Deal of the Century

I bought milk today, in half-gallon containers, for $.15 each. (Their sell-by date was today so they were marked down.) I bought eight of them. Isn't that a steal? Pretty much 4 gallons for $1.20.

Get back!

In the past three days:

*I have stayed under 1500 calories, each day.
*I have exercised, each day.
*I went visiting teaching.
*I did all the laundry (washed, folded, put-away).
*I did the dishes, twice, every day.
*I did some other stuff that needed to get done.

Small potatoes for most people, but for me. Get back! That is awesome!

Ich danke dir für all das Gute und Liebe und Schöne...

I've been reading the "Diary of Anne Frank" this week. Except this edition is not the one we read in school. About ten years ago, the Anne Frank foundation in Switzerland allowed publishers to re-release her diary in its entirety.

Previous to this, Anne's father had only allowed specific edited passages to be published. And I can understand why he would feel that way. Reading over the passages I feel somewhat like a voyeur... Almost every entry is explicit--the mind and soul of any teenage girl looking forward to "impending menstruation," struggling over the clashes with her mother, suffering from want of attention from her father, and discovering boys. Sometimes I think "Why did you write this?..." But then I remember that she never expected this to be published or that anyone would ever see it.



What touches me most is that, though she certainly faced some exposure to the horrors of the Nazi regime (via radio, etc), she seemed wholly unable to see her life and the future without optimism.

Last night, after reading passages for an hour I flipped to the afterword--a cold and frank paragraph that snuffed out the life and vibrancy of a stubborn, vulnerable, candid and witty little girl.

Anne must have died in late February or early March. [Her body was] probably dumped in Bergen-Belsen's mass graves.

I couldn't help but pray more fervently in gratitude, this morning, for the freedoms I enjoy but don't always appreciate.

Boys Are So Lucky

"Men are Just Happier People"

What do you expect from such simple creatures.Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can be President.. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another gas station restroom because this one is just too icky. You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt. Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100. People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood all the time.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. You know stuff about tanks. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend.

Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. Everything on your face stays its original color. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck.

You can play with toys all your life. One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons. You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache.

---

I stole this from my brother. Who knows where he got it. But it certainly made me laugh. I think that I am going to write a dissertation, next week, on women and all their great advantages in life. We'll begin with the obvious: We just plain smell better!!!

...Trusty, dusky, vivid, true...

Often times, when I am away from Aaron for long periods of time, I feel much more sentimental and dreamy-eyed. (Sometimes to a point that becomes extremely sappy..) I think it is waking up in an empty bed and feeling the immediate loss. This is certainly the case today.

The Gory Details

Deborah

9/9/08 - Weighing in at 235 lbs, 9 mos pregnant

4/16/09 - 178 lbs, feeling good

6/19/09 - 181 lbs, and holding

6/30/09 - 185 lbs. Hmmph.

---

End goal 155 lbs. Do you think that I can do this by September 9, 2009?

In the spirit of competition, Aaron and I have become engaged in a wager, of sorts. The person with the highest percentage of body weight lost by Thanksgiving Day gets to use all of the ThankYou Network points we've accumulated this year (about $200.00 worth).

When I win, I will be using them to get this:



Wish me luck! (Oh, and Aaron, too)

• 12:36 I can feel it coming on. Bad mom day. #
• 12:38 "If you don't clean up these toys I am going to send them all to DI." And I'm not kidding. #
• 13:49 Feeling even more annoyed. Ate too much junk this morning. #

• 15:03 Too much to do... #
• 17:51 Dinner tonight: Sweet Ginger Paper Beef with Carrots and Smashed Red Potatoes. (Too bad I only have 400 Kcals left to enjoy it.) #
• 20:52 Every time I get home from YW I feel drained and rushed and terribly, terribly behind. #
• 20:54 Laundry, and dishes, and a skit, and a piano duet, and desserts, and visiting teaching, and a diet, and time for children, and budgeting... #
• 20:56 ...and time for the husband, and using up the mushy bananas (and expiring canned pumpkin), and the Temple trip on Sat, and the fundraiser.. #
• 20:59 ..and the horribly neglected toilets, and well balanced nutrition, and that scripture study goal, and waking up early, and going to bed.. #
• 21:01 ...and tomorrow is another day. I think I'll go read in bed and eat marshmallows and forget it all for awhile. #

• 20:27 Finally stopped throwing up today. Held the saltines and ginger ale down for the last 4 hours. Wishing for a better tomorrow. #

• 09:28 Only ate one waffle this morning--a breakthrough! #
• 11:17 Ode to the weather gods. I am LOVING you this summer! #

• 07:24 Dear Union Rep: Please stop wasting my time and dues sending me propaganda calling Walmart the "scourge of America." #

• 14:01 Playing mystery detective with Hy-guy. Examining the kitchen crumbs (a plentiful source) for clues to who-dunnit. #

• 18:10 Everyone is sick--and I mean everyone=boring Sunday afternoon. At least dinner was good. #

• 22:02 Playing boggle with Aaron. Killing him, of course. He's trying to get away with "wons" and "wests". Hello? #
• 22:03 My contribution of "nows" should count. Oprah would say we should all live in our own "nows". #
• 22:03 Starting to get annoyed. #
• 22:04 Earlier he tried to pass off "dirts." #

• 09:10 They're slurry sealing the street in front of my house this morning. The boys are loving it. Better than cable. #

• 21:25 Eating fresh cherries and playing Uno with Aaron. Getting ready to make him cry. You're going down, dude. #

Closing Shop

Something inside of me loves the freedom of publishing my writing--and throwing it out into the wide open space for anyone to peruse. Writing is drug-like in its flow and expression for me. Almost, but not completely, like getting wrapped up in a good book.

Consequently, this blog began (and has continued) as a mostly self-centered endeavor--a forum, if you will, to try out thoughts. Though, half of my blog entries remain, unfortunately, in my mind (generally played out while I'm nursing the baby in the middle of the night). And then there are the tweets, the high and low lists, and the ever-popular online personality test results.

I have been surprised how much intimacy and understanding that is fostered between friends and family when you have access to each others writing. (I'm practically addicted to reading my father's.) I have been annoyed, touched, angered, provoked to a different thought, and brought to tears by what others have written in their blogs. And maybe someone out there feels the same way about mine. Even someone that I don't know. (Though, even now, in writing this I am doubtful that ANYONE even reads this besides the occasional friend.)

And all of this would be just fine if there was not a potential threat in it. Or at least, if no weird creepy somebody-with-ulterior-motives could potentially read it. And if I didn't have children that I wanted to protect. Therefore, with a heavy heart, I am going private.

If there is anybody out there who would like to continue reading, email me or let me know via comments.

• 09:08 Ezra throwing up. Thrice last night, once today. In other news, I ate all the PB cookies I was going to avoid. Come on, Deborah. Courage! #
• 14:00 Feeling slightly nauseated...I hope it will last. #
• 22:38 Kicking back to a little Norah Jones--Aaron doing the dishes, kids in bed. Now all I need is a lovely rain storm. Pure bliss. #

• 08:41 Yum! Just had strawberry freezer jam on toast for breakfast. It's going to be a beautiful day! #

• 06:56 Freezer dinner enrichment? Check. Talking in church? Check. Today's project: get down and play with my baby boys. #