Trunk or Treat!

Happy Halloween weekend! Yesterday was Andy's birthday. We went to the Living Planet Aquarium.

It was also our church's annual trunk or treat last night. Andy & I spent the week creating the backdrop for photos. It's a 7 ft tall headless horseman on Friesian (there were 2 panels, and each was 10 ft tall).
Andy couldn't find the pirate costume he wanted to wear, so I told him it would be totally cute if he dressed in his jammies with a newspaper & a giant mug. Grace was a dirty little pirate (most adorable one at the party, if I do say so myself), and I was a DEAD tired runner (nyuck, nyuck). My runner tag says "Dead Last 666"

We will probably take Grace trick or treating tonight. her pirate shirt is dirty from make up, and she has a glow in the dark shirt with a black cat face on it. It would be easy & cute to just draw some whiskers on her face and take her around.

Have a safe weekend, everyone!

6 O'Clock Inspiration

Lately Grace has had trouble sleeping through the night. It started when we took the small fan out of her room, because it was getting too cold for it. She would get up in the night and knock on her bedroom door, and we would hear her over the baby monitor, "Daaaaddy... Daaaddy... Potty." So I would kick Andy to go get her since she was calling for him. It's cruel, since the man has to get up at 5 in the morning on weekdays for work, but I justify it in my head with having let him sleep through most of Grace's infancy ;)
So he would go get her, put her on the potty, and she would do nothing. Either she wanted to play, or would say "Done" before he even got her diaper off. Needless to say, it was getting aggravating quickly. So we thought maybe it was because we took the fan out, and she needed white noise. We put it back in her room, and she slept through the night again, but she was up a few times the next. At this point, Mama Bear is getting grumpy. Being the mean mom I am, I would get up and answer her call for Daddy by growling at her to go to bed. "Potty?" "No, go to bed." "Potty! *Throw tantrum*", Mama Bear drags Little Gremlin back to bed. I don't know if she just wants a clean diaper or what, but that's what a diaper is for, right? If she's not going potty in the night when she says she has to, then the logical answer to me is for her to get over herself & go back to bed. We are tired of her crying wolf. Not sure what to do. She is day time potty trained, and has been accident free for a month now.
Anyway, this morning, around 6, I got the "Daaaddy" alarm and went to do my growly Mama Bear routine. She scampered back to bed in a hurry. I tried to go back to bed, but my head was too busy.
November is National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org), and there's a world wide novel writing competition. 30 days. 50,000 words. Complete and unadulterated abandon. I have been trying to think of a plot idea for a month now, and NaNoWriMo is always in the back of my mind, year round. I was getting pretty frustrated with only 10 days left until the competition started. My only idea this year was Beauty & The Beast. So, okay, how do I redo Beauty & The Beast. Since it was the only idea I had so far, I started researching more of the story. Not just the Disneyized one (which I LOVE), but the original French tale. I used elements of several different versions, and then added some of my own ideas. So this morning, after my wake up call, I decided to boot up the computer and start naming characters, and come up with a more solid plot. Thank you, Grace, for 6 o'clock inspiration.
I got done close to 8, and Grace slept until just a few minutes ago.

Time to make the grocery list.

Settling Down

After last month's betrayal, scandal, and drama, I feel like things are starting to settle down. I haven't been to gym since my birthday, and after 2 weeks I figured I'd just wait out the month to see if it might reset my metabolism and get it going to a solid 2-3 pound loss per week again. I have an appointment coming up with Clarene next month. I will have to confess that I haven't used my insulin pump since I saw her last. I can't believe it's already check up time. I hope my blood sugar holds together just a little bit longer.

Was checking my email today and came across a fat loss program that sounded pretty impressive. It's put out by the same company that I got a protein shake sample from that was very healthy and tasted pretty good. I'm contemplating investing in it. I know I've already got some nice muscle built up, I just need to shred this fat off my gut, thighs, and bum. Oh, and did I mention I have collarbones now? It's so dumb how tickled I am to feel collarbones for the first time as an adult.

And just to get back on track...
What the toddler ate today:

pillsbury toaster scrambler
1/2 cup strawberry milk, 1/2 cup almond milk
fruit & jello cup
popcorn chicken
rainbow gold fish crackers
babybel light cheese round
applesauce
steamed vegetables
chicken bruschetta bake.
1 cup water
1/2 cup light hawaiian punch mixed with 1/2 cup water

Went away with some girlie friends for the weekend. It was much needed & helped me forget about recent drama. Props to friend Tara for letting me steal this pic of us with our other friend, Macy.


Oh and I did an all girls 6k on the 9th. My friend, Laura, finished ahead of me, and said I was really trucking across the finish line. I felt like I was smokin', especially when photographer guy jumped out in front & snapped this pic:


Somewhere under that ginormous blue coat is a chubby white Kenyan! While there I signed up to be an assistant couch for Girls On The Run. It's a program for girls with lower self esteem. I was one of those girls once upon a time, and wanted to join and teach them that things get better down the road.

Looking forward to picking up hubby early today, and he said we might take Grace to Cornbellys after dinner. Yay for family time! When the three of us are together doing fun stuff, it makes me:

Sorting It Out

So she finally sent me a text on my phone today. She was upset that I had been talking to her family about her, and wanted me to stay out of her business and life. I told her I was concerned for her, and I finally got to tell her how I felt. I think we got to the point where she calmed down a little and we were able to talk more like adults, but I never knew anyone could make my hands shake so much. I really wish, still, that she would just sit down and talk to me about things instead of running from it. At least talking things out might help us move on/forward.

The last few days have had me thinking about it all, and still reeling and wondering. Are we meant to be friends still? Should I let it go? Is this some kind of test the Lord is giving me? And if it is, what kind of person do I want to become at the end of it?

I'm struggling with sorting it all out.

Closure

To my friend who made the week of my birthday the worst one ever:

I don't think you'll answer your phone if I try to call you, and I have some things to say to you.

I deserve closure. I deserve to sit down with you and look you in the eye and be told why and how you did this to us. Did I do something to upset you? Were you trying to get even? I wonder if I did anything wrong to cause you to go off the deep end. I'm not upset that you did it, I'm upset that you're too much of a coward to just talk to me about what happened. I can't believe anything you say anymore. I do believe you are very sick, but I don't think it's cancer, and I hope you get help.
I don't know how to feel inside, except really mixed up. You called me your best friend, your sister, and you betrayed your family.

I pray for you, and I love you, and I hate that I've had to file charges against you, my best friend. Enjoy the head start on running from the authorities, and I hope I can look you in the eye some day and get the closure you've denied me.

Coyote Ugly

She ran. She left us high and dry, and the card company says we're responsible for the charges since
1) we knew who made the charges
and
2) we gave her a grace period to pay us back.

All we can do at this point is file a police report. I don't know what happens after that, but I do know we don't have $2,000 to pay this card.

I'm officially no longer a fan of money.