Preppy Girl's Guide

I woke up to 6 new inches of snow this morning. YIKES! All the schools are closed, but alas, work is never really closed, is it. (At left is a shot from our webcam at work.)

Whenever I read a book, (which isn't often) I start to "think" in the manner that the book reads. (That was clear as mud.) In other words, my internal thoughts start to sound like the style of the author. For instance, this morning, my brain spewed out something like this:

6:38 a.m. - Struggle for 12 minutes to keep my eyes open long enough to sit up and move. My first attempt at arising is thwarted by 3 year old's hand clenched tightly around my hair (he jumped into bed with me about half an hour ago and nestled into my back while clawing at my curls like a cat). I peek out the blinds to discover at least 3 inches of new snow. That should make the morning commute a bear. Suddenly those lost 12 minutes are seeming everso important. Shouldn't have stayed up to read that book until 1:00 a.m. (you know - the one making me think this way.)

After my husband leaves with my son, it starts all over again:

Time to awaken the 5 year old. She should be dressed and downstairs in 5 minutes - ya right. A small argument about the outfit and she's off to brush her teeth. I sail downstairs to pour some cereal then head back up to the bathroom to help her brush her mop top. Soon she's downstairs eating and I'm feeling home-free. As I reach into my purse for her lunch money, a tiny voice asks, "Mommy? Can I bring lunch from home today?" A quick glance at the clock reveals 8 minutes to the first bell. "SURE!," I say, not wanting to deal with the consequences of saying no. I quickly throw together a sandwich and scrounge for other lunch elements. Sweet! - a perfect way to get rid of the Strawberry Banana yogurt that's been taking up space in the fridge. Pop in a cheese stick and she's good to go. Run up the stairs again to retrieve her sneakers (which she'll only let me put on her feet once she's eating her breakfast and not before). Almost time to fly. We throw on our coats and we're out the - RING!!! - the caller ID indicates Galoot. "Hello dear, I forgot the posters I need to hang for the improv show this Saturday. Can you drop them off on your way to work?" I, of course, say yes (I am superwoman afterall). Now we're actually getting in the car and right on schedule. SHOOT - "Little girl - where are your glasses?!" She shrugs as I throw my bags (and the posters) into the car and head back inside. I grab her glasses from the computer desk and realize I've also forgotten my own. Up the stairs, yet again, to retrieve them from my bedstand (up late reading, remember?) I pick up a stray sock from the dresser to wipe away the smudges - and I'm off. Only five minutes after the first bell so we will easily make in the 15 minutes until the second bell. Phew, I'm beat and it's only 8:35.

Loving the book, but looking forward to getting my mind back.

Hope your day is slightly less hectic - but somehow, I doubt it.

This is my (and Galoot's) take on the Alphabet post (you know, where you find something on your blog that begins with each letter of the alphabet). Instead of each doing the whole alphabet, we decided to split it and VOILÁ - a Thursday 13.

A - And You Know What Else? - A link on my blog roll to Awesome Minnesotan Attorney, -R-.
B - Ballet - Galoot made his dance premiere in the BallBuster Ballet Back in DecemBer.
C - Christmas Story House - my holiday obsession adventure.
D - David Sedaris - The highlight of our spring break trip.
E - Egg & Muffin Toaster - still providing many a work-breakfast pour moi!
F - Farting Preacher - an oldie but a goodie.
G - Galoot - Mr. Preppygirl himself.
H - House from A Christmas Story - Did I mention that I am obsessed with enjoy this Flick? (pun intended)
I - Irish - like me & my fam damily
J - John Deere - The highlight of the Busti Apple Festival (besides ME being right)
K - Kindy-garten - my first born was off to school last fall *sniffle*
L - Life in the Office - another Link off my bLog roLL. Best inside info on our favorite Thursday night show.
M - Maniacs - 10,000 of them to be exact - best concert I've seen in a long time!

Wow, that took forever! Did you LOVE the Office or what?

Soooo... after long deliberation, Galoot and I decided to purchase a piece of fitness equipment (and by "purchase" I mean put on my Sears card 12 months interest free). This is NOT a result of my aforementioned "fit fair" results (I'm not that ridiculous people). But we both enjoy working out and figured for the same price it would cost to join a gym we could purchase an elliptical for our home.

We ended up with a pretty spiffy Nordic Track that we assembled in a snap (if you consider 2 hours a snap). Despite a little snafu with the wheel cover (we pulled a little MacGyver maneuver to get it working properly) it all went together rather easily - we were a bit shocked. I am waiting to see if any parts fly across the room during a workout. DUCK!

As soon as we were done assembling the elliptical, my daughter called my husband upstairs. Click here to see what we discovered: Galoot's Hoot Page. I should know by now that when the kids are too quiet, something's up.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Okay, so we had a "fit fair" at work today. It's essentially an attempt by our health insurance provider to get us on the fitness track by measuring our weight, body fat%, flexibility, strength and lung capacity. My co-workers and I viewed it more as an excuse to get out of work for an hour and socialize.

I walked into a room just down the hall from my office to find at least 20 people waiting for their "assessment." The assessors had clearly fallen behind by at least 45 minutes in pushing us through the assembly-line-type-testing-course they'd set up. I felt like I was in junior high school again cracking uncomfortable jokes and making nervous conversation in the waiting area. It was awkward and hilarious.

I was feeling pretty good about myself. I've lost weight in the last year and didn't think I'd be too shocked at anything these assessors could dish out. I secretly imagined them telling me how "in shape" I was compared to the rest of the staff - I mean, let's remember, I was the proud winner of the presedential academic fitness award at age twelve and had somewhat recently (okay 6 years ago) worked out religiously 3 times a week. Finally, my name was called for testing and I anxiously hopped up to the man with the blood pressure cuff.

Blood pressure looking good. One up, one down. Next, the lung capacity test. No problem. I have the lungs of a 20 year old. Flexibility? Above average. Strength? Above average. I was on my way. A little disappoinment surfaced at "weigh in" time as I'd somehow gained 5 pounds since earlier that morning when I weighed myself at home in the buff (someone's scale is off and I'm blaming theirs). But hey, still not too bad considering about a year ago it would've been at least 15 pounds more. Now, almost done. Just measure my body fat and I'm ready for my glowing assessment. Let's see, body fat is WHAT??? I'm too embarrassed to list it here but I will tell you that on a scale of Excellent, to good, to fair, to poor, to very poor - uh ya - apparently I'm below the poverty level.

A little taken aback by my "very poor" rating I move over to the assessment chick who does some calculations with my figures. Finally, the magic target weight loss number appears. Are you ready for this? ( I sure wasn't)

22.3 lbs.!!!!

Are you freakin' kiddin' me? I'm guessing they call this the "fit fair" because of all the people who throw a fit once they're told how overweight they are. WHAT.EVER.

Well, I've got to get my fat ass to bed so I can get up early enough to work out tomorrow.
I'm gonna pack it in before this day gets any worse (or I get any fatter). Peace!

Phew! It's been a crazy 10 days since I last posted. Home with the kids for several days - Major sales at work - meetings out the ying yang - there hasn't been time for much else. I'll just run through the highlights:

Drank lotsa yummy wine.
Ate WAY too much tasty food (Galoot is an awesome cook).
Played Karaoke Revolution AND Singstar, both loads-o-fun.
Broke in my new purse.
Got a new keyboard at work.
Had lunch with DaveeDawg.
Shopped at Target (which is big deal for me since it's 45 minutes away).
Ate Sushi - twice -mmmmm.
Dyed the roots - yet again.
Got a tooth "restoration" (fancy word for filling).
Watched "the Office" - hysterical.
Watched High School Musical - AGAIN (I thought of you shoparound).
Started to read a book (another amazing feat considering I don't read).
(Once I read more of the book I will divulge the details as it is already fairly hilarious.)

I want to tell you - the very BEST thing I've done in the last 10 days - I got my nails done! That's right ladies, a brand new set of acrylics. This is a practice I abandoned shortly after my son was born (he's now 3). The Galoot came through with a hefty gift certificate to one of my favorite salons for Christmas so I could restore my nails to their full fake glory. Who wouldn't want to wake up with a perfect french manicure everyday? I'm in heaven.