Avec le coton

10 years ago today

I had a baby boy.  He was a happy easy going baby.  He is now a happy, easy going 10 year old.

I have no idea where those 10 years went.  WOW!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AJ!

I am a GURU!

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
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Can't show the knitting

I am currently stealth knitting....can't blog or show pictures which kind of sucks because I am making nice headway!

On the diet front, I am down 4.8 lbs but have discovered that I need to become a weekly weigher...not a daily weigher.  The scale doesn't move on a daily basis for me...not even a smidgen....which can make me complacent....so I am making Thursday be my weigh in day.

In iPhone news, I learned something new again this weekend....I LOVE that little piece of technology!

Sneak peak

I purchased a new scale - checked the old and new one against each other (they are good)....and as of this morning have lost another 4.8 lbs.

Yes, it is difficult.....but for some reason I am motivated this time.  It also helps that I am losing quickly right now.  I have no illusions that this will continue indefinitely, but for now I will take it because it is motivating.

Yesterday was my only perfect day so far....and I woke up energized - thankfully because hockey was at 7am this morning!

I still can't believe how much better I feel.

New Year, new things

I don't normally do New Year's resolutions...as they are often broken within a few weeks.  I stay away from the gym in January...too many newbies who don't know how to use the machines....after I have spent 10 minutes in the parking lot trying to get a parking space....you know the routine.

I started really working and watching was I was eating in early November.  Since November 1st, I have lost 12 lbs.  Not a huge amount by any great shakes, and not even noticeable to anyone but me...but still a loss.  I have been reading a LOT on nutrition, and have gone back and looked at my journals from when I was doing weight watchers, and what I was doing the past few months.  I have come to the conclusion, that along with trying to use more natural products on the outside of my body (read Lush products here) I am convinced by going over my journals that going more natural is the way to go with my diet.

My friend Kat is incredibly knowledgeable about nutrition - she is a respitory therapist and just a fab person.  Kat has also always stuggled with her weight, but she has the added benefit of  being 6 ft tall.  Kat devised a plan, and she and I are now working this plan...she is on day 17, and I am on day 4. 

I am not going to talk a lot about exactly what I am doing, other than the fact that after 3 days of refined carb withdrawal and the effects that I have felt, I am so SURE this is a good thing.  I can't tell you how horrible I felt on Wednesday during the afternoon.  The headache was incredible, the fatigue was unbelievable, and the difference in how I feel today is astounding.

Right now the plan is quite restrictive as to the foods I am eating.  I am eating things I love...but not eating other things that I love.  I am eating more veggies than fruit....and I love fruit so this is really a test for me to see what happens.  I am definitely an apple a day kind of gal...so later in the plan I will probably make the consious choice to be over on carbs due to an apple.

We will see how this works.  I have to tell you though, that watching my kids eat ice cream at night is an absolute killer.

This is ironic

I took this test http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/pottercraftnews/fiberquiz/index.html I am a Mohair – A smooth, polished surface “Mohair is warmer than wool, with larger, flatter scales that contribute to an overall silky-smooth appearance. The fiber absorbs dye readily and, thanks to that smooth surface, reflects it back brilliantly.” –The Knitter’s Book of Yarn Mohairs are positive and confident. You always strive to make a good first impression because you are a proud person, and you care a good deal about what people think of you. You are careful with your words and are always tactful. You enjoy having a broad base of support and respect from those whom you come in contact. You attract this with your warm, sunny, and inquisitive personality. I am allergic to Mohair!

Karma

wasn't a bitch this time!

On October 4th of this year, I decided that finding a Wii in person was going to be about the hardest thing EVER, so I went online and did a pre-order.  It was supposed to ship on October 31st.  John and I were going out of town that weekend, and I really didn't think it would arrive until sometime the following week.

On November 4th, after an e-mail to the company trying to figure out if it had shipped, I received a cryptic e-mail back saying there was some problem with my credit card and to call customer service.  So I do.  I was told that Amex had put a hold on the card and I was to call them. 

So I did.  I have a few problems with Amex over the years (and also with Visa), so I was expecting a certain level of customer service.  Basically, there wasn't a problem with my card (it wasn't because we were travelling and there were multiple charges from multiple states - which there were!) - basically Amex decided that they needed to put a hold on the charge until it could be verified that I had indeed made the charge.

Guess what, Amex never called any of the THREE phone numbers they have for me, they never emailed the TWO e-mail addresses they have.  They did nothing.  The CS guy I got when I called basically said, they just didn't call....then had the nerve to ask me if I wanted them to accept the charge! 

Since I had already given the game company another credit card, I said no...then I asked the Amex guy how much I had spent on my Amex card over the last 2 years.  (OMG, even I was astounded!).

I then told the gentleman how upset I was that Amex had almost ruined my kid's Christmas, and did he have any idea how hard it is to find a Wii?  He had no response, so I asked him if Amex would be happy that they were going to lose a customer.  Again no appropriate response, so I told him to have a nice day and I hung up.

About a week later, I received a "customer service survey" phone call from Amex asking me if I was happy with the customer service I received from my phone call.  OMG!

Now mind you, I was actually nice during both phone calls, but I told the woman how unhappy I was, and why, and she verified that Amex has 5 different ways to contact me should there be a problem.  She asks me if I would like a supervisor to contact me, and I resignedly say ok.

They called my house 2 different days last week, then call me at work on Wednesday morning.  I was thinking "omg, will these people just leave me alone already....I have the Wii, it has all worked out."

The supervisor had listened to the tape of my 1st conversation and could not have been more appologetic.  He told me that Amex is a customer service company and the lack of customer service I had been given was appalling and NOT acceptable.  He wanted to make sure that I did in fact get a Wii, THEN GAVE ME A $200 CREDIT TO PURCHASE GAMES FOR MY KIDS FOR THE Wii!

How cool is that?  I am thinking maybe guitar hero if they make it...I know it is pretty expensive, and probably not something I would normally purchase.

Gotta love Free money!

If I ever needed confirmation that.....

boys and girls are just wired differently, I got it last night!

I have a son (9) and a daughter (7).

My friend Myra invited a bunch of the neighborhood families over for pizza and football last night.  All of the women were seated around the kitchen table talking.  My son was sitting to my right, and my daughter to my left.

The conversations were many and as women are - there were multiple conversations going at the same time - with women talking at the same time and all of us participating in all of the conversations.

My son turned to me and said "Mom, everyone is talking at once.  How can you keep track of what everyone is saying...and it is really loud in here."  I laughed and turned to my daughter and asked her if she knew what everyone was talking about.

She said, "Myra is explaining how to make these awesome cookies, Davida is complaining that she has to write the recipe twice because Molly played the cancer card, you are talking to Molly about the beef stew you made for her family on Sunday, Mary Ellen is telling everyone not to eat apples with worm holes because they might get a tapeworm, and all of you are telling Laura that she is crazy to give her 15 yr old daughter Kate a credit card....for "gas purchases", oh, and what is a cancer card?"

The whole table had stopped talking when they heard her say cancer card the first time...and by the time she was done we were in tears.  My son said...."omg, she is SUCH a girl!"

I couldn't make that up if I tried.  The ARE just wired differently.

SOOOOOO sleepy

Getting on the plane in a few hours to come back home from a short vacation in Florida.  Of course I barely slept last night in order to make sure we actually got up on time to drop off the car, then get to the airport on time.

I am going to be SUCH a bitch tomorrow.

The Coton is a weird one

The boy has been gone since Monday morning at Outdoor Education.  They go to a "campus" and do hiking and outdoor activities in 4th grade.  He gets back this afternoon.

Since he wasn't home, I decided to make tacos for dinner last night.  They aren't his favorite, but the little one LOVES them so it was a good time.  I stopped at the store on the way home and picked up a few things.

I unpacked most of the groceries, but had a bag sitting on a chair containing two boxes of cereal and a loaf of bread.

Fast forward to 9pm when I was heading upstairs to watch Damages (John was watching the baseball game) and I went into the kitchen to get a glass of water.  I saw the bag and put the cereal away, then thought I should make my lunch and put it in the fridge.  I couldn't find the bread.....but I knew it had come home with me.

I found it hidden at the back of Alvin's cage.....completely untouched, but squirrelled away like we don't feed him ever.