Just. Breathe.

Happy Thanksgiving! Yeah, I'm late. Sue me. We had a great time off, and went to the bro- and sis-in law's new house. It's lovely, the food was awesome, and the company was great. I stayed mostly Paleo (couple bites of pie) and I lost a pound. Go figure. :-) Now I'm back to my highest total loss, and rather happy about that. Which is the actual point of this post -- I have the best possible incentive to get the next 10 pounds off... We booked our anniversary vacation for February! Whoot! Me, in 9 weeks We finally settled on a cruise. We'd looked at all-inclusives, blah blah, and honestly couldn't decide. Once we started thinking about cruises (we've done that before, and kinda wanted something new), it didn't take us long to remember how much we like them. We are going for a longer period of time, which means a bigger ship, and we're upgrading our room to a mini-suite with balcony! Never done that, so it should feel pretty special. The...

SERIOUSLY stuck -- stuck at this weight, stuck in a routine I won't break to get caught up on blog entries...I am MAKING myself sit here and write (and it still took three days). For a while it was that I didn't think I had anything to say for the moment. Now it's more like I just won't write...lots of topics, enough time to write if I wanted to, pictures to share...blah blah blah. So what shall we talk about today? How about my excellent running week? I actually made it out three times (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) for over 2 miles each time. The difference? I've started taking the 140-pound Rottweiler on the runs with me. Something about having him along makes me not walk -- I'll stop to give him water, but that's it. Of course, it's more than a little embarrassing that a "run" for me is barely more than a fast walk for him...until we hit two miles. He hasn't gotten over that mental wall and doesn't believe he can do it. Case in po...

In the last two weeks, I've had quite a few conversations with friends about this Paleo thing we're doing and it occurred to me I could save myself (and them) a lot of time if I'd just condense it all into one place. This is that place. This is also a really long post, so feel free to skip to the stuff you're interested in. When you've been doing something for 6 months, there's a lot of information as well as practical experience to draw on. I've already posted on why we're doing this, and there are awesome sites out there with a huge amount of detail on what to eat, why to eat, blah blah... so that's not what I'm doing here. But I think I'm pretty mainstream when it comes to what I was accustomed to eating, and what I'm willing to put into my mouth. Liver doesn't make the cut. Tongue? No, thank you. I'm really not going to go into veal or lamb -- not because it isn't good, but because it's not been a part of my diet...

I'd started a completely different posting, ran into photo issues, and just gave it up for now. Maybe next time. In the last two weeks, we've had three birthdays in our house. My baby girl turned 17. S E V E N T E E N. How on earth did that happen? THIS is my baby. And yet, somehow this child is driving, working, making great grades, making my life joyful just by being in it... Ten days after that, I have a birthday. It's very easy to remember my own age, because, while I may forget many things, I always remember my age when she was born. And that's enough about that. And Halloween would have been our son's 28th birthday. It's such a weird time of year -- celebrate, celebrate, Halloween parties, and then the memories are just right there. This is the tenth Halloween/birthday since we lost him, and some years it just seems so much more tender than others. I can't really get into Halloween decorating - it just feels rude somehow. Anyone who has l...

I've got approximately 47 blog posts running around in my head. There's no telling what I'm about to write. Maybe a numbered list for now, then I'll come back later and actually write them. Yay! That sounds like a plan. 1. I'm back from my conference in Orlando. It was an excellent conference, as usual, and I love seeing my colleagues. We all work remotely, so actually being face to face is rare. They're funny, and irreverent, and curmudgeonly, and smart, and it's so easy to forget that when you only talk on IM or phone. 2. General Colin Powell was the keynote speaker on Monday. What an amazing, dynamic man. He's 76 and could easily pass for 56. He used no notes or prompter, and spoke for about 45 minutes. His resume alone is enough to blow your mind, and then he speaks and you realize he has earned absolutely every accolade he's ever been given. My favorite quote: "Being a leader is all about the followers." What a transforming thought...

Over the weekend, I went through my closet. I have a business conference next week, and I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Since I work from home, my usual wardrobe is shorts or yoga pants (depending on the weather), t-shirts, and flip flops. I dress on the weekends for errands or church, but that's about it. I have good clothes, but there's a serious problem - I'm short and I refuse to pay someone to hem my dress pants. That means all my pants require heels. I love heels. I love shoes, period. What I don't love is hiking around a Disney resort conference center in said heels. Been there, done that, had the blisters to prove it. So on Saturday, I thought I'd better figure out what I even have to choose from in the wardrobe department and then decide if new shoes (or pant alterations) would be necessary. I spent most of the summer in skirts and shorts, so I pulled out pants I haven't worn since spring. None. of. them. fit. And that's in a good ...

How fun is this? Bug found one of these on Pinterest and hounded me until we made one. I have such a newfound respect for those people who create entire months' worth of menus at once -- I feel completely accomplished if I get one week done! This is actually what we're doing this week. I've gotten chicken and beef out of the freezer in time to thaw without the microwave! Win! The cards are mostly color-coded -- red for beef, blue for fish...pretty much like those flexible cutting boards sold in a pack. The orange circle means I need to do some prework -- in the case of Monday's menu item, it was actually the side dish that needed to start early. Gray circle means grill -- R Dub is involved, requires preheating the grill. The little boxes hold blank cards, and the ones with other items to choose. For this week, R Dub picked through for his preferences, Bug added her input, then I made the decision -- total democracy. I do so much better when I have a plan -- w...