Amy's New Start : Comments Welcome!

[toystoryduo]

I am so glad that you are feeling better, WISH sis! Isn't it amazing how TOM can wreck havoc with our lives?

I hope you have a great time at lunch with your friend today. I'm so sorry to hear about her breast cancer diagnosis. Has she begun treatment yet?

Have a blessed day, my friend!

 

[toystoryduo]

Happy weekend, my friend! Just wanted to stop by and let you know that you're in my thoughts and prayers. I hope all is well!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy, my friend has begun treatment, she's got one chemo left in two weeks and then is hopefully done. Its really amazing to see how well she's handled this and how positive she is. I just pray this is behind her and she's cancer free from here on out.

I have been a bad Wisher lately! I think its because I don't feel like logging into disboards! If we don't get a WDW trip on the books and planned pretty quick, I may go a bit bonkers! I think I want to "do over" our most recent trip, having to switch to All Star Music was fine, but in the end, I want to go to CBR or CSR and sort of get the experience we had so looked forward to that changed last minute due to the flood. I am hoping we can maybe book something in the next few months, just not sure, it depends on the specials/discounts they put out. At least we have our mini trip to DL coming up. I think its going to be really hard for Dan in some ways, we always saw his dad at DL (he lived about 20 minutes from the park) and spent a lot of time with him there. This will be the first trip out there since his dad died.

I found out yesterday a cousin of mine in East Texas died Saturday. He was 68, the oldest of 10 grandkids (I am the youngest) so more like an uncle than a cousin but I was shocked to say the least and heartbroken for his two sisters who I am much closer to. I would love to go to the funeral but its today and just couldn't make it happen.

Food is spotty, exercise so bad in that its barely happening and I am just sort of in that mode of "its the holidays, I will kick into gear in January". I am hopeful to get a walk in later today,its nice and warm today so no excuses are worthy for sure!

 

[DisDee]

Amy, don't apologize for being a bad Wisher, its just a super busy time of the year. I'm with you on the trip planning. I'd love to have a WDW trip to look forward to. I always need to have some kind of vaca in the planning stages. I'm sure your DL trip will be a little bittersweet but it will also be full of good memories for Dan and your family.

I hear you about the holiday/new year mindset.Its always difficult to make smart food choices at this time of the year and fitting in the exercise is kind of impossible unless you count shopping at the mall.The most important thing is that you don't beat yourself up about it and just cause yourself more stress.

I hope that things are improving for your son. Those teen years can be really difficult. I pray that both you and he find the answers that you need for his situation.

Have yourself a beautiful day and do something fun just for you!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Denise, you always help me put things in perspective.

Yesterday and today were so much better! For one thing, I did very well with food yesterday, then I walked in the afternoon. It felt so good to walk. I had all the best laid plans to walk today, but got tied up shopping for my nieces and it didn't happen. I dropped off dd and her friend at the rec center but had to head over to the shopping center. I realized today that if I don't find my nieces stuff on their list by tomorrow, I have to order it online to have it in time for Christmas (unless I express ship). So I had to kick in gear big time! I did find some of their stuff, then gave up, picked up dd, realized we had not had dinner (dh was out with his friend to watch the game and ds was at driver's ed) so she and I had a rare night out just us. We headed to Village Inn and guess, what, Wednesday's is free pie day. We split a piece of pumpkin and brought the other piece home for ds. But I had a tuna melt and fries so major fat filled dinner but so good. It was nice to sit down, talk with dd and rest my feet!

I think my hormones are really messed up, I am continue to spot a bit after last week's surprise visit from the TOM Fairy and just feeling very hormonal. And I have like four zits! I am almost 46 years old and have zits even though I supposedly went through menopause. Go figure.

Today's highlights were having dinner with dd just us and hearing from a dear friend who is going through a beyond rough time. It was good to get a message from her and know that in spite of the hell she is going through, she's hanging in there. And the mall is closed so I am off the hook until tomorrow!

 

[toystoryduo]

I am so glad that you had a nice time with your DD yesterday! No worries on the food either. I've read that when you are creating wonderful memories with family members, the calorie levels in the foods you eat drop by 50% or more!!! Scientific research I tell ya!

I hope you have a blessed day! Another PM is on the way... (Hey! That rhymed! )

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy, I like that scientific fact, I'll just keep eating those pie slices with my family while we have fun and it will all work out!

I cannot believe that Christmas is this close and I cannot believe my brother and his family arrive in less than two weeks! I have a lot to do, I am so excited to have them here I can barely contain myself.

I didn't work out yesterday or today, I was so pumped after that walk on Tuesday but I guess not enough to keep up the good work! Dan has tomorrow off, I may suggest he and I walk in the morning before we head out to shop. I am so enjoying having him off on Friday's, its nice he has some comp time they actually let him take.

So drumroll please....

WE ARE GOING TO WDW!!!! Hmm, not sure why I ever doubted it. I have the airfare purchased, we'll see where we stay. From what I can tell, June discounts usually come out in February, I would so love a 4/3 or Free Dining or a good room discount. We have 11 nights (June 8th-19th) so a nice long trip. Not as long as our summer trips back when we had DVC, but given the kids' schedules, I am not sure we'll be able to take a trip that long for a very long time.

I guess this makes me under six months to my next WDW trip doens't it????

 

[toystoryduo]

Woohoo on the Disney news!!! I am so excited for you!

I hope you have a wonderful week ahead!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy, I am very excited!

Clearly I have not been around here too much lately.

It is definitely, that time of year again! Too much to do, too little time to get it all done, exercise not happening and food is basically lousy! At this point, I am just trying to not to gain too much more between now and January 2nd!

I am really in all out panic mode to get the house deep cleaned by Wednesday. My sister in law has severe allergies to dust, dog dander and other things, so the whole house has to be steamed clean, all the blinds and windows cleaned, upholstery cleaned or at least vacumed and every surface wiped down. Thankfully dd loves to clean and ds is good on a ladder to clean windows! And they are done with school so around to help me. I just pray I can get it done so that sil can not be sneezing and wheezing. I also am baking like a mad woman, I haven't had Christmas with my brother in 14 years and he has quite the sweet tooth and I guess my thinking is to pull out the stops and keep him in a happy sugar coma for the week that he is here!

I have just a bit more shopping to do, its rare for me to wait this long to get it all done, but that flood deductible sort of caused a ripple affect in my bank account so I am having to wait a bit to finish the shopping. I took dd to the mall on Thursday evening, omg now I remember why I don't like to wait to the last minute!

I am excited for the new year for sure. Not sure if I'll go back to WW or try to do it on my own. Probably WW. I am pretty disgusted with myself for allowing that 15 pounds to creep back on and I really have to force myself not to think about what I could weigh right now had I stayed on track. Basically had I kept up the pace of "15 pounds off every three months" I'd be down a total of 60 pounds right now. Oh well. I just broke down and wept last night to Dan and he tries to make me feel better but in the end, its up to me to make me feel better. Again, I am ready for January but excited to enjoy the last part of the year with friends and family.

I hope everyone is having a nice weekend and I am betting all my Wish Sisters are busy and going full throttle! I hope you all have some time to take some deep breaths and enjoy the season. Merry Christmas, hopefully I'll get back on here this week but my track record right now is not too good!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Today is one of those days when I need Calgon to take me away! I am babysitting four kids (my friend is having her last chemo today ) and I have her two girls plus another friend's two kids. They are being really good, but lets face it, four extra kids is just that, four extra kids! Praise the Lord for Wii, a nice day outside and the fact dd is here to keep everybody happy. Ds of course skipped out on me to go to the mall with a friend. I let the kids decorate cookies which seemed like a great idea except now it looks like a frosting/sprinkle dirty bomb went off in my kitchen! They were so cute when they were all decorating (and eating) the cookies so it was worth it.

I started my new method of eating out yesterday. Went to a Mexican place with my family and my sister, and told Dan "get what you want, we'll split it". Worked out very well. We split a platter, we got water only to drink (diet drinks make me want to eat more which I thought was dumb until I read its a proven fact that artificially sweetened drinks make you want to eat more). I just ate what I want and then when I got full, I stopped. Eating out, celebrations and getting together with friends and family are a happy fact of life and I need to learn to deal with it.

I need to go online and check out the new WW program and see if I want to do this. I thought about doing this program with a friend of mine, its some thing I have never heard of but then when she described it, I thought to myself, "if I do this, this will be my next failure for money on the diet front". Lots of supplements, some weird food plan and its super expensive. I think not. If I do anything, it will be WW, it hasn't been a success for me but that is because of my problem, not WW. I should be able to take a walk today, all the kids should be picked up before dark and its a nice day. In fact, unlike the rest of the country, we are dry and warm. Its blizzarding sixty miles away in the mountains, but its not coming here. I no longer care or want a White Christmas and I can also be safe and happy knowing my brother's flight will get in with no weather delays or cancellations.

I am vowing to keep journaling over this next week because even if I know I will be eating too much and exercising too little, but it helps me to stay focused and maybe do a bit better than I would if I don't come on here a few times at least. I did weigh today, and I weigh 5 pounds less than I did a year ago at this time. Not a resounding victory but then again, it could be way worse. I have been looking through a lot of old photos lately, and I have to say, all the women in my family, on both sides are heavy. Pretty much the only way the women in my family lose weight is: they get sick, or they have gastric bypass. I think I should break the mold and do it the right way!

 

[toystoryduo]

Hi Amy,

Sending a and some good thoughts ( ), and some your way....I hope you have a wonderful day today!

 

[toystoryduo]

to you,
to you,
dear Amy,
to you!!!

I pray that you have a wonderful birthday and that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

P.S. Remember that anything you eat on your birthday or on Christmas has zero calories in it. Since your birthday is on Christmas, anything you eat has negative calories! It's a scientific fact.

 

[eyor44]

Happy Belated Birthday to you Amy! and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and visit with your brother and his family. Such a wonderful week for you.

I am here and praying for you my Wish Sis.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Tracy and Lisa. Its been a very nice week but I have to say, I am ready for the holidays to be over. Too much food, togetherness and I am on overload! Of course about one billion people feel the same way right about now.

Today is my brother's birthday and my sil is taking us all out to dinner. Hopefully my brother and sister will get along but at the very least, I am not cooking today and that is a major blessing.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Chirstmas weekend with friends and family!

 

[eyor44]

Happy Birthday to your Brother Amy! Can't wait to hear all about their visit after they are gone. Y'all have a wonderful day today.

 

[toystoryduo]

Hope you had a nice time at dinner last night!

You're DL trip is coming up soon! Are you getting excited?

I hope you have a great day today!

 

[eyor44]

Wondering if you still have company and what kind of plans you have for New Year's Eve.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks Lisa and Tracy. Christmas is over, I am sort of sad but actually more relieved.

First of all, we have added a lot of wonderful memories to our family. I got to watch my kids have Christmas for the first time ever with my twin nieces. The girls all did a darling gingerbread house, the kids went ice skating, swimming at the rec center, played outside in the unseasonably warm weather and on Christmas Eve, dd and my brother's girls sang Silent Night at home in their Chirstmas pj's, each holding a candle. Their voices blended so beautifully and it was without a doubt one of the most magical Christmas moments I have ever had.

But as with all things, the good and the bad intersected. My brother and sister did not get along and ended up having a huge blowup at my nephew's birthday party. It was just awful, I am not sure if they will speak again or what will happen. This was the first time we had all been together since my mom's funeral and I was hoping time had healed things up a bit between them, but if anything they are more hostile and at odds with each other than ever before. I was really kidding myself to think somehow they'd be able to get through so much togetherness with each other.

I woke up this morning and just decided what is done is done, and now I am taking down Chrismtas decorations and Dan is out to Chili's to pick up dinner to bring home. We did end up having a very nice day and night on the 29th with my brother and his family their last day here, but all the time I was having fun with them, I thought of my sister alone and hurt. Its her own damn fault but in the end, I myself can never stay mad at her because she is so clueless its like blaming a baby for crying. She can't seem to help it.

I just feel wiped out and sad but am still happy they came, I waited a long time for that Christmas and even with the drama and anger, it was worth it. At least to me. I do know this: my brother loves me, my sister loves me, they just can't stand each other. I guess in most ways, I am the lucky one in this scenario.

After feeling blue all day, I did the thing that always helps, I came on here to mindlessly prowl around and lo and behold a code for June has been released (you see where this is going lol)! I was able to book us into CBR for 25% off which saved me around $400. Hopefully this will all work out, we are still in recovery process from Dan's layoff and he is making so much less money but I think it will be fine. I am just paranoid, lately our luck with trips has been pretty crappy to the point I sometimes wonder if God is trying to tell us something about our travel! But booking my resort reservation today was in my mind a great way to start the year and have something great to look forward to.

Last but not least, I am going to do WW online for a bit. I need a program but am not ready to commit to the meetings and the money of those meetings right now. I am going to spend some time this weekend getting signed up for that, familiarizing myself with their new points system and then on Monday its back to putting health where it needs to be in my life, right up front! I am pretty excited for 2011 and ready to make it happen for myself once and for all!

 

[eyor44]

Oh Amy, we heart goes out to your brother and sister. I am like that with my younger brother and it hurts, but I have to protect myself and family from him. You tried and that is all you can do. Yes, you are the lucky one.

YAY! for the code! Now, stay away from pricing out others....ya hear! (I need a finger shaking smilie) I always love reading about your trip planning.

I am really glad that you had such a wonderful Christmas. It is okay to be a little sad it is over.

 

[goldcupmom]

Glad you had a good Christmas, Birthday & are getting to do some trip planning! YEAH!!!! Can't wait to see it all progress.

Can't believe DL trip is quickly approaching. HOpe you are getting a break in the weather. I need to get back on track w/ WW. As usual, haven't made a meeting in months.

Have a great rest of the week!