Bitten by the Baby Bug

"I'm not a baby person." I used to say. But, then again there is something so sweet about a newborn. Specially one that is close to your heart. His name is Richard Bernard Weirzbicki IV, or RJ for short. Whew, good thing cuz that is a mouth full. He's just the right size. Doctor said he is perfect. Today he is one week old. Happy Birthday to you RJ.

Under The Weather

That's what I've been thinking. I just haven't been feeling myself. Well what does that mean, "Under the weather?" Here's what "Go English.com" had to say:

To say that someone is "under the weather" is to say that they are not feeling very well. Example: "What's wrong?" Answer: "I'm a bit under the weather." They probably have a simple cold or flu which will go away quickly. Example: "It's nothing serious; I'm just a bit under the weather." Being "under the weather" reminds us that a quick change in the weather can affect our health and the way we feel.

So, is it because of the weather, now I'm confused. I suppose it could be. In this case, I think not. My head and tummy have been feeling yucky. Hopefully the weather and my health will improve!

Hard Frost

hard frost: A frost where both the air and the soil has dropped below freezing. Many plants can survive a light frost but cannot survive a hard frost. GardenWeb Glossary of Botanical Terms.

Wow, it's amazing what one hard frost can do. I wish I had a "before" picture! Yesterday, did turn out quit nice after all, though. Not a cloud in the sky and it almost felt warm. I even took a walk. I may even do that again today.

Rehearsals have started in earnest. It's only 3 weeks until the big show. We have 3 hour rehearsals, twice a week. Whew, that's a lot of time. I'm doing all the group singing numbers, a duet number, and then 2 mini-skits. It's going to be fun. I have to admit, it's kind of fun to be singing again. Some of the people have really beautiful singing voices.

"Genguins" and Other Stuff

Had my lil 2 yr old yesterday. We watched the "Genguin" movie, AGAIN! He loves it because of the "scary" parts. Oh, that means Penguin. Didn't take a nap tho, so that means we watched the whole thing. whew. He is so fun and cute. I've been busy trying to finish the "Profit and Loss" report, well really I mean all that makes it up, for the business. We are thinking about doing a Re-Fi. So the books have to be up to date.

Started out good on the whole eating thing yesterday. Bowl of cereal for breakfast and sandwich for lunch. BUT, we decided to go the Bar Louie's for dinner. THey have half off appetizers until 7:00. Yikes, didn't do so good at all. Used up all my "extra" points for the week. So, now I have to stick to the basic plan for the rest of the weekend. Oh, well. I'm making vegetarian chili for dinner tonite, and "spookgetti" for dinner tomorrow. Then on Monday, A pork tenderloin with apple compote. Shhhhh, now you know all my secrets. It will all be good.

Weighty Matters ~ Week 8

Down 8/10 of a pound this week. Whopping total of minus 4.8 Could be worse right? A little perspective here. I could be up that same amount. This is really hard, this time. But, I am in this for the long haul, so hang on. My blood sugars are running better. That is always a good thing. So, I'll just be plugging along this week. Hope to see a better loss next week.

The "Blue" Disaster

So, Saturday my scrappin buddy and I were trying to set up the tables. We decided to move the old kitchen table that is downstairs. There were several gallons of paint on the table. I suppose that is my fault. You see, I still hadn't finished my summer project of repainting the wooden birds that my sister had sent me. Soooo, the paint cans got carried downstairs so that I could "finish" the project. Niki tried to tell us the table was broke and not to move it. Did WE listen? Oh no. We can just move it a little. Well, the table kind of caved in. The results were horrifying.

One good thing, however....... The bluebird got painted when I dipped it in the big blue puddle.

The Leaves are Falling, Falling

But the weather is soooooooo nice! 70 degrees as we speak. Last week I took some pictures in the back yard. I'm really gonna miss the leaves on the trees and the warm weather. Got the camper winterized, the crib mattress and changing table wiped down.

Yesterday my scrappin buddy - Chris- and I scrapped most of the day. After we cleaned up the BIG paint disaster. Maybe I'll take pictures of that and post that another day!! I got 11 or 12 pages done. Yea! I love it when a plan comes together. I made a pot of white chicken chili and she made some 1 point spice muffins. Very good. Then later in the evening we all went out to Bubba O'Malley's and then played some euchre. Then we got out the old, and I mean old, family PIT game. That was so fun. We laughed and laughed. Fun times with friends are the best.

P.s. my lillies bloomed again~ so I took a pic.

Tony's (In)Famous Steak Sandwich

In quaint St. Charles Michigan. Cute joint, right? Must be good, right? Wrong. I'm kind of embarrassed to say that even when the waitress told us the sandwich had "spaghetti sauce" on it ~ we still ordered it. Well, in our defense, she said it was really good. It wasn't even that. Really weird. We had a good laugh over that. The only other joint in the town was a bar looking place, so that's why we chose Tony's giant steak. Big ole slabs of bread, with a "steak" patty then slathered in spaghetti sauce. Hmmmm.

Eatin Like a Pig

No, not me! The birds in the backyard. I can't seem to keep the feeders filled. Now I now why. Today I received a newsletter from "Wild Birds Unlimited." The article was all about the fact that the birds are preparing for migration/onset of winter. So they are "pigging" out right now whenever they can.

So for now, DON'T "eat like a bird."

Fall Mini Trip

Started out Saturday, beautiful, warm & sunny. First stop was the apple orchard in Montrose. We enjoyed some doughnuts and cider. A hot coffee for me. We then meandered down the road. There was an old country cemetery so we stopped to look around and I took some pictures. We then took the back roads all the way to Freeland. It was so interesting to see all the houses that were decorated for halloween. Some outlandishly so. I realized too late that we should have stopped and taken pictures of them.

Went to another apple orchard, where we bought a pumpkin. Went to the "Bird House" and looked around. Turned around and headed for Chesaning, again taking back roads. Took some more pictures near a river. Had an interesting lunch in St. Charles. Tony's famous steak sandwich's. More about that on another edition. Landed in Chesaning about 2:00 and went down to the river to take more pictures. Arrived at the Stone House B & B about 3:30. It was very relaxing and beautiful. Sat in the parlour and read a book about the history of Chesaning. I read a diary of a woman who traveled from MA. to Mich in the 1800's. Unbelievable. I don't know how those women did it. Apparently the area was inhabited by Native Americans. It was a riveting read. Later we went to dinner at Gracie's in New Lathrop. It was kind of disappointing. A high priced buffet. Drove back on the country roads. Several farmers were out in the dark bringing in their crops.

Field Trip

Upland Hills Farm with 90 1st graders! Well, I only had 2 in my charge. We started by feeding corn to the ducks. Then off to the barn for an animal show. The best part was the goat on a track over our heads. He kept going from one side of the barn (top) to the other; until the farmer put a pail on a pole and fed him. Most of the kids really enjoyed it when the cow pooped and peed! Next, we had lunch (bag) under the pavilion. I didn't get to eat mine because I left it in the truck. The kids were (kinda) happy to share. I bought a hotdog at the stand. After lunch was a tractor pulled hay ride. That was loads of fun. Especially when I kept sliding down towards the end of the wagon. Syd did a good job of holding on to my legs. I ended up meeting a neighbor that lives down the street. Then we marched to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkin. It was a beautiful day~ A fun time was had by all!

Weighty Matters ~ Week 5

Interested?

or

Committed?

That was the topic for this week's meeting.

Interest: a feeling of curiosity or concern about something that makes the attention turn toward it

Committ: intransitive verb to pledge devotion or dedication to somebody or something

So, the question is am I interested in becoming healthy or committed to becoming healthy? Ah, ha. Some deep soul searching here. I think I've only been just interested. I see that I must become committed. I did lose a pound this week, bringing the total to 4.2. See that is merely an interest. I can't get too hard on myself however, because it is still moving in a forward direction. This week I commit to "be committed."

What does this mean?

• Making good food choices


• Exercising


• Tracking points


• Not over eating

Simple right? hmmmm.

Plans Gone Awry

Yesterday started out warm and sunny. First stop was the little restaurant in SC for their awesome baked oatmeal. A few little errands, then we were off to Frankenmuth. They had a tiny farmer's market. Bought a home made dog bone for the dog. Then over to the cheese shop in town, where I bought a few items for Christmas. Then over to River Place where we did a little more Christmas shopping. We ate lunch at the Frankenmuth Brewery where Kevin and Audrey had their wedding reception. It has changed hands since then. It was still nice and we ate outside on the deck. Next over to Birch Run to the outlet mall. This is where things went sideways. We stopped at "Justice" where Katie works to say hi. They said she had just left to go to the hospital because she was having pains. Meanwhile, she had been trying to call us. Hence, Sarah took her to the hospital and I went home to take care of the dog and wait. She ended up with some minor infections and sent her on her way. It was about 8 pm, (I had already cancelled out B&B reservations) so we just went out for dinner.

This morning dawned even warmer and sunnier. I decided I wanted to get some fallish things. Went to a farm market in Linden and ended up getting cornstalks and gourds. I kept seeing those gorgeous purple flowery things on the side of the road. I finally convinced Sarah to stop and we picked a large bunch. After a few errands we ended up back at home. Accomplished quit a few chores. Put the camper back in it's spot. Put away the rest of the garage sale things. I mowed the lawn. Cleaned up the garage a bit. BBQ chicken, apple salad and sweet potato fries for dinner. Now I'm relaxing with a cup of Scottish tea and some of the Pumpkin Polka Dot cookies I made last week. The plan is to go to the Chesaning B& B next weekend.

This and That or Nuts & Bolts

Nuts and Bolts.

Right now I am hating those box elder insects. They are everywhere. Coming in the house when and where ever they can get in. Oh, well, that is the price for the awesome weather we are enjoying.

As you can see I missed my "Weighty Matters" edition. Hmm, that's because I am having a hard time getting with the program. Had another minor setback this week. It's really all about making choices. I really haven't been making smart choices all the time. I did have a victory earlier on Wed. however. We were celebrating Richie's birthday with pizza and chocolate cake. YIKES. I ended up making a low carb veggie pizza for myself and making some WW pumpkin cookies. The cookies are delics. and only 1 point per cookie. If anyone wants the recipe I'll forward to you. I enjoy the home made pizza better than the pizza joint stuff anyway. I loaded it up with all my favorite veggie toppings, some pineapple and low fat mozz. cheese. Put it all on a high fiber, low cal flat bread.

It's been really crazy around here. Slammed with work. (not complaining mind you) but then the trailer broke, had it get it fixed. A belt was going on the truck, had to get that fixed. blah, blah, blah. Going to a B & B in Chesening on Saturday. Maybe do some Christmas shopping at Birch Run. Probably find a festival or farmer's market or some such thing. Maybe dinner at Frankenmuth. Yikes on that one!

All In A Day's Happenings

Some how it's Tuesday already. Garage sale not a complete bust, but because of the rain, I was only able to do about a day and a half. Almost 200 bucks, not too bad though.

Very beautiful day today, and the forecast calls for the same all week. Trying to decide whether or not to still go camping this weekend, which seems like allot of work. So, maybe we'll just go to a B & B, not sure yet.

I had gotten some cheap peppers at the market last week so, I've got some simmering in the crockpot. Perfect meal because it is time for the monthly ancestry meeting tonight.

Curling Up With a Book

Because I'm cold and tired from sitting in the garage for a large part of the day.

I "Heart" the Farmer's Market

Really, any farmer's market. But, today I visited the one in Northville. My second hometown. It was fallish, cool and crisp. Started with a cup of 1/2 caff. Circled the market once before making my purchases. Ha, I got there at the appointed time, even maybe 5 or 10 minutes early. My early bird sistopher had already been there for a 1/2 hour and had filled up 2 carts full! Wow, she was born to shop.
I got the following:
2 little pumpkin decoration thingies
1 box of cooking apples, I think the guy called them 'spie-gold,' combo of spies and golden delicious
1 box of eating apples, honeycrisp
1 tomato for the pizza i will make later this weekend (organic)
1 red onion (organic)
1 red pepper (organic)
4 large red pepper to stuff
1 half loaf of low carb grain bread from Great Harvest

Had breakfast with the sistopher a Rebecca's in Northville. No stories, but let me just say, YIKES we are both getting forgetful! LOL
Stopped at VG's on the way home for some lunch meat. Got some organic turkey breast and some (not organic) buffalo chicken breast. This week on Biggest Loser I got the idea to wrap veggies in lunchmeat.


Dinner tonight. Sausage and cabbage with onions cooked in the crockpot. Some of the bread from Great Harvest. AND, baked apples. Yumm.

Weighty Matters ~ Week 3

Minus 2.6 lbs and total WL of 4.6 It's a start down the long and winding road. Dude on Biggest Loser lost 41 lbs. this week. Yikes! That sounds scary. It barely made a dent tho cuz he was over 400 lbs. Today's focus at the WW meeting was about how to shop smarter at the grocery store. Come on, is there any more smarter shopper than I? I could've guest taught the lecture. LOL I will look for some way in which to improve. You have to look at the total picture especially the fiber.
Upcoming Events:
Going to the Northville Farmer's Market with my sistopher
Getting my hairs cut
Garage sale this weekend
Going camping next weekend ~ FALL COLORS!

Water Aerobics

What a great work out. I decided to go back. So I went. Today. Water log city. But, if felt pretty good to do a work out. I'm a bit tired, but you don't really get sore like you do with a regular workout. Tomorrow is the big .........weigh in at the ole WW. Hope I lost, I don't even care how much.

There was 26 women + the leader. It was very crowded. But, I held my ground. I did not let those old regulars push me to the deep end. No siree. My goal for WA is to do everything in rhythm with the leader. I always seem to be a few counts behind. Some of those babes can move!

Corn and Beans~ Beans and Corn

I love this time of year when the beans and corn are brown and crunchy looking. Just waiting for the ole combine to mow em down and bring em in. I rode in a combine once; on the Hoisington farm out in Pinckney. Just cause I wanted to. That was back in the good old days. We used to go out there with the LCA peeps every fall for hay rides, hot dogs + (pot luck), and a huge bonfire. So generous to invite the whole gang every year. Then they had a fire, almost the entire farm burned down. So sad! ~Wow, that got a little off topic.~

Anyway, I finished my first crochet project; a washcloth. Turned out pretty good I might add. Went back to the store for more yarn. Started a second one. When I feel comfortable I'm gonna start a towel. Bought some halloween towels on sale at Kohl's so I need to hurry up and get them done.