Buns of Fire

Evidently I have high cholesterol. High cholesterol in women isn't common until after age 55 so I'm really in trouble. I L.O.V.E. butter. I think butter is delicious on just about everything. Unfortunately, it doesn't help high cholesterol, so I decided to try I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Well, let me tell you.... I CAN believe it's not butter. It tastes like butter flavored jelly beans soaked in gasoline.

So, my question is....

Do I get depressed and eat lower cholesterol foods and live longer? Or, stay nice and happy, eat lots of butter and cheese and die a few years younger? It's a toss up.

So, I opted for lower cholesterol foods with some cheat days :) And lots of working out. So far, I have lowered my cholesterol 9 points. Pretty good. Could be better. I am trying to spice up my workouts because running everyday is a little monotonous. I decided that it would be fun to ride a bike (forgetting that I actually hate to ride bikes). I found my bike in our barn covered in spiderwebs and 10 years of dust. Jay and my dad fixed it up nice for me. Fixed the brakes, pumped up the tires....the works. Yesterday I took it out for a spin.

I coasted down the first hill and thought, "Oh, this is fun! The seat hurts my butt, but otherwise, I could do this everyday!"

Then I went up the first hill. Not too bad. Felt my legs working. Got my heart rate up. Good

Then it was the long hill. Suddenly I start breathing loud....like the I'm in labor breathing...then my legs start going around slower and slower. Suddenly, I swear my butt catches on fire. The burning starts in places I didn't even know it could. I keep going because I hadn't even gone a mile yet and that would be pathetic. So, I work through the pain and the flaming muscles and I'm wondering, "How in the world did I ride my bike everywhere when I was little?" I guess that's probably why I only weighed 40 pounds in 4th grade. I finally decide I can't go any longer and I absolutely refuse to push my bike up the hill. So, just in case anyone was watching thinking I couldn't do it, I stopped to blow my nose. Placing kleenex over your nose when you are struggling to breathe in the first place isn't the best idea, but it's better than someone seeing you stop half way up the hill just because you're tired. So, I took my very short nose blowing excuse of a break, placed my flaming rear back on the seat and made it up the hill.

Success.

I had one more hill to go before I got back to the house. I'm halfway up the hill, buns on fire, double sized lungs and jell-o legs......and my pants get stuck in the bike chain. My momentum is lost. I untangle, try to stay upright and start pedaling. At this point, the rest of the hill might as well have been Mt. Everest. I weave up the rest of the hill not having the strength to stay in a straight line. I coast the rest of the way home....nearly pass out in the driveway....and finally get off and drop my bike on it's side.

I think I may have dropped my cholesterol another 15 points on that bike ride.

Montana

My mom, Jack and I went to Montana this past week to see my Grandma and Grandpa. Poor Jay had to stay behind to work and provide :( Jack LOVES his great-grandparents and had a really fun time with them. I was glad to see them again before we move so far away! We love you Grandma and Grandpa!!



Here is our 4 generation picture.

Grandpa and Jack.

I'm 1 !!!!!!

Dear Fans and Family,

On Friday I turned 1!!!! I had a birthday party yesterday with lots of my people. We had delicious cake and I got a ton of loot! I really liked to play with the boxes that my toys came in more than my toys. Sorry you all got ripped off.

I am learning to wink and have included a video below for your viewing pleasure.

Some of my biggest accomplishments this year include:

Breaking my first bone
Magic tricks including binkies that appear out of thin air and picking my nose with my toes
Eating rocks
Wrestling a ferocious barn cat without getting scratched
Crawling at warp speed
and french kissing


Here are my stats:

I am 31.5 inches tall
I weigh 18 lbs 4 oz
My head is extra large
My eyes are electrifying
And I'm super cute

I have 2 teeth that just popped up. I eat anything and everything (this is where my new teeth come in handy). I love singing and I usually do it all day long. I like to play with bugs. I am pretty sure that I'm never going to walk but I keep trying anyway and I can say hi.

That's me in a nutshell. Hope you have a Jacktastic day!

Love and slobbery kisses,
Jack D.
President of the Jack D. fan club and Rock Eaters Anonymous

Watch out Las Vegas....

Jack has pretty much perfected his striptease. His pants are all too big around the waist, so he takes them off. He has great legs, but as his mom, I hope he chooses a different profession :)





Here is Jack's cute little wave. He finally learned to do it. Took long enough.




Jack has the sweetest little curls. His hair is so blond you can hardly see them.


The curls look even better when I put sunscreen all over his head :)


My new favorite picture....



So sweet. Already given the ladies flowers :)


He loves to drive cars....all over the house. He makes little motor sounds while he pushes them. He can do that, but he couldn't wave. Who knows.


This is his flat smile. I. LOVE. IT.

The kid seriously loves grapefruit and oranges. He gets it everywhere, but it keeps him quiet for like half an hour. It's totally worth it.


Jack has a fear of hats, sunglasses and anything else on the head or face. If you are wearing a hat, he has to also or he gets scared of it. Weird, I know.

What do stay at home moms do all day?

This is an article I found about motherhood from the Washington Post. HILARIOUS....Mostly because I used to ponder this very question before I had Jack. Sure puts things into perspective! Ha!

***Jami, this article is dedicated to the woman on the plane that told you to try something different to keep Bayles quiet :)


TELL ME ABOUT IT ®

By Carolyn Hax
Wednesday, May 23, 2007; C10

Carolyn:

Best friend has child. Her: exhausted, busy, no time for self, no time for me, etc. Me (no kids): Wow. Sorry. What'd you do today? Her: Park, play group . . .

Okay. I've done Internet searches, I've talked to parents. I don't get it. What do stay-at-home moms do all day? Please no lists of library, grocery store, dry cleaners . . . I do all those things, too, and I don't do them EVERY DAY. I guess what I'm asking is: What is a typical day and why don't moms have time for a call or e-mail? I work and am away from home nine hours a day (plus a few late work events) and I manage to get it all done. I'm feeling like the kid is an excuse to relax and enjoy -- not a bad thing at all -- but if so, why won't my friend tell me the truth? Is this a peeing contest ("My life is so much harder than yours")? What's the deal? I've got friends with and without kids and all us child-free folks get the same story and have the same questions.

Tacoma, Wash.

Relax and enjoy. You're funny.

Or you're lying about having friends with kids.

Or you're taking them at their word that they actually have kids, because you haven't personally been in the same room with them.

Internet searches?

I keep wavering between giving you a straight answer and giving my forehead some keyboard. To claim you want to understand, while in the same breath implying that the only logical conclusions are that your mom-friends are either lying or competing with you, is disingenuous indeed.

So, since it's validation you seem to want, the real answer is what you get. In list form. When you have young kids, your typical day is: constant attention, from getting them out of bed, fed, clean, dressed; to keeping them out of harm's way; to answering their coos, cries, questions; to having two arms and carrying one kid, one set of car keys, and supplies for even the quickest trips, including the latest-to-be-declared-essential piece of molded plastic gear; to keeping them from unshelving books at the library; to enforcing rest times; to staying one step ahead of them lest they get too hungry, tired or bored, any one of which produces the kind of checkout-line screaming that gets the checkout line shaking its head.

It's needing 45 minutes to do what takes others 15.

It's constant vigilance, constant touch, constant use of your voice, constant relegation of your needs to the second tier.

It's constant scrutiny and second-guessing from family and friends, well-meaning and otherwise. It's resisting constant temptation to seek short-term relief at everyone's long-term expense.

It's doing all this while concurrently teaching virtually everything -- language, manners, safety, resourcefulness, discipline, curiosity, creativity. Empathy. Everything.

It's also a choice, yes. And a joy. But if you spent all day, every day, with this brand of joy, and then, when you got your first 10 minutes to yourself, wanted to be alone with your thoughts instead of calling a good friend, a good friend wouldn't judge you, complain about you to mutual friends, or marvel how much more productively she uses her time. Either make a sincere effort to understand or keep your snit to yourself.

Write to Tell Me About It, Style, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071, ortellme@washpost.com.

I hope Mammy isn't right

I love Gone With the Wind. I think I was Scarlett O'Hara every Halloween from kindergarten to 6th grade. One of my favorite scenes is after Scarlett has her baby. Scarlett makes Mammy measure around her waist after her corset is tightened again.

Scarlett: Try again, Mammy.
Mammy: Twenty inches.
Scarlett: Twenty inches? I've grown as big as aunt Pitty. You've simply got to make it eighteen and a half again, Mammy.
Mammy: You've done had a baby, Miss Scarlett. And you ain't never going to be no eighteen and a half inches again. Never. And there ain't nothing to do about it.

Well, I fully intend to prove Mammy wrong. Even if it takes me the next 6 years :)

G-DUB

The decision is in. We are going to be East Coasters! Jay has picked George Washington University for his masters program in International Security. We are really excited for a new adventure, but we get to enjoy Colorado for a few more months before we take off! It will be a major change from living in the country to living in a huge, busy city... should be a really fun 2 years!