Advice? Exercise Dvds

Do any of you have a favorite/swear by it/love it exercise dvd? What is it? Why do you love it? And of course how often do you use it?

I know, its odd

I just sharpened a DARE pencil from 5th grade for the first time.

...oh dear....

...Now Tyler wants a soft blanket with sleeves too....

Tyler's idea I swear!

At Target today I asked Tyler what we should get Aunt Anna and Uncle Chris for Christmas this year.

He answered really thoughtfully "Well what does she like?"

I told him I wasn't sure and we kept shopping. Then five minutes later he saw this....

"A blanket with SLEEVES!!!!!!" Mercy he could not have been more excited and continued talking about it for a while.

I think I'll keep looking because I can't imagine the look on their faces to open a package with his and her's Snuggies.

Good Stuff

A few random things I've come across...

Disney's Disc Replacement Program. Replace discs for $7.

Did you know that you can deduct sales tax OR income tax on your federal return? I did. But I always figured you had to add up all your receipts. So while we lived in Idaho I just deducted the between 100-500 I paid in state income tax. But I just found this glorious IRS calculator that will tell you how much sales tax you can deduct if you don't count up all receipts. So now I'm going back and amending my 2008 and 2007 returns to get a few hundred dollars back. It is fabulous!!!!

General Mills has a brand new website called Live Gluten Freely with GF lists and recipes. Gluten Free Steve blogged about it yesterday and commented how General Mills has helped raise GF awareness and make more items GF. He recommended thanking them by supporting them with our purchases. I have to agree. At this moment I'm a pretty big fan of General Mills.

I LOVE this picture titled simply "Security" from KatYounges flikr stream.

Anyone who knows me know I LOVE Hulu. It is the reason I don't watch (many) shows on pirated sites anymore. It also saves me from going to the different network's sites. They announced earlier this year they would begin charging for site. I'm actually ok with this if they handle it logically and keep the prices low. I'm even ok with more commercials. It really doesn't bother me. What does bother me is the proposed NBC/Comcast merger. It is absolutely rubbing me the wrong way. The Consumerist wrote up a nice piece on why the merger is a bad idea. Streaming media like this, full episodes/movies, is still reletively new and the proposed merger will change things for TV, Internet and more. It just doesn't seem logical. But that is just my take. Whatever your feelings are speak out to the FCC and DoJ. FreePress also has more about the merger here.

Scary Discovery

I knew we had some odd things with our house before we got it but I discovered this by accidentally putting my hand in it.
So for those of you who are thinking "whats the big deal?" Well first I accidentally stuck my hand in a live circuit that was buried under 4 inches of dry shredded paper insulation. Second the thing fell apart just after touching it was begging to create sparks under these conditions. Looking closer why did they wire ground to neutral? whats that? Oh, apparently the other end of this ground wire is not being used it is just hanging from a rafter. Whoever did this should not be allowed to operate a toaster. So this Thanksgiving I am thankful to not have been electrocuted and that my house is not a pile of ash.

The Day After

We've been keeping the heat off most of the time since we have a lot of people in this house who get hot easily (I'll admit I'm on of them and man it makes me cranky). But in the morning I. Can. Not. get out of bed without the heat having been on for a while. So Reed gets up, turns it on, and I swear up and down I awake as I wait for it to warm up. (We do have a programmable thermostat but its just so much easier to shut it off than mess with it I should really stop being so lazy.)

I went to the quilt shop's 30% off everything sale this morning and picked up 8 more fat quarters for my quilt. I also grabbed needles and a pretty cool book.

It is called Quilting The Complete Guide. I liked that it was small, hard back and spiral bound. The pictures are crisp and it covers a lot of things but keeps it short.

Reed did some things around the house and got some shower heads fixed and almost fixed. ;) He thinks he'll have the light up in the living room tomorrow and I'm rooting for him. I feel like the light is being sucked out of me at night.

The thing I'm most excited he did today was set up my bike (that hasn't been used in soooo long, like maybe three times since I got to Amarillo) on the bicycle trainer so I could ride in the house while watching a show. Tonight I exercised for the first time in a long long time. I made it 30 minutes with only three pauses and remembered why I wore padded shorts when I rode for very long. The chiropractor said cycling would help my hips not pop out as much and well I know I need to be exercising for a million different reasons. So here's to exercise. I also saw hulu has a few yoga videos that I'll try out to alternate. I think this is the first time I've ever started exercising where weight loss wasn't my main motive. Rather, I'm all over the endorfin rush, emotional benefits, and help with my hips. Sure losing weight is somewhere on the list just not at the top.

As far as left overs go we're doing pretty good. For some reason the gluten eaters in the house made a HUGE pot of noodles for lunch but we did have shepherd's pie for dinner that used up about half the turkey, half the gravy and all the mashed potatoes. I think it will be gone in the next few days but we'll see. And of course the sweets are all gone, the last cookie was split by the kids after dinner. I was able to pack up 5 lunches from the shepherd's pie leftovers to freeze for Reed's lunches when we don't have left overs. I think I'm going to make some yummy enchilada casserole tomorrow with the rest. I tried queso fresco (?) in Houston and love the way it melts and makes everything creamy. So I'll do a variation of Creamy Corn and Spinach Enchiladas with turkey and this wonderful cheese.

While it has been exhausting dealing with the kids being sick this week and then having the holiday things have turned out pretty quiet. We're really finding a routine and getting comfortable with things. And (knock on wood) I'm functioning. I'm actually functioning better than I have in ages. Sure I have my moments and I really have no idea what I'm doing differently but I sure am enjoying it.

There is no more denying the fact that my baby is no longer a baby.

He's bordering on four years old.

He's a pretty cool kid if I say so myself.

Turkey is for Thankgiving

at least according to the sign Tyler made this morning.

For our ritual sacrifice this year we had turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade rolls and from my recollection the first successful gravy we've ever made. It was simple and really not a big deal. For dessert we continued eating the sugar cookies, puppy chow, and rice crispy treats we made yesterday. I'll admit to eating most of the rice crispy treats, Reed had most of the puppy chow and the kids had most of the cookies. We didn't end up eating until about 5 but the dishes are basically done (a small load left) and the food is put away and organized for using them up

It is the first time I've had thanksgiving without other friends or family and honestly it was nice. The kids spent most of the day either doing art or in the back yard. I spent most of my time with them and Reed worked on an electrical project when he wasn't working in the kitchen. We finished off the day folding laundry together and reading Happy Halloween Amelia Bedilia. Mercy I love those books and I'm thinking Tyler does too. They are just the right amount of silly.

This morning Tyler came and told me that he is thankful that we could be home as a family together. I'm impressed by how being together has become such a big deal to the kids. It should be but it is even more now. Tyler repeated himself a few times over the day. This evening Josh sent me a text with a picture from the sail boat as he was out sailing with mom, dad and uncle Pat. Jimmy told me he wanted to go sailing with "my brother, and me, and my mom, and my dad." But he still wasn't willing to go to Houston unless we all go together.

I think this year we are all most thankful to be home together again. I am extremely grateful for in-laws who took 5 months out of their lives to care and provide for my children. Who never once made me feel like a burden though I know we were.

I am grateful for the gospel and the support of our church members both in Houston and especially here in Amarillo. I so often feel anxiety because though we've been here for just over a year and a half we've had so many other things going on that we haven't been very involved or social. We've been focused on surviving. Even though that is the case, we have been continuously supported and loved by the members of our church. That is a witness to me that Amarillo is where we are supposed to be. This is our home. I really do love it here.

I am grateful for my extended family (seems strange to call our siblings that) and for what each brings into our lives. I love that most of us have blogs to keep up with one another through.

I'm grateful for Reed's employment, his supportive boss, and excellent benefits. Mostly though, I'm glad he enjoys what he does.

I'm grateful for my best friend and husband. He is the light of my life even though I'm usually tired or stressed. He is always there for me. I love him very much.

It seems silly to make a list of things one is grateful for because it can never include everything but these are a few of the things I am most grateful for. Have a great weekend!

Reed had some fun this evening

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