I'm here! 8M -- Done! Yep, let the "real" tapering begin...
Ok, so my theory about not weighing seems to have not been overly effective, as I was down a whopping .4. I don't think the 180s are realistic at this point -- but that doesn't mean I can't try to lose. I think doing the same race at essentially the same weight but I hope fitter could still be good
Lindsay -- I am so glad you are feeling better! And I know you are a good DIL, because of course I would be tempted to get MIL some new undies, and I know you aren't
Lisa -- I'm glad it's not just me! I have a work wardrobe and I still worry about what I wear and being the largest spouse if DH brings me along...why do I care if I'm the largest? I mean, really, does that mean I'm the worst spouse?

Zumba sounds good, enjoy the painting! We desperately need to do something with our office, but I'm determined to get the entry hall and dining room painted first. We've had the paint for the entry hall for a very long time...
Pamela -- Oh, I'm in deep Pamela-trouble, too! I had two of the chocolate-covered pb GS cookies yesterday as "dessert" after lunch...but then I didn't have an afternoon snack, so I'm actually calling that a success
Kathy -- You are killing me

I agree, at least one of those fellas should pony up some DVC! I keep changing my plans, I have a few more chapters to read in the 2012 Unofficial Guide and then I'm going to be "firm" enough to post. My arrival, meals with Rose, the race, and departure are the only things set in stone right now

I bet Poko is a shining star today -- she clearly has the best Mommy!

I won't lie, it is nice that we are home essentially when Ben is 3 days a week. He stays late twice a week for Improv, so he gets home a few minutes before we do. And then most Fridays I leave at noon, although with the merger I have a bad feeling I may have to give that up...the good news is they have plenty of home work, so the other days he's occupied. Anyway, maybe there are some clubs you could interest Mike in so he could arrive home closer to when you do, if you have some days when you can't be there soon...
Nancy --

I am sorry the scale is being a putz. You absolutely deserve better. It will eventually catch up to your good work. I have faith!
Lisah -- Are we still allowed to post with our Hollywood starlet?! You are famous!

I still smile when I think how proud I am of you -- We are all going to look so gorgeous for our meets in January!

I'm glad you have that ressie -- you are going to be amazed at the Expo and the races! You pick up your number in one building, and then go to where the Princess Expo was for the Expo. It's so big, they devote the entire building to it! So much fun!
Jen -- I hope you are feeling better now. You should absolutely give yourself time to recover from your race. It's smart planning
Kayla -- That looks like a blast! If they come to Providence or Boston, we are so in!
Rose -- I hope you are having a great time with Tom, enjoying the ocean (I so wish ours was warm enough to even put a toe in

), and relaxing before our big adventure!

I know this year of g-f has has a lot of ups and downs, but you have stuck with it and you feel so much better -- you are literally glowing with good health in your Princess skirt photo. You look amazing!
This has indeed been a busy week. More work than I wanted, leaving early too many days, and next week there will be more work and less leaving early, so I guess that's good
Anyway, Wednesday night was curriculum night at Ben's school. We found out 9th graders don't have a lot of choices. He will be taking English, Latin, World History, Biology, French (2nd yr modern language), and Algebra (he has the option of "advanced", but wants no part of it). They run in 6-day cycles, so he has PE two of those days each cycle.
Ben has decided he is doing one week of summer camp, which of course starts the day he gets back from U.M. Army. My baby will basically be gone for 2 weeks straight

Now I have to plan everything else around that -- the good news is it does not interfere in any way with the Providence RnR, so I guess we are in for that! The annoying part is I have to continue with the "dance" I do around Dennis every year to plan our family vacation. I have to keep mentioning options, make spreadsheets, etc., until I finally back him into a corner. There is no reason it should have to be this hard -- we just view vacations differently. I want them, he considers them a waste of money.

It doesn't help that I haven't firmed up exactly what I want to do...and I know he's going to push back since we are both going for marathon weekend...and Ben is going on a field trip to Quebec in May that is definitely biting into the vacation budget...sorry to go on and on, I realize I am so lucky that a yearly vacation is generally an option -- I just get frustrated because I spend so much energy getting him to agree -- why can't he just accept that he's going and say something he would like to do?
He's back, so my rambling must cease. I'm finally going to try to regiser my Kindle, since he finally got the WiFi turned back on.

I really do adore my husband, even if it's hard to tell from my post. He is so awesome in so many ways, he just has a little too much parsimonious New Englander in him
Maria
