't been faithfully following the plan he didn't gain much weight.

We went to Legal's Seafood for lunch. Since we were at the mall I went to Saks and bought another Juicy Couture tracksuit. This one is mint green thermal.

When we got home, we put Ben down for a nap, Michael decided to rest and I went to the gym. I met him and Ben at his parents' place for the game. We had pizza for dinner. I was good and only had two slice. I felt tired so I came home while Michael and Ben stayed to watch the end of the game. I was happy to see my new Timbuk2 messenger bag had been delivered. Now I just need the rest of my accessories from Eagle Creek so I can pack it every Sunday for the gym.

Michael is happy D.C. made it through the first round of play-off games. Which means we'll be back at his parents' place next week to see the Seattle game.

I spoke to my brother and his wife today. My sister-in-law had foot surgery and will be off her feet for another week. She likes to do things for herself and has admitted she's been a grumpy patient. She is the primary caregiver for her mother and has to rely on her sisters to help out while she is unavailable. Allen is doing okay. Outside of Sherry's surgery, work is going well. He got a promotion last year and he's settling into the new job. He is taking this quarter to get more acclimated to work. He will begin classes again in March.

Tomorrow, I hope to attend a spinning class at the gym. A couple of women at work attend and they recommended it.

My Morning Didn't Go Well

Dinner with Michael's parents was nice. Ben was a little grumpy because his sleep schedule was disrupted.

In another turn of events, I had another resignation today. Which means until I hire a DBA and report writer, I will be doing all the work for the department. I don't know whether I should start stress eating or buying.

Back to work

I bought the Bialetti Moka Express at Williams-Sonoma Monday. I threw away the old espresso machine; that opened up some space on the counters for me. The saleswoman told me that it didn't produce a lot of froth but I was actually happy with the amount produced. One difference is I use 1% and she uses skim, according to Weight Watchers it's the same number of points for 6 ozs.

I started body sculpting Monday. I've been doing cardio for the past 6 months. I wanted to add some toning to my routine. I've lost 30 lbs. so far and I want to start firming up. I'm using Lean, Long & Strong: The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for Women (Paperback) . When I did the exercises Monday and Tuesday I felt like I wasn't really working anything. That changed when I woke up Wednesday morning and my abs and legs were sore. What I like most about the workouts are that I can complete the sculpting in about 5 - 10 minutes, do 20 minutes of cardio and be back at work within the hour.

Tonight, we are going out to dinner with Michael's parents to celebrate his father's 76th birthday.

My Exciting New Year's Day

Tomorrow will be the last day of my vacation. I got alot done but not as much as I had hoped. It was a good start. I went through much of my old clothes and was able to get things sorted out for donating to the Lupus Foundation of America.

I found a stovetop cappucino maker at Williams-Sonoma by accident. I was just walking around the mall yesterday just to walk and get myself and Ben out of the house. I saw this stove top moka pot by Bialetti and thought it looked interesting. I asked one of the sales reps on duty how to use it. She had one herself and explained how it worked. I researched it further on the Bialetti web site when I got home then decided I would get it today. Unfortunately, the stores were closed today and I will have to wait until tomorrow.

I also reached another milestone. I lost all the weight I gained since I met Michael in 1998. Now, all I have to do is lose another 10 pounds and I will be back down to what I weighed in 1993.

We went to Michael's parents' condo. He watched the Washington/Philadelphia game. He is pleased that Washington has secured a play-off spot. This time Ben rocked on the rocking horse his grandparents got him for Christmas. He liked it so much he didn't want to get off of it. When he first got it, he cried when we tried to put him on it.