Cards with Mom

On my parents' last night here, Mother and I sat down and made some cards.  Since I was clean out of ideas, I let her pick out a couple designs from my collection and we made similar cards in her color choices.




I adore these cards.  My mother has a good eye for color.  I really don't, but I'm getting better.

An Update on a Few Things

My mother seems to be doing much better.  She gets around a lot easier than when she first got here.  Or so it seems to me.

My parents came to our TOPS meeting tonight.  They're members of a club in Tennessee.  I feared a big gain, but much to my surprise it was a three pound loss!  That's 17 so far.  It's not anything dramatic, but it is gone so that's something.

For the past month I've slacked quite a bit from my diet and exercise regime.  This past week I've been on the treadmill more lately.  Mostly because I don't want to have to tell Jason again that I haven't.  Ha!  It helps immensely that the weather has been gorgeous out!!!  I have a goal to walk outside this weekend and enjoy the warm weather and sun.

Drew is moving to a new department in our company on Monday morning.  He's very excited about it.  I'm happy for him.  I will be at my same desk, doing what I do, wondering how I ended up being in no department whatsoever.  My own personal R&D batcave.  (Enough said there.)

And lastly...for Joanie...the Bruschetta Chicken recipe!!!  My mother made this and we loved it!!!  It's super easy to make and tastes wonderful.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 package stuffing mix
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, raw, cut into bit-size pieces
1 tsp basil
1 cup 2% shredded mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix tomatoes, stuffing, water and garlic until the stuffing mix is moistened.  Layer the chicken, basil and cheese in a baking dish.  Top with the stuffing mixture.  Bake 30 min.

The recipe is from Kraft Foods.

Motivational Video of the Week

Jason's slacking...so I posted my own!

Mom's Birthday

Mom and Dad arrived Friday night.  Mom's doing much better, but she's still a little dizzy when she walks.  Turns out there are crystals in your ears for balance and making coffee???... something, but hers have become unattached.  It's like Menears Disease, but not exactly.  There's actually no name for her issue.  We're calling it Ginger's Broken Brain Disease.  Because that's fun.

Saturday we went to the Christmas Tree Shop, then to Aldi's.  They have neither stores in Tennessee.  Mom found a $10 cane in Aldi's that she has found to be rather handy since she's still wobbly on her feet.  I'm not sure they think Aldi's is as great as I do, but it was certainly different.  And going to Wegman's at two on a Saturday afternoon was not happening!

Today was Mom's birthday.  Mom & I went to a Lia Sophia party at Kelly's house this morning and we had a great time.  Mom got some great jewelry from it, compliments of me and Dad.  Happy Birthday!!!

For dinner I made the ranch pork chop in the crock pot (awesome!) along with mashed potatoes and Drew made his infamous asparagus.  A total success!

Plus, Drew made a cake from scratch!!!  We didn't have candles, so we stuck a votive in it.  Classy.

Can you believe she's 66???  As expected, Dad went right for the ice cream.  

And here's the card I made.

Dad and I watched the Wales vs Italy rugby match while I made cards this afternoon.  It went mostly like this...

Dad : Why was that a penalty?
Me : I don't know.
Dad : What are they doing?
Me : A line-out.
Dad : Oh.  Well, why aren't they doing that pile thing?
Me : You mean scrum?
Dad : Yeah.
Me : I don't know.

Admittedly, there are a lot of elements to rugby that I don't understand.  

Wales won, as expected.  Yay!!!

Mama Update

It wasn't food poisoning.  Turns out it's an inner ear problem that's making her incredibly dizzy and nauseous.  She's got some meds for it and is doing so-so.  Despite the doctor's protests, she's on her way to NY with my Dad.  They make the trip in two days.  They've stopped for the night now and will be here tomorrow.  My mother is unbelievably stubborn and she wasn't missing this trip for nothing!

For my mama

My mother, father and sister all live in Tennessee.  I live in New York.  After I tell people that I immediately point out that THEY moved away from NY.  I am NOT from TN.  Very important.

Tonight I wish I lived in Tennessee because my mommy is sick.  Looks like food poisoning.  A bad sandwich at a Birthday lunch at work.  No one else is sick, but apparently it was take out???  I'm not sure of the details, but it resembles food poisoning.

I had food poisoning once when I was in my early twenties.  Bad KFC.  One of the reasons you won't find me at KFC anymore.  Another reason is that even if it isn't poisoned, it's guaranteed you'll be spending some quality time in the bathroom after you've eaten it.  Don't get me wrong!  I love the food.  Just not the aftermath.

(Great, now I want some KFC.  Dang nabbit.)

Anyway, I was unbelievably sick.  Almost 24 hours straight in the bathroom.  Then in and out - A LOT - for three more days.  And when I was sick it was my mother that took care of me.  I wish I could be there to return the favor right now.

Of course, my mother would say, "Don't come see me when I'm sick!  Come see me when I'm well!  Then we can shop and visit and talk and go to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinsburg, etc...etc..."  And she's right.  We're not the type of family that relies on each other in illness or times of trouble.  We're the type of family that says, "Hey!  I got some extra cash to blow!  Let's go to Europe!" or "Hey!  I got Friday off!  Let's go to the wineries and laugh really loud!"  We like to play with each other during the good times.  During the bad we just mope in a corner.  And we prefer it that way.

Anyhoo....where was I?  Oh yeah.  My mama.  Here's some cards to cheer her up...









The above cards were made this past weekend.  It's the start of my Gift Shop collection.  There are a number of tea shops and little gift shops in the area.  I'm thinking about building up enough cards to go around and see if anyone wants to sell them in their shops.  Mainly because I'm going to make cards, 95% of which I will never use myself.  But I love to make them!!!  So, I might sell them instead.

The below card was requested by my girlfriend Julie.  Her sister-in-law is preggers and wanted to send her a card.  I found nothing in my stamp collection for "congrats on getting knocked up" or "thanks for contributing to the overpopulation of the world".  Everything is for a baby that's already been born and is currently polluting our nation's landfills.  I googled some ideas and found very little.  I liked the picture and I used paint.net to color it.  It kinda looks like the baby-momma!  The heart is on a pop-up, so it stands out better.  I actually think this card is cute, regardless of the fact that it's baby related.  Yuck!  ; )



Get better Mom!!!!

TOPS 0625 Auburn

TOPS Club Organization rules dictate that officer elections are held at the first meeting in March. Seems goofy for a weight loss club but every position is voluntary, so we have to hold elections. Tonight nominations were made and votes were cast. Guess what? I'm Leader again.

There have been times when being Leader is not an enviable position. It can be stressful. Especially when you have a member in the club that's disruptive or isn't working out. We don't have members like that right now, but we have in the past.

Our club is fortunate that our members are there for friendship, motivation, support, and sometimes just to have a laugh. We do like to laugh. That's not to say that we don't take our weight loss seriously. We do. But we also know that laughter is the most powerful drug you can introduce to your diet.

So while part of me would just like to be a regular member sometimes, a much bigger part of me is happy to be Leader again. I feel like our club is getting some positive momentum in it. The members back me and they seem to be happy I'm up there taking care of the club business. I just hope I can also lead them towards the ultimate goal --- to be healthy and happy. The best way I know how to do that is to be a good example and a source of motivation.

The fact that I lost another two pounds this week is a great start. :)