Straighten Up

We recently had a Pizza & Game night with our Portland pals Patty and Keenan. It was great to catch up after the crazy holiday season. And what better way to celebrate than with experimenting with my hair straightener?

Patty's beautiful curls before:

And the after. Rowena (who was too excited to sleep just yet)

was very content to cuddle with "Pappy".

Isn't this a gorgeous picture? Sheesh.

To no one's surprise, Keenan wanted to get into the action, too.

Just look at those shiny tendrils!

The unfortunate result:

Keenan is such a good sport! He even wore one of Roey's little pink clips to keep his bangs back during Whoonu.

Good Intentions

So, I almost wrote a great blog for today. I had a fancy article planned regarding how to turn a spring nightgown into a winter dress. Unfortunately, none of the pictures turned out and Rowena kept running in front of the camera. (How does one take pictures of oneself in the mirror, anyway?) I'll have to have Darin take some pictures later. After a month of crunches.

Random food note-- We had meatloaf last night. I make it with steel-cut oats as the binder, and it works out so much better than the regular stuff! I discovered it accidentally a while back when we didn't have any quick oats on hand.

'Til next time!

Disturbing Behavior

My brother David (who gets home from Iraq today for a 2-week visit- YAY) gave me a candle tin a few years ago. Inside this tin was not a candle, nor anything scented or soothing. Nestled inside was a dirty doll head with matted hair and freakish blue eyes. I have always kept this trinket for sentimental reasons and it's just so funny to see people's perplexed reactions when they open it.

Darin took some interesting pictures of Doll Head today with Rowena's assistance. I just had to share them.

"Can I have a hug?"

This last one is very dark and blurry,

which makes it all the more creepy.

Well, have a weirdly wonderful day!

We are having some friends over for dinner and an "Inglourious Basterds" viewing.

See you soon!

New Year, New Life

Darin stands at the mirror with grim eyebrows, pounding his barely-there tummy, growling "Cellulite! Cellulite! Arrggh!" I half-smile indulgently, recalling my earlier aversion of the mirror at Jazzercise for fear of seeing that beached sea lion body I am currently trapped inside. Ah, me.

I have been coaxing/nagging Darin to take health and fitness more seriously for months now. It is extremely difficult to eat responsibly and exercise daily with an eternally skinny husband who frequently brings home pastries and chocolaty delicacies. Recently though, something finally clicked with the little man.

"Hey Louise, did you know that you can control your own metabolism?"

Yes, I've told you that before.

"Hon, to use the Abslide effectively, use your stomach muscles, not your arms!"

I know, I told you that 2 months ago.

"You can't spot reduce!"

O to the M to the G, my "Workout for Dummies" DVD has bellowed that info since I used it in college!

I am immediately reminded of this fantastic passage from Little Women:

Amy's lecture did Laurie good, though, of course, he did not own it till long afterwards; men seldom do, for when women are the advisors, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it; if it fails, they generously give her the whole.

I don't think anyone can seriously disagree with the above statement. Anyway, Darin and I have made some lifestyle changes and have been successful in implementing them! Proud? Surprised? You should be.

Limiting sugar. This sounds like a no-brainer, but pregnancy trained me to eat whatever I wanted when I wanted it. A terrible mentality to apply to anything. I don't let the last thing I eat for the day be sweet.

No eating past 7 pm. I wake up hungry now, sometimes in the middle of the night! Instead of grabbing crackers, I drink a full glass of water.

Keeping up with my exercise routine. I Jazzercise about 4 times a week, and with the nice weather, I will start bike riding again. Jazzercise is the absolute best! The trick is finding the best instructors- let's just say I avoid Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Same blasted class set every blasted time. She just alternates the stretch routine.

Eating until satisfied, not full. Doing this keeps me more in tune with my body and ups my energy.

These small lifestyle changes have made D and I happier, already healthier, and more in tune with each other. I greatly appreciate his encouragement and accountability. This is not a diet or fad, but a lifestyle. More about my motivation in my next blog post.

In the name of spring dresses, I will succeed!

I Confess

Let's be honest.

I confess that I make a mini-pot of coffee every morning. The first cup is out of necessity. The second and a half cup is because I love the taste.

I confess that I cleaned the kitchen this afternoon in my new black pumps.

I confess that I stole and ate most of Darin's hidden chocolate.

I confess that I love some nieces and nephews more than others.

I confess that I threw away Darin's "King Arthur" dvd because it sucks so bad.

I confess that I forgot to give Roey a bath for almost 2 weeks.

I confess that I have eaten my coworker's leftovers she threw away. (One time, okay?)

I confess that my daughter is perfect; I pity people that aren't her mother.

I confess that Roey and I sleep in until 11 am every morning.

I confess that I love going into work so I can miss my baby.

I confess that I am kind of in TV love with Jim Halpert.

I confess that I have imagined killing the yippy neighbor dog.

I confess that I avoid Facebook as of late because I miss my friends so badly. It just hurts too much sometimes.

I confess that I spend some afternoons raiding my closet and making outfits.

I confess that I drink the last bit of wine from the bottle. No wine glass needed.

I confess that I intentionally ripped Darin's high-school underwear so he would make the conscious decision to dispose of it.

I confess that I only have an active MySpace account to spy on Darin's coworkers. Their concepts of relationships are so foreign to me... definitely voyeuristic on my part.

I confess that Roey almost just fell out of my lap.