Merry Christmas Everyone!!

I hope that your Christmas is going wonderfully.  Maybe you found this page using your newly unwrapped "toy," or you have been a reader since I missed being in the People Magazine's Half Their Size issue because I shaved my head!!! 

Either way I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthier New Year!!!

DragonCon!

Over the weekend Aaron and I attended DragonCon here in Atlanta GA. 

It was an AMAZINGLY fun time!!!  :-D  It was a totaly geek-out fest.  TONS of great walking too. 



I was nearly run-over by a jogging Sean Astin. 
(He played Mikey in The Goonies and Sam-wise in The Lord of the Rings - Trilogy) 

Next year I will be wearing my costumes for the event.

It will be SWEEEEEEEEEET.

Married for 10 years!

Yesterday Aaron and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.

These first ten years of marriage have been an extraordinary journey!  There have been so many up and downs.  Tears, laughter, anger, frustrations, disappointments, success, doubt, fear, joy, sorrow, bliss, contentment, worry, relief, happiness, stress, hope, and love.

Aaron and I have gone through thick and thin. (pun intended)

We had some very dark times where we were both encouraged to leave the other, but our desire to be together, and make "us" work ultimately wons out.



"True love is the love that lasts through hard times."



Things I've learned after being married 10 years:

• Aaron cannot "read my mind" but he is very good at interpretting "Jessesse"
• Prefection isn't a requirement for anything.
• Pick your battles, don't sweat the small stuff.

I may be having a huge legal/medical battle with Humana and the woman who hit us on May 15th.

I am really worried because it sounds like Humana is going to go after her insurance for all the stuff related to my back.  The worst part is, it sounds like if they are not successful getting money from her, then I have to pay for all the medical cost for the accident myself.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!

I think I need to get a lawyer. : (

Never too late!

Maybe you were one of the thousands of people who vowed to make 2010 the year you get healthy!


Now nearly 9 months into the year how are things going for you?


Even if you gave up before February I want to encourage you to get back on the healthy wagon!


Losing weight isn't instant.  It takes lots of time changing your lifestyle. 

Being healthy is not just a list of foods you eat or avoid, and workouts you hate.   Even if you are able to reach your weight loss goal that way - you will never stay at your goal weight if you hate the lifestyle!


I learned which healthy foods I actually like and made them part of my daily menu.

My exercise of choice is walking at my normal pace while listen to music.


These are the tunes I am listening to currently that really get my bootie moving!!



After listening to some of these tracks and I am sure you will be energized too!!

Cheers!


Jess :)

Southern Hospitality

We've lived in Atlanta for over half a year now.

Everyone who warned me about the heat... it's not that bad.

It is more humid back in Wisconsin and just 10 degrees cooler.






I will be laughing my butt off when winter rolls aroung again and it's in the 40's and 50's here and in the teens back in Wisconsin!



People down here are super nice! (Except when they are driving.)

It's still amazing for me to have doors and elevators held for me by strangers.

Aaron was hired!!!

Aaron has finally landed a GOOD job after nearly 9 months of unemployement and under-employement.

Our family income will be nearly doubled and we can start setting things up to have a family!

I am not angry or blushing... it is Rosacea

Rosacea is a skin condition marked by redness on the nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead. While Rosacea cannot be cured, it can be controlled -- if you can identify what triggers the condition and follow a skin care regimen that works.

Snapped this shot with my phone.

I am having a flare-up, but I do not know what triggered it!!  It is so FRUSTRATING!!!

The skin on my checks is just BURNING! It is hot and rashy.  I am no longer super itchy so I guess the mites are dead or at least controlled.

I have an appointment at 9 AM on the 15th to see the dermatologist.

I should put all my appointments into my Calendar...

Othro, Dentist, Physical Therapist...

OH!   I never told you guys I was rear-ended!!!!

I am now on medication and going to therapy for my back and neck!!!!  :-(

I better look for all my upcoming appointments!

Non-Mom on Mother's Day

Yesterday I was given many well wishes for Mother's Day...  I smiled and wished them Happy Mother's Day too, but inside I felt like a childless loser.

I took a very long walk on Mother's day.  The weather was perfect and I needed to get out in it.

Maintaining my size! :)

Since I have started tracking my calories and exercise online using fatsecret's widgets, applications and website I can happily announce that... I have been able to maintain my weight for 3 months straight!!!

Once I got to my goal weight I was still really healthy, but then let little things slip.  Like I started eating deep fried things again.  I started to erase all the success I had worked so HARD for.   

I had stopped keeping my food journal because I thought I was done, but that is never the case!!

In order to stay healthy you really need to maintain your healthy lifestyle and a food journal was one of the things that really keeps me on track!

I now make sure that I am eating between 1800 and 2000 calories.

My typical menu for a day is like this:


200 Calories for Breakfast

• Yogurt, or
• Protien Shake, or
• Fried Egg white on whole wheat toast with American Cheese, or
• Egg white omlete with salsa

150  Calories AM Snack

• Banana
• Yogurt
• 100 Calorie snack pack
• Apple sauce

400 Calorie Lunch

• A frozen meal with at least one full serving of vegetables.

900 to 1200 Calories  Dinner

• Half a frozen pizza
• Burritos/Fajitas/Tacos
• Pasta/Lasagna
• Marinated Chicken Breast with starch and a vegetable

200 Calories Dessert  (OPTIONAL)

•  4 blocks of chocolate
• 1/2 c. ice cream
• 1 break'n'bake cookie

Diet is 90% of the battle for me but  I am living proof that you do NOT have to stop eating sweets or bread in order to lose weight.  


I also keep active.

Three times a week I work out on my elliptical trainer at just over 4 mph for 30 minutes. 
I raise my heart rate to about 140 beats per minute .

That's all it takes. 

Of course it took me about 4 years to lose all my weight... but I did it and it is gone.

Mom in Georgia

My mom flew down to visit this past weekend with my little sister Samantha.  I was nice to see them, and we did lots of fun stuff together, but it is going to be WONDERFUL to get back on my normal schedule.

We did lots of shopping and sight-seeing.  My mom and sister complained about all the walking.

I also cringed at their POOR eating habits.  When they ate bacon cheeseburgers with fries, with a large chocolate cookie AND some recess peanut butter cups for dessert.  But with a bottle of 100% orange juice for a drink.. I had to comment.

Seriously,  TWO desserts?  With lunch?!  Come on Mom!!
And I don't care if it is "100% juice" it's just as sugary as a soda.
Top that off with a bacon cheese burger  the size of your face and fries to match....

Mom gave me the "On Vacation" excuse, but I was not happy to see the crappy eating habits being established and enforced for my sister.

Obesity is just as abusive and damaging to a child as beating her/him.  You are setting them up for a LIFETIME of health problems. 

Being fat is also a social stigma -- so there are psychological ramifications too!  GAH!

I would rant some more, but I would risk being written out of the Will. ;)

SCABIES!!!!!!

This morning I FINALLY went to a dermatologist about my red itchy face.

It turns out that I have not one, but two skin conditions.


The first diagnosis I had figured out on my own from the internet...

Rosacea

Rosacea is a chronic skin condition involving inflammation of the cheeks, nose, chin, forehead, or eyelids.
There is no cure for Rosacea but it can be managed by avoiding triggers which cause "flare-ups."


The second diagnosis was kind of a shock… my face is infested with mites.


The doctor got out a sterile razorblade and scraped some skin off my cheeks. He then looked under the microscope… and sure enough there was a little mite Woodstock going on. This is what is causing the facial itching that even wakes me up at night.

Now mites on the face and body are normal. Everyone actually has them. I just have a huge number, and my body sees them as an attack and

He then prescribed the cream used for Scabies to kill them off.

The mites on me are not the Scabies mite, but another type of tiny critter making my face look well, like this:

Each itchy pseudo-pimple is actually a colony of the little bastards. Now I need to kill off these jerks to a normal level and convince my body to stop try to kill them. (“Say hello to my little friend!”)

So now I have 3 different prescriptions, and should have an alabaster complexion by the weekend.

I’ll post another picture on the weekend to see if the redness has gone down.

Goal = Reward = GOAL!

My husband is a sexy-cutie angel sweetie-pie!

This weekend I got lots of pretty kitchen stuff, and 7 pieces of funky handmade, food-safe pottery,and two boardgames... under the condition I'd get Aaron a Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition.



I never got what was cool about a Reading Device -- until just now.

You can carry a whole library in your purse!!!!

The copyright has expired on books over 70 years old so most are free online, and that number grows daily!

The e-version of current novels are downloadable instantly and costs less than the paper book.  Since there is no shipping you are being mega-kind to the environment!
1.) Not cutting down the trees for the paper.
2.) Not burning fuel shipping it.


Aaron teased me that I would "steal" his Reader... and good GOD my man knows me so well.  He knows me better than I know me... and I am so grateful to have such a wonderful life-partner.


I will do my best to NOT steal my husband's "toy"  -- but I really want him to download all the books in The Cat Star Chronicles for me.

He read me the first chapter aloud and got me totally hooked!!!

It's a steamy sci-fi/supernatural romance series that starts with a woman searching the universe for her sister who was kidnapped into slavery.

The sister is on a planet where ALL women are slaves.  So she devises a plan to buy a male slave of her own and have him pose as her master so she can rescue her sister.

She ends up with a super sexy cat-man from a destroyed planet.   The author's description of him reminded me of the people from Avatar --  just not 9 feet tall, or blue.   He would pass for human on first glance, being similar  height and coloring.  Alien races unfamiliar with the people of Earth would not even notice he was not human.  But his black eyes, and long fangs made his distinctly not human.

It really left me hanging!  Slave (The Cat Star Chronicles #1) is ranked 5/5 on the sizzle meter and that has me dying to know more about the relationship/ownership between the two!!  Will they safely rescue the sister?!  Will he get revenge on those who destroyed his planet?!  I want to know more about the hot, "who is the master" situations -- the cackling sexual tension... then the ultimately the consummation of all the build-up where passion takes over reason! I want to know!!!


 I am so motivated to get that book -- I am totally motivated to workout to get it as a reward!

The best part is the Sony Reader is so thin it will sit neatly fit on my elliptical trainer's display consul making it super easy to read while working out!!

This makes for a perfect cycle.  I read a great book while working out -- which makes me reach my goal -- which earns me the next book, which I will read while walking towards my next goal!

Too cool!!!

Turn Your Couch into a Home Gym!

Today is a workout day for me.  I plan to walk on my Precor while watching 24 since my time is tight tonight. (Cooking diner, cleaning-up, going grocery shopping, watching the 2 hour special of 24.)

Getting an home exercise machine that you use while watching TV is pretty sweet. 
You can just pedal or walk at a comfortable pace while enjoying a show or movie!

If you are new to being healthy -  a great way to keep your spot on the couch -- and burn more calories -- is to exchange your footrest with a pedal exerciser.

These babies are super small and cheap!  They range from just a stand with some pedals on it  ($25)  to high end models like the Genuine Magnetrainer ER (Extended Range) Mini Exercise Bike with silent magnetic resistance, and a display for distance and calories. ($130) You can even put it on a table and work your arms too!

But the BEST part is you don't have a HUGE bulky piece of exercise equipment taking up half of your living room!  Even the nice ones only weight about 25 pounds a unit. 

I am thinking about getting one for under my desk at work!

Take care!

Jess  :)

FAQ Fixed!

I few days ago I accidentally deleted my FAQ where I answer questions like "Do you have loose skin.


Luckily I have my website backed up, and I have restored my page!

Happy Easter by the way!

The following is a nerdy recap of yesterday... Not at all related to my weight loss/maintenance.
Feel free to read it if you're curious. :)

---

Last night Aaron and I were out until nearly 3 AM playing games and driving people home safely.

We played some really fun games, and some not so fun games.

I won a lot yesterday!


The first game we played was "Princes of Florence." Patrick and I tied for first, however I had the most money, which breaks the tie!

Then we played 1825 - a train/stock-holding game and I won that too!! I beat Aaron by just £100 and Patrick by a mere £43!!! It was a VERY tight game.

I played three game prototypes.

One by/with Richard Launius where you play crew of a crashed spaceship trying to get enough pieces of your ship back together and repaired -- while native creatures attack. It was lots of fun! It is a co-operative game, where all the players work together, and the game system BEATS YOU DOWN.



After that I pulled out a really fun trivia game called Bezzerwizzer!



I totally suggest picking this game up if you like trivia pursuit. There is more player interaction and ways to "steal" points from each other. It's a great game to break out at a party!!!


I also got in on a game of Heroscapes... and won!! :-D It came down to my husband's men-in-black / Agent from the Matrix Type Figure, and my Shaolin Monk. "Wooooooo-PAH!!!!"

(I made lots of "Bruce Lee" screams while rolling the dice. It was AWESOME.)

I am skipping a few games, but we finished the night with "The Gothic Game." This game is basically set in a creepier, freakier, Adams Family style home, and the object of the game is to be the last person alive. There are lots of things in the house that kill you... and the other players can too -- Yet it is fun to play!

Oh! And did I mention this is all to help kitties?


There was a game drawing (I won a game too!) and a Chili/Lasagna sale to raised money for a no-kill Shelter that rescues cats from the pound a few days before they'll be put down.

Enough money was raised to "vet" one cat.

After the cat is saved from "death" It is taken to the Vet to be screened for diseases, spade/neutered, and micro-chipped.

Then they try to find a home for the kitty. They have about 20 cats in the shelter at a time. They do only enough dog work to match pooches with foster families. No dogs are kept by the cats.

The 20 cats doesn't even count the 9 pet cats the woman who owns the shelter has, and her roommate who has a huge orange diabetic tom cat of her own too.

I better go eat breakfast!


Cheers!


Jess :)

The Jokes on Me....

My name is pretty common. There are lots of Jessicas and lots of People with the last name Scott. So I know I am not a "snowflake" when it comes to my name... There even lots of "Jessie Lees".

There are even guys named Jesse Lee!!!

Well maybe I am a tiny bit unique in the way "Lee" is spelled for my middle name:

JESSICA LEA SCOTT

Jessica: Invented by William Shakespeare for his play Merchant of Venice, Female form of Jesse which is Hebrew for Wealthy or Gift.

Lea: Hebrew in origin meaning 'Weary'

Scott: English, Painted Warrior

So I guess I am a Wealthy Weary Painted Warrior!

Of course Scott is my married name.  My maiden name is Frey.

Frey: Scandinavian origin, and its meaning is "lord, exalted one". In Norse mythology, Frey is the fertility god, and also the most handsome of all the deities.

Now were talking!


So anyway...  I noticed this morning that the Amazon Associates ID I have on  my blog not MINE...
I was giving a different Jessica Scott all the credit!   I am glad I caught the mistake, but I feel like SUCH AN APRIL FOOL!!!!!

Here I was... tormented about putting the ads up in the first place... and NONE of the traffic was even credited to me.  What a bummer.

I plan to work on this site this weekend.  Change the look to be more sleek, easy to read and professional looking.   Some of my pages are SUPER BROKEN and out of date.   New pics. maybe MERGE the before and after Pictures onto one page so you can see them side by side better....

Here is link I know is working!

Spending $6 on milk that goes bad tomorrow.

I have been drinking lots of protien powder shakes for breakfast recently, so I picked up a $6 gallon of organic milk... just to find it goes bad tomorrow. (My husband already thinks it's gone south.)

Great, I can chose cheap industrial farmed milk full of whatever they are pumping into the cows, or milk that's healthy... but spoiled.

I am starting to think vegan towards soy, almond and rice milks instead.

I mean milk is something that in nature is there to help a 30 pound baby calf turn into a 800 pound beefy steer in a year.... Do I want that stuff in my body?

I might have to look into this more. There has to be sites about Vegitarian and Vegan body building... right? :)

I'll let you know what I find!

-Jess

PS- If you are going to be ordering new books, DVDs, or Blu-Rays from Amazon.com, please use my links.

It costs you nothing more and shows your support of this site!

Thank you!!!!

Working out tonight

Tonight is another workout night for me but I feel so pooped from the work week!!!

MENTALLY
I know that working out is JUST what
my body needs to feel more energized!

PHYSICALLY
I just want to crawl in bed and sleep.
Zzzzz......

EMOTIONALLY
I feel annoyed that I have to workout.

SPIRITUALLY
I will pray for the strength need to be healthy.

Breaking stuff in the Breakroom

This morning I broke a coffee pot at work. I do not drink coffee, but I accidently bumped it when slicing up my fresh strawberries.

I felt so bad… and it turns out we don’t have a broom in our suite!

At least we get to go play boardgames tonight!! :-D

Last night I worked out on my elliptical trainer at a pace of 5 mph for 30 minutes. I was reminded of high school when we had to “run” the mile… and I was always one of the last kids to finish. I was never able to run for an entire lap. I would get to the third curve of the track and hit a wall… then walk all the way to the starting line again… where I would jog a bit passed the teacher… then start walking again. It seems so silly… like she could not see me walking around the rest of the track!

I would get lapped. The healthy girls would sit on the grass and wait for rest of us to finish. They would all cheer when I finally cross the finish line… but it just made me feel more like an out of shape loser. I felt mocked -- like they were cheering “Thank God she’s finally DONE!”

Now I am a healthy, successful IT professional, living in the Atlanta Metroplex, and many of them have become overweight, alcoholic townies still living in the backwoods of Wisconsin… Thank you Karma!

Visiting All 4 Rooms Each Day

The health concept I would like to share today is from A House With Four Rooms by Rumer Godden.



Living a healthy life is more than just diet and exercise.

While taking care of your physical body is an important part of a well-balanced life, there are also 3 other "rooms" of life that should have daily attention as well.



Physical Room
The Physical Room is usually the one most people think of when they think of losing weight. The main focus is on the body. This is the area which covers what you eat and how much you eat. Your level of activity is also located in the Physical Room.


Emotional Room
The Emotional room is just as important as the physical one, and has a huge impact. If you are not feeling up to working out, there is something that needs to be addressed here in the Emotional Room. Are you feeling sad, lonely, depressed, worried... Have you taken time to step back from the hectic pace of life and really assess your feelings? Feelings are super important. Bottling them up or putting on a happy face only works so long. There are lots of resources online about finding emotional peace and stability. There are even lots of free counseling options out there that can help "get things off your chest." The catharsis of sharing your burdens is often enough to get you feeling happy again.


Spiritual Room
No matter which faith you practice - even it is your own belief and not an organized religion - you need to spend some part of your day nurturing your "soul." Your inner spirit needs care just like your body. Feed it with good words and uplifting stories, exercise your beliefs through prayer and worship.


Mental Room
Do you have too much on your proverbial plate? An overloaded mind is out of balance. Stress is a huge factor in making bad health choices. It wears on the physical body. It makes you cut corners -- grabbing meals on the go, picking something convenient rather than healthy. Your mind keeps you up going over all the issues in your life, and not letting you rest. It is helpful to visit one of the other rooms to get things back in order in your Mental Room.


Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day -- even if only to "keep it aired -- we are not a complete person.


My "cure-all" to visiting all rooms in just an hour each morning is yoga. It works your body, mind, and gives a feeling of inner peace.

My favorite Yoga DVD is Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss




It has 4 different instructors (Fully Modified, Half Modified, 1/4 Modified, and Full Workout) and it really helps you progress!! Even after all these years, I cannot do the full out super bendy work out for all poses. I like that it shows me lots of ways to do yoga, but doesn't try putting my body into a pose I'm not ready for, yet.

When I first started doing this yoga DVD -- I could not even reach the yoga blocks!!! I followed the Fully Modified yoga routine, and used folding chairs until I got flexible enough to reach the yoga blocks!

Try visiting all of your rooms each day, soon you will feel more balanced, energized, and healthy.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I do not want to step on the celebratory Irish toes, but I do want to warn folks about drinking or eating in excess today.

Say what they may about one glass a day - Alcohol has a damaging effect on the body.

Many people who have problems with sweets have a family history of alcoholism. This is due to the way their brain is wired. The addictive craving for sugar is extremely similar to that for alcohol in the brain.

Having a "sweet-tooth" sounds cute, but sugar addiction is real and crippling.

There are strong biochemical reactions in the brains of sugar addicts, and the "high" they get from having sugar is like that seen in the scans of heroine addicts!!  Sugar and sweets truly make these people feel better. But it is fleeting, then there is a crash when the insulin kicks....

To make matters worse some sugar addicts have their insulin kick in too much, then throwing them back to strongly craving sugar again!!!

It can be very hard for people who have never experienced addiction, craving, binging, and shame, guilt... to understand the complex relationship a sugar addict has with food.

But let me be clear: YOU ARE NOT BROKEN!!!  Being addicted to sugar does not make you a 'bad person." You are awesome and loveable right now.

If you are reading these words right now, I know that you want to live a happier healthier life and you are working on it!!!

Please check out the LessJess Tips section of my website for ways to start getting healthier on tiny step at a time.

Getting Everything Back in Shape!

" HOLY COW! MY WEBSITE IS BUSTED!!"  I didn't realize that the image links were broke. It really made my sites look like junk! :-(    I plan to be making lots of updates - new pics, new format, and just getting everything neat and clean again.

I have been so busy the last few months!
 
I moved to Atlanta, Georgia from Madison, Wisconsin and started a new job. I totally fell off the wagon while transitioning to my new life, but I am now getting back on track!

Last night I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. The first 20 minutes were hard, but then the "This is not so bad! I can do this!!!" feeling kicked in. Today I feel perky and awake.

Lucky me...

Like losing an hour of sleep wasn't annoying enough,  I also got period yesterday!

I did not workout yesterday, but I did go shopping, so I thought I would share my typical menu for the week.

Breakfast foods:

On days I am short on time:
 - Carnation Instant Breakfast in Classic Chocolate Malt
 - Organic Whole Milk

On days I have time:
 - Eggs, salsa, cheddar cheese

Snacks:
 - Apples
 - Bannas
 - Strawberries
 - Light Yogurts
 - Cheddar Cheese
 - 100% Whole Wheat Crackers

Lunch:
Frozen Lean Cuisine Meals



Dinners:
Frozen Pizza
Frozen Pepper Stir-fry
Frozen Chicken Strips
Whole Wheat Pasta
Whole Wheat Bread
Shaved Turkey Breast
Random Pasta and BBQ sauces
Instant Potatoes
Butter

I don't really avoid any foods, I just make sure I eat sensible amounts.

I am not your billboard.

I am turning off the comments again.

I got up and did yoga today with my cats.   They were both cute and "helpful," and by helpful, I mean trying to kill me.  ;)

They like to rub against my legs and lay on the mat underneath me, so when I change to a different pose, the cat gets pissed off.

Monday Motivation!

My weight loss has always been about loving my body and making it healthy for a long life.

If you want to lose weight because you hate the way you look... a diet is not going to fix what is really wrong.  Self loathing isn't going to keep you motivated. In fact it is a vicious cycle that keeps making you feel worse!!! :-(

Loving yourself every step of the way is key to being successful.  Even if you seem to taking more steps backwards than forwards... You are still awesome, special and should take the BEST CARE OF YOURSELF POSSIBLE!!!!

It doesn't matter how fit or out of shape you are if you don't appreciate and love the person inside.

Learning to love and appreciate yourself is the first step towards a healthier, happier life.

You are Loveable,  You are Special, and You worth taking care of!!!

HUGS!

Jess  :-)

Tracking Calories on Google!

I have added a new widget to my iGoogle to track my calories.  It is super sweet, because I don't have to log-in to the calorie tracking site, it just is all done right there on my iGoogle dashboard.


There are many calorie tracking widgets to chose from, but considering how often I am ON Google (It's my start-up homepage - Hello!!)  It's a constant reminder every time I open my browser or look something up: "Hey Jess!!! Count your calories!!"


It's fairly slick!  :)   So  if you spend a lot of your day googling...  think about using a customized iGoogle with a calorie tracking widget! 




This link with take you to the page to add the same widget I am using to your igoogle.

Jobless Husband = Amazon.com Banner

I hate spammy sites full of ads targetting the obese and over-weight with bogus products and vowed I would  never have ads on my site! 

Well now I have added a banner add to buy Amazon Gift cards on the sidebar, and I am feeling a bit guilty.   

I know the add isn't preditory, animated and obnoxious, but I still feel I went back on my word.

Since Aaron is still unemployeed I thought I would try monitizing this site to see if it would be enough for him to stay home and be my Mr. Mom!

You know I am a geek, right?

I am a very nerdy girl.  I met my husband at a Vampire the Masquerade LARP for crying out loud!!!


This weekend -- at an AWESOME gaming event at Mercer College -- I said that Aaron and I will be married 10 years this Summer.  


This prompted the men at my table to ask if I got married when I was 14.  


I joked, "Maybe that's how you guys do things here in the South, but I was 22 when I got married!"


They then did the (simple) math in their heads to pronounce me 32.  


Yep.  I am 32 now, and boy is my biological clock ticking LOUDLY!!!!


I am thrilled at the thought of motherhood, but also dead scared of the weight gain... and if I will be able to ever get back in shape?


So... my blog maybe heading towards a healthy pregnancy / losing the baby weight blog in the next year or so.


Aaron is still looking for work.  He's had one interview so far and I hope he finds something awesome soon.  In the meantime I spoil him because he spoils me by doing all the housework.  :)


I have thought about him just being a stay at home dad... but why did we spend all those years in college if he was just going to stay home all day?!


I mean who would want their kids spending all day with their well-educated, loving, biological father!?!?!  ;)


Actually, having a smart, caring, daddy stay home all day while I win the proverbial "bread" sounds GREAT!


How much is Day Care anyway?


This is something to research more....


I hope you are all doing well!!!!

Moved to Atlanta, GA

You may be thinking...  I thought you guys were moving to the Bay Area!!!?!?!?!?


Well, we did too.


But then I was offered an amazing job in Atlanta before Aaron found work in CA, so here we are!




The move has been a NIGHTMARE.  




We drove 17 hours straight - OVERNIGHT with two cats -  one that cries really loud, and one that get's car sick....




During the drive the stupid GPS sent me through these horrible hilly and curvy back-country roads in the middle of nowhere TN -  in the middle the night - in a downpour! AHHHH!

 I am so tired and sore!

I have now learned that the truck with all of our stuff on it, that was supposed to be here TODAY (Thursday) will not arrive until at least MONDAY!!!


We've had to go buy stuff to get us through.   I am not happy about these expenses, because if the movers would have correctly estimated the arrival - we would not have had to buy this stuff!  grrrrrr


Even though I am cranky and sore,  I am looking forward to getting settled! 
It's been a hard time so far, but I know that soon I will be loving life here in Atlanta!