Ahhh....

Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.

"This is really sad," Adventure Guy said as he joined me lounging in bed last night. We had assumed the position: pillows propped, laptops on laps, television tuned to an episode of Weeds on DVD. The kids were in bed, and we were enjoying those precious moments of quiet before bed, our time.

And that time is far from sad. While we may need to ditch the electronics from time to time, that comfortable familiarity is something I value most in our marriage. After nineteen years together, he knows me far better than anyone else. He's my confidant, the one I want to talk to about the good and the bad, the exciting and the mundane.

Contentment is not exactly something I've striven for in my life. I'm much more of the type to disregard accomplishments as soon as I've achieved them. I've always been the one looking toward the next task, the next challenge, the next thing to possess. But, suddenly, I find myself in a place I really like, a place I have to call contentment.

Careening toward forty at a rapid pace, content is not exactly where I expected to me right now. I hated turning 39. I had been dreading the next birthday. But, now, admittedly 6 months from the big date, I'm not focused on that milestone like I was earlier. I attribute much of that feeling to Adventure Guy, but I also know that my new job has something to do with that as do the current ages of my kids. I love the new challenges at work right now, the opportunity to make a significant difference in the operations of All-American Public Schools. And I love having older kids, even dealing with Dancer Girl, our resident teenager. I enjoy being able to have a different level of conversation with my children than I could when they were younger, and I especially enjoy catching those glimpses of the adults they'll turn into in just a few years.*

While I'm sure that one day soon readers will surf by the find me bemoaning the latest personal or career crisis or the everyday craziness that is my life, for tonight, all's right in Suburbia.

*In case the above post made anyone feel like throwing up just a little bit because of the sappiness, I should mention that my current level of contentment does not rise to the level that I would feel comfortable posing nude for a Times Square billboard like the women I just saw on Ophrah did. There's got to be a limit to this whole contentment thing.

And A Points-Free Weekend Was Had By All

After logging another thousand mile trip on the trusty Suburban, we have returned safely home and promptly panicked once Adventure Guy and I realized all the coordination it's going to take to get our three children and ourselves to our evening commitments tomorrow night (that's commitments, not being committed, though it feels like I may need a little "rest" by the time the evening's over).

But I digress....back to the long-weekend which is much more fun to contemplate than is the beginning of the work week.

The weekend went very much according to plan. We were ready to hit the highway once we picked up Soccer Boy from school--his school starts and finishes an hour later than the girls' schools do, so we had already retrieved the other kids from the bus. Our trusty new route did indeed cut off a good amount of time, so we rolled into town in time to begin our eating tour of College Station.

My friend over at The Testosterone Zone often writes wonderful reviews of classy restaurants which serve gourmet food. Her posts make make my mouth water. There will be none of that here today. As I told Adventure Guy when the Suburban rolled into town Friday night, "This is an official points-free weekend." He suggested I use that as the title of my post. In total disregard to my Best Life and Weight Watchers efforts of late, I decided to eat whatever I wanted during the weekend. I had saved all my bonus points for the occasion, but, trust me, there's no way I stayed within the total. But I have lived to diet another day.

First stop on the greasy and/or fried food whirlwind was Double Dave's Pizzaworks. Double Dave's started in College Station and has since expanded to other cities, but it's a rare treat for us, having not made it yet to a location near Suburbia. We were happy to have a franchise open in my hometown, so it's not quite as rare an indulgence as it used to be. We had just enough time to down a dozen and a half pizza rolls, soft drinks for the kids, and not-so-soft drinks for Adventure Guy and me before heading out to midnight yell practice. It was fun to introduce the kids to an Aggie tradition that Adventure Guy and I enjoyed while we were students there, but it made for a late night. By the time we rolled into the house at around 1:00, everyone was more than ready for a good night's sleep.

There's a saying about the "spirit of Aggieland" and the traditions at A & M, "From the outside you can't understand it; from the inside you can't explain it." I'm finding that to be true in my accounts here. I ran across a new song during our visit, though, by an Aggie who's trying to make it in country music these days. Check it out at his myspace page. I wish I could share the video that they played at the game, but I'm not having any luck finding it yet.

And now, back to the eating! Saturday morning the girls and I slept in but were treated to round two of the food tour by Adventure Guy and Soccer Boy who were nice enough to go fetch us Shipley's donuts for breakfast. Forget Krispy Kreme. These are the perfect donut food, especially the plain glazed ones still warm from the oven. Then, sugar fix taken care of, we set out to buy an obscene amount of Aggie paraphernalia at the local bookstores. We bought Best Friend her requested A & M logo for her car, Mother-in-Law some t-shirts, and replenished the kids' stock of shirts, shorts, and jerseys. Oh, and I bought a cute belt that has no Aggie logo whatsoever.

After stopping by to visit Father-in-Law and his wife, we continued the food tour, going to Wings 'N More for lunch. While the rest of the family indulged in the signature chicken wings, I, in true no points barred fashion, had the steak fingers. And the onion rings, and, of course, the cream gravy as a dipping sauce. Fried-food heaven, I tell you. It's a good thing I only have the opportunity to eat this stuff once or twice a year!

The next stop was campus for a visit to the Memorial Student Center, where Adventure Guy and I were both involved in a number of student activities while we were at A & M and the Quad, where we watched the Corps of Cadets step off to march in to the game. Adventure Guy was a corps member as were my father and his father. We ran into several people we know and also met up at the end of the afternoon with our friends from Houston who were in for the game. I'm sure Adventure Guy would want me to note that one of the people we ran into was a yell leader during the time we were all at A & M. The term yell leader should automatically be translated into "big man on campus." After we finished visiting with him, Adventure Guy said, "Please tell me I've aged better than Yell Leader." I was able to assure him that he decidedly had!

Adventure Guy's ego appropriately stroked, we began the climb to our seats for the 6:00 p.m. kickoff. The kids were excited because we split them up so that the girls could sit together with their friend from Houston and Soccer Boy could sit with her brothers. This left Adventure Guy and me with the really good seats all to ourselves in the new endzone club area. I have to admit, I prefer being out with the general public, though the bathrooms in the club area are primo. The game itself went fairly well, and I'm happy to say that A & M did not go the way of Michigan this weekend.

After the game we visited with Father-in-Law a bit more and then turned in for the night. He left the next morning, and we decided to run on over to Houston to visit some more with our friends there, instead of spending more time in College Station as planned. The kids got to swim, and we got to conclude our feasting weekend with a trip to our absolute favorite Tex-Mex place, Lupe Tortilla. Their chicken enchiladas with green chili sauce are the best I've ever eaten, and the fajitas are fabulous too. I managed to indulge a bit in both and left absolutely stuffed. My two older kids were introduced to Mexican food at Lupe's and I can still remember Dancer Girl as a toddler powering down their barracho beans like she'd never have a chance to eat again.

This morning we drove the kids by our old neighborhood and showed them the two houses we lived in when we were there. Dancer Girl can remember a bit about the second house, but Gym Girl was too little when we moved to remember anything. Soccer Boy finds it strange that we lived anywhere else before he joined the family and emphatically states that HE never wants to live anywhere other than Suburbia unless he can take all his friends with him when he moves. That being unlikely, I think we'll stay put!

So, now we're home, and I'm the only slacker who's not unpacked. I've been wasting time catching up on blogs and having a nice glass of wine instead of getting to work. But I'm sure there will be plenty of time for that tomorrow.

Repeat After Me

Change is good. Change is good. Change is good. I have officially been in my new job now for two days. I'm a bit overwhelmed because I've been doing both jobs since the Board of Education confirmed my appointment to the assistant superintendent position July 9th. Invariably, if I was at the high school, I was needed at the central office, and vice versa. But now, my replacement is hired, and I've done some transitional work with him this week. I'll be available tomorrow as well, and then I'm going to concentrate primarily on the new job. Of course, I'll always be open to answering questions that come up, but I'm not going to schedule time in my old office after tomorrow. In fact, I moved out the last of my things this afternoon, and I'm almost settled in the new space.

Getting settled involved transferring all the already-scheduled meetings and to-do's. I now have 59 new things "to do" than I did at the beginning of the week. Wow. All I can say is that my predecessor was very organized, and I appreciate the detail that she left me about what needs to be tackled as I make this transition.

On other fronts, I am continuing with my Best Life program and counting my points on Weight Watchers. I'm doing well on avoiding fried foods, increasing my fruit and vegetable intake, and eating whole grains. I'm still having more of a challenge with eliminating soft drinks. I'm doing okay at limiting them. In the two weeks I've been diligent, I've lost four pounds. I'm particularly pleased about that because I've had several "events" that I've been able to manage while staying within my points. I've got another 8-12 pounds to go to goal. Even though I've lost at two pounds per week so far, I don't expect that to keep up. In past experience, I slow down to between half a pound and a pound per week eventually, so I expect it will take me about ten more weeks to get to my goal. I'm hoping reporting my progress here will help keep me on track until I get there.

Also, as my summer winds down, I'm starting to look forward to a couple of trips I have planned for fall. Over Labor Day, the whole family is taking a road trip to Texas for a long weekend of college football at Adventure Guy's and my alma mater. Then in October, I'll be attending the annual August Mom's reunion in San Antonio. I can't wait to see everyone there since I haven't been able to make it the last few years.

I seem to be rambling now, so I'll sign off for the evening. More later on the big weekend...Gym Girl's birthday party on Saturday, and a Sunday School class get together at our house on Sunday.

Trials and Transitions

I am deep into the "transition" phase for my new job. Except, that right now, that means I'm trying to do everything in both jobs, but I don't officially leave the old one and start the new one until August 1st. I'm also dealing with spotty childcare right now since I was not planning on working a lot these last couple of weeks of July (based on my old work requirements). While theoretically, those requirements are still in place, I'm getting invited to a lot of meetings that are related to my new job, and it's very hard to say "no."

I am mostly taking the day off tomorrow, though I do have to go in and do an interview. We're in the last-minute hiring phase, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to nab this candidate if she's as good in person as she is on paper. She has an offer from another district, but I caught her before she'd accepted, and she says she'd prefer to come to work at All-American High. So, I'll go in tomorrow and interview her, even if that means going in for a while on my day off. I'm also planning to go in some on the weekend to finish packing and clearing out while I won't be disturbed.

On the home front, Swim Chick and Gym Girl are now in my hometown, visiting with their grandparents. I met my parents half-way last night, and my mom will bring them home either Sunday or Monday. I think I'm going to lobby for Sunday so that my mom can help with the above-mentioned childcare dilemma for Monday. That means, though, that I should do more in the game room than I had planned to do on Saturday. That, or I should just buck up and admit it's a pit, and not let it bother me. We'll see. The problem is that we have far, far, too much junk that's collected over the years of conspicuous toy consumption, both on our part and on the grandparents' parts. Theoretically, I really want to do a major cleanout of that area and our study. The problem is, I really, really want someone else to do it. Since that is unlikely, I'll have to figure out a time I'm willing to put aside all the fun things I'd rather be doing like hanging out at the pool, scrapbooking, reading, blogging, sleeping...the list goes on.

I am looking forward to tomorrow night, though. Adventure Guy and I are going out to dinner at Flemings with a friend of his from work and his wife. I have dutifully calculated the obscene amount of Weight Watchers points I will need to cover this meal and have worked it into my weekly total. I'm trying to decide if the fried onion strings are worth breaking one of the Best Life rules for--I've done very well so far with the "no fried food rule," so I'm not sure. I've been pleased with what I'm seeing on the scale this week, and I want to hold out for a good weigh-in on Monday. (Yes, I know, I'm only supposed to be weighing-in once per week. That isn't going to happen!)

Deathly Hallows, Parties, and Dieting, Oh My!

It was a fun-filled weekend in Suburbia. On Friday night Swim Chick and Soccer Boy both had sleepovers here while Gym Girl went to sleepover at a friend's house. I decided to take the easy route for dinner and ordered pizza for the group at our house. I am proud to report that I was able to work a couple of pieces into my points for the week, though I did violate the "no white flour" portion of the Best Life rules.

Once we'd finished dinner, Adventure Guy took Swim Chick and her friend to one of our local Border's for the Harry Potter party. Evidently it was quiet the place to see and be seen for the local middle-school set. The girls had a great time taking in all the excitement, and then, shortly before midnight, they set off for Wal-Mart where they purchased our three copies of the book. Adventure Guy was glad he had the girls with him because, while Wal-Mart wasn't requiring pre-purchase, they were limiting the books to one-per-customer. And, yes, we bought three copies. As I've said to many people who wondered about that, I've spent $18 on lots of things I didn't get as much enjoyment out of--Adventure Guy and I weren't willing to share, and we decided that Swim Chick ought to have her own copy as well, having shared with us the last time around. We could have lived with two copies, but now that Adventure Guy and I have both finished, we've loaned our copies out, so I feel we're doing a good deed. I'll write more about my thoughts on the book once a few more people have had the chance to finish it.

Saturday we had a lazy morning and a great afternoon at the pool. It was fun to relax and spend some time outside without risk of rain! The water is perfect right now, and we all enjoyed visiting my with my inlaws. That evening I ran to the store to prepare for the second big party of the weekend, my mother-in-law's birthday, which we were hosting the next day.

Adventure Guy grilled his beer can chicken again for the crowd. I made side dishes, cheesy potatoes and baked beans, and we bought rolls from our favorite artisan bread store. Adventure Guy's step-dad took care of the cake, and my sister-in-law brought salad. Everyone thanked Adventure Guy again and again for "cooking." Anyone want to explain how seasoning two chickens and putting them on a grill is immensely more difficult in society's eyes than making all the rest of the food?

Other than the party, which lasted from about 3:30-5:30, Sunday was all Harry Potter, all the time. Adventure Guy and I both finished, though he is still bitter that, even though he had a head start on the book, I finished before he did. There are not many things that majoring in history and English in college guarantees, but reading speed is one of them. It's impossible to do that much reading and not get pretty fast at it.

With all the eating and sedentary activity (read, lying around with a book in front of my face) that made up the weekend, I am pleased to report that I am down 1.5 lbs. for the first week of dedication to diet and exercise. Since I knew that the party was coming, I was extra careful with my flex points this week, and finished with a few points to spare. When I count points and exercise, I tend to lose .5-1.o pounds per week, so I'm expecting that it will take me 15-20 weeks to get to goal. That seems like a long haul, and I know that will take me right into the holidays, so I am intent on getting there and not "slipping" like I did last year around the same time. One thing I had confirmed for me this week, is that I am a much better at getting my exercise in if I do it in the morning rather than waiting until after work. Not only is it easier to come up with excuses later, but I the workout seemed so much harder the day I went in the afternoon. So, bright and early again tomorrow, I'll be hitting the gym.

Two Days Down

I'm proud to report that two days in to my new program I am doing well. I don't think I mentioned in my last post that I am also counting Weight Watchers points while I'm making the Phase Two Best Life changes. I've found Weight Watchers to be the best fit for me overall as far as portion control. Best Life just helps me with being healthier overall. So far, the biggest challenge I'm running into is the "no soda" rule. I drink too much caffeine, but I don't drink coffee, so eliminating soda completely led to a caffeine withdrawal headache. I decided to aim for only one soda per day and then hopefully cut it out all together.

With no sleep-away camps remaining for the rest of the summer, I've scheduled the next few weeks with a lighter workload so I can be home more with the kids. I worked today, and I'll work Thursday, but I was home Monday and will be tomorrow and Friday as well. It's been nice to have some down time with the kids home. Of course, I can't resist taking on some household things while I'm off. I need to clean out my closet and get that organized and then take on the girls' dressers and the game room. Fun, fun, fun!

I have worked in some real fun while I have a more relaxed schedule. I finished Dedication and am well on my way through the Stephanie Plum novel (more on those later). I also had a facial on Monday, and I've worked out both days this week: elliptical machine Monday and Pilates tonight. I also made a run to our local produce store to pick up fresh corn and some other goodies. We'll be grilling that tomorrow night along with some chicken. I'm hungry already!

My entries lately seem a bit mundane when I look over them. I hope people aren't bored to tears. But I'm enjoying a bit of the lazy days of summer and the opportunity to focus more on myself and my family.

All The Chickies

As of 9:10 p.m. all three of my little chickens are back at roost here in Suburbia. I met my parents half way between here and my hometown to pick up Soccer Boy, and the girls arrived from Houston by plane tonight. All went smoothly except for a moment of panic when we realized the girls needed their birth certificates to fly. I don't know why I didn't think of that, but fortunately, Adventure Guy was able to fax copies to his dad in time.

Speaking of Adventure Guy, now that our fairly long second-honeymoon period is over for the summer, I am determined to get started on my much delayed Best Life diet. Having the kids gone all of June, taking a vacation the week of the 4th, and then having the kids gone for another week was not at all conducive to watching what I was eating or in eliminating alcohol. My waistline, unfortunately, is showing the effects of too much indulgence.

Tomorrow, I will begin Phase Two of Best Life, the keys to which are eliminating six specific foods from one's diet: soda, trans fats, fried foods, white bread and pasta, and high-fat dairy. I also have to get back in the exercise habit. I made it to the gym once last week, which was not what I was aiming for. Fortunately, Gym Girl has to be at her own gym for practice now in the mornings, so I won't be tempted to sleep in on my days off. Realistically, I need to lose 10-15 lbs., which isn't a lot, but it's been hanging around for a while now. I was at my new goal weight last summer and fall, but I started steadily gaining once the holidays came around. I also didn't exercise like I should have from that time until now. Not sure why I'm surprised with the gain. My days of being able to eat whatever I wanted to are long gone now that 40 is much, much closer than 30 for me.

Other than turning over a new leaf tomorrow, my big plans involve more laundry. Yes, more laundry. The kids have brought home several big duffel bags of dirty clothes once again. I think this is my penance for all the fun Adventure Guy and I have had while they've been gone!

Best Life Update

Recently someone visited my blog searching for information on The Best Life Diet. I've been woefully remiss in updating on my progress. That could be related to the fact that my progress is woefully remiss as well. I have lost four pounds. I'm not sure it has anything much to do with following The Best Life plan. I have about ten pounds to go to feel good about how I look this summer in shorts and bathing suits.

So, I am vowing to turn over a new leaf and on day two of this week, I'm doing okay. I made it to the gym yesterday morning, and I'm going again tomorrow. I've also decided to start tracking points again on Weight Watchers. That's the system that's worked best for me in the past, so it makes sense to do it again. What I hate is the maintenance phase. Well, I don't love the weight loss phase either, but my real issue seems to be grasping what it takes to stay at the weight I'd like to be year around. I tend to slack off around the holidays and not really get back into it until this time of year. I also hate that I can't eat pretty much whatever I want and stay at a good weight just by exercising like I could when I was younger. Damn that slowing metabolism!

Taking the Best Life topic a bit less literally, here's a few updates on the rest of life in Suburbia.

• Soccer Boy is now sporting a camo cast on his left arm. His whole class signed it today. He's doing very well with it, and I'm thankful for the new developments in casting technology that allow him to get this one wet. The doctor estimates a month in the cast. It turns out Soccer Boy's wrist is broken in two places, much to everyone's surprise. He's a tough little guy.
• I spoke to the counselor at Gym Girl's school today about placement for next year. It seems all the math changes are still pretty fluid, and we will chat more during the summer. I am not going to push for having her tested at this point but will if it appears to be needed later.
• The process for selecting students for the trip to China that I'll be leading next spring has begun. It's wonderful to see the applications and the caliber of student the trip is attracting. We've also received the profiles of the Chinese students who will be coming here in September. Their excitement about visiting the U. S. comes through so clearly in their essays, it's almost palpable.
• Adventure Guy is running another marathon this weekend, the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. He's well on his way to his goal of running one marathon in each state. So far, he's completed Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Texas. He wants to have them all completed by his 50th birthday, which is 9 years away. I'm holding out for the Hawaii race!
• Work is crazy right now. I have so much to do and so little time in which to do it. 18 school days left until 2006-2007 is over at All-American High. So forgive me if I'm a bit slow on updating the blog until the end of May!
• On June 1st I'll put all three kids on a bus to camp. This will be Swim Chick's 5th year, Gym Girl's 4th year and Soccer Boy's 2nd year to attend Kanakuk, the camp Adventure Guy attended as a kid as well. This is the first year they'll all be going for the full term. Adventure Guy and I will be on our own from June 1st until June 25th. I'm wavering between elation and sadness at the thought! Hopefully, by the time we arrive to pick them up and spend a few days on the lake, I'll be looking good from my Best Life efforts. That's the plan anyway.

On Holding Off Time

Thanks to all those who offered me encouragement about my concerns for my grandmother. It's so difficult to watch her age as dramatically as she has in such a short time. That combined with my other posts about the fact that I did not exactly embrace my recent thirty-ninth birthday makes me think that this would be a good day to address my own attempts to hold back the aging process.


I mentioned recently that I decided to try out the Best Life plan from Bob Greene's new book. If it worked for Oprah... I am currently in week three of the four-week Phase One. It involves, among other things, not weighing during that time period. As someone who usually weighs daily as a habit, this has been tough. I'm curious to see if I've lost anything when I'm allowed to weigh next week. The other parts of this phase involve eating a healthy breakfast, drinking plenty of water, being more active, and avoiding alcohol. I've been doing a fair job at all components, but I can't say I've been totally dedicated in any area. I do feel good about getting back into the habit of going to the gym, something I've done regularly for the last several years but had let slide since before the holidays this year. I'll post about my progress or lack thereof next Monday with the official weigh in.



At left is another one of my beauty attempts du jour. I have come to grips with the fact that I am not meant to be tan. For someone who has had plenty of experience sweating in the Texas sun while bathed in baby oil, this was a hard realization to come to, but I'm also someone who has a family history of skin cancer and who has been "blessed" with pale skin that burns first and tans later when left to its own devices. So, no tanning for me. Much better for both health and beauty in the long run, but the decision leaves me with the ongoing concern of frightening people with my glowing white legs this spring. Enter Jergens natural glow lotion. I can vouch for this product's effectiveness and natural look. No orange streaks here! Even better, this year's version promises toning as well as tanning. What more could a girl want? Evidently the toning thing will be kicking in after two weeks of use. I'll let you know about that too.

So now that I'm working on the pre-bathing suit toning and weight loss program and developing a tan (albeit an "unnatural" one) I may have to consider a few highlights to complete my summer look and cover up those pesky grey hairs that keep popping up in my bangs lately. My goal is to look even better next year at this time so that I can welcome forty feeling fabulous. I think that will go a long way toward erasing my concerns about reaching that milestone!

Day One, Phase One

I've alluded several times now to my plans to focus on getting back on track with my diet and exercise. I've been working up to it (and working through the Girl Scout cookies in the meantime) for a couple of months now. The reality is that I'm not terribly overweight, but I'm not as fit as I'd like to be, especially after a four-month hiatus from the gym. Intellectually, I know that exercise will make me happier in the long run, but somewhere amid the holiday- preparation rush it became that "one more thing" that was going to send me over the edge.

A while back I, along with most of the rest of the free-world if the bestseller list is any indication, purchased Bob Greene's new book The Best Life Diet. I've been reading it here and there as I tried to find the motivation to begin. Today, however, I took the first step, literally and figuratively, and went to the gym before work. My screaming thighs during the treadmill workout were a good indication that this move came none too early. My goal is to feel comfortable in my summer wardrobe by June.

Bob Greene's program has a series of phases, and I'm currently beginning the four-week Phase One. In this phase, I'll be

• Increasing my activity level
• Ending all eating at least two hours before bedtime
• Eating three meals plus at least one snack daily
• Staying hydrated with at least 8 servings of water per day
• Eliminating alcohol
• Taking a daily vitamin supplement

Also in this phase, I'm not actually supposed to worry about cutting back on eating so much as aiming to choose healthy breakfasts and snacks. The idea is to establish good exercise habits and preparing your body for the process of weight loss. I'm also not supposed to weigh again until the conclusion of the four weeks on Phase One. That's going to be a challenge for me, since I'm used to weighing daily. I'll admit that the biggest challenge, though, is going to be drinking enough water. Coke Zero, no problem....water more of an issue!

Now that I've made this goal public, I'm hoping the blog will be a part of keeping my efforts on track. Wish me luck, or even better will power!