I'm on a Diet

I've been drinking Diet Coke for years... it all started just a few months before I went to Maui for the first time and I had about 15 pounds to lose. I've been a goner every since then, several years ago.

For a long time, I've maintained that I drink it in moderation... and I keep myself to one 12 oz. can a day... but it's not true.  Lately I've been living off 2-3 cans a day and anytime I can get my hands on a fountain drink, you know that's what I am going to get... because NOTHING beats Diet Coke from the fountain.  Nothing.

Although I have a couple friends who have recently given it up altogether, I'm not ready to make such a plunge.  So, I've decided to put myself back on the one-can-a-day-diet, and I have survived eight days so far.  I knew I'd been successful enough to blog about it when I took my kids to the movies, (after I'd already had my one can for the day) and I ordered a caffeine-free diet coke to drink during the movie.  That was a major accomplishment... because a trip to the movies isn't complete without a tub of buttery popcorn and a diet coke.

I am hoping that within another week, I will be headache free, and until then I will keep myself doped up on extra strength Tylenol.  Even though the caffeine deprivation headaches have been a downer, the good part of all this is that I've slept wonderfully during the last week.  And that's without any help... and those of you who know me well, know what a bad sleeper I am.   So here's to conquering bad habits... if I can do it, so can you!

Puppy Love

Meet Charlie. He is my parents new Cockapoo puppy. Are you in love yet? My mom has been puppy hungry for years. She finally talked my dad into one, and then the research began... what breed? There were very specific parameters... must be small, kid friendly, and not shed. I think that narrows the pool down to less than 5 breeds, but they found this breeder close to our home out in Queen Creek, AZ.

They came down a month ago to pick Charlie out and put their deposit down for him.
But last Friday was pick up day... aka Christmas day for my mom. She was on Cloud Nine the entire time!

Even my dad, who fought the puppy battle for so long was won over very quickly by these cuties!

This is one proud mama! They picked Charlie up last Friday and brought him back to our house for just one day before they were going to hit the road to go home again. We all enjoyed every minute of playing and cuddling with him. And I enjoyed every chance to get some mileage out of my camera!

This one is my fave... you'd think he was a professional dog model.

This one is my second favorite.

And this one is my third favorite... I'm bummed because I had the camera on the wrong settings when I snapped it and so it's a bit blurry. Our children were all so smitten with Charlie that they've collaborated and have started a "cockapoo puppy fund". They are fully committed to saving their hard earned cash for a puppy, which I am totally okay with because they are notorious for wasting their money on things like video games and arcade pizza places. And it will take them at least a year to save this kind of cash, which will give me a much needed break from dog ownership. By the time they have the money saved, I should be good and puppy hungry myself. And the best news? I won't have to travel very far to find a good breeder... already got that part in the bag!

Rock Monsters and the Polar Bear Swim Club

We have lived in the morning shadow of these mountains for 5 years now. I have never once come out here to explore them until last week. I will not lie, I was lured out here by the promise of stunning wildflowers. My parents are always up for a good hike, so we all took off into the Superstition Mountains for an afternoon hike. (In 2 months time, this will be utterly impossible and completely suicidal... hiking in Phoenix in the afternoon... crazy!)

I must have taken 30 shots of my four kids together at various points along the trail This was the best one. And it's not very good. Well, it's good of Taylor. And Megan, if you discount the fact that she's looking away.

Standing on a boulder looking back the way we had come...

Aren't these rock formations cool?

This is the longest real hike Brayden has ever been on. We forgot the GPS, but based on information given to us by another hiker, we went about 3 miles round trip. And Brayden walked the whole thing. At one point, we thought it was time to turn around (because of Brayden), but then he had some Oreos for a snack and decided to press on... "because Oreos have sugar and sugar gives me energy!" (direct quote from the man himself!)

We didn't make it as far on the trail as I had hoped, and there weren't really any wildflowers yet, but it was a great way to spend a gorgeous spring afternoon. I might try to go back when the wildflowers are blooming a bit more... two more weeks maybe?

Along the trail, Grandma and Taylor were betting and daring each other to jump in the pool when we got home. Grandpa, Megan and I were smart enough not to get sucked into such crazy talk, even though they tried to trick us into joining them. But they stayed true to their word and here is the proof. This picture of Grandma coming up out of the 64 degree water is going to become a family classic.

Ian wanted to jump in, but lacked the courage to do it himself, so he gave Taylor permission to throw him in. Taylor jumped in three different times and Grandma jumped in twice. Ian got pushed in once, and Brayden chicken out once he got down the first step and felt how cold the water really was.

The end.

Spring Training 2010

Last week while Grandma and Grandpa were here, we found a Giants game to crash. For a drive out to Goodyear and $28 we got 7 lawn seats for this game!

It was a great game... IF you were a Cleveland Indians Fan. The Giants came to this game asleep... and lost 7-1. Oh well, it was fun and we got to soak up some spring break sunshine.

The Great Toe Fracture of 2010

This is very old news... but Ian fractured his toe 3 weeks ago. During the closing ceremonies of the Olympics he was walking around the coffee table and caught his pinkie toe on the corner. He cried and cried and cried. The next morning it was still hurting. I gave him some Tylenol and sent him off to school. The third morning it was hurting even worse than it did the second day, so I decided to run him to an urgent care clinic and get it checked. The x-ray showed that it might be fractured, but it was too early to tell. So they instructed us to "buddy tape" it and treat it as if it was broken. If it was still hurting in one week, to go back and get it checked again. Here is the ritual we went through every morning.

One week later it was still very tender to the touch, so I took him back in for more x-rays. And sure enough, it was fractured... the above diagram shows where the fracture is... yellow are the bones and growth plates, the red is where the injury is.

It's now been three weeks and it's feeling great. He needs to be very careful with his foot for one more week, get one more follow up x-ray and then all should be back to normal! Just in time to go back to school after spring break. Whew!

I am afraid of jinxing myself when I tell you this, but this is our first "broken" bone in the family. I've been a mom for 15 years and none of my kids have ever broken a bone. Crazy, huh? Knocking on wood now, just in case...

Follow Through

I have three drafts of posts that I began on Friday saved in blogger. I didn't finish any of them. I can't seem to commit to publishing any of them.

I want to blog about Ian's toe, but I really want to have a picture or two, so maybe I will do that tomorrow. But who am I kidding?

I have a meeting at 8:00 a.m., then 8:30 a.m., then ward choir at 10:15, then church at 11:00, and then a missionary coordination meeting at 2:15. I will be at the church for seven hours, minus the half hour in between welfare meeting and choir which I figure will give me just enough time to throw dinner in the crockpot.

By the time I get home around 3 pm I expect to be wasted... plus I'll be awaiting company which will arrive just in time to consume the brisket that will be simmering in the crockpot all day.

So, I probably won't get around to blogging about the broken toe for a few more days.... ya'll know how hard it is to blog when you have company...

But hey, I blogged tonight... and really about nothing at all. But I just wanted to check in. Now it's time to check out. I have a meeting in exactly 8 hours....

Night, night. Sleep tight!

Last Friday...

These are the pictures I took at the temple grounds when Brayden and I went for a walk there last week.

I haven't learned too many cool things to do with my camera yet, but one thing I have tinkered with is the camera's editing menu. Inside the camera, I can fix red-eye, do a fill flash on shadowed faces, crop and change the color scheme. All inside the camera before I upload to computer. Total awesomeness, yes?

Exhibit A: this one just has the fill flash... look at the shadows on his face and shorts in the first shot, then take a look at how they are reduced in the second. My old photo editing software used to turn skin orange when you tried to do this very thing.Exhibit B: first shot is the original. Second shot is after I cropped and applied D-lighting. (Nikon's fancy name for the fill flash.)

I have barely scratched the surface with all the cool things the camera menu can do. I finally ordered a copy of the newest Photoshop Elements 8 yesterday, so I am excited to really learn how to do some fun stuff! Taking some time to play around with the camera and computer are on my "to do" list during spring break.