FMM - Just Wondering!

Here it is Monday. Another chance to start new. My mom and stepdad came to Minnesota for a quick visit this weekend, and as always, I revert to my old eating self and ate my weight in junk. Seriously! I can stand up for myself in all aspects of my life except when my mom is around. Then I eat and eat and eat and eat anything that is in front of me. This weekend, we took a trip to Cossetta's and I ate more pasta than I have in months. It was delicious, mind you, but a quick peek at the scale on Sunday scared me!!

My daughter & my mom enjoying some (a lot) of pasta

Now on to normal Monday Business: Friend Makin' Monday!

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Just Wondering

1.  Do you wear glasses and/or contacts?  I do. I wear glasses. I have since I was 10. People ask me if I want to get contacts and the answer is always no. My glasses are part of my personality and reflect who I am.

2.  Do you have summer vacation plans?  If so, where are you going?  Church camp with the kids, then Music and Art classes, storytimes, fun at the Y, playdates, and so on! For me: I hope to run about seven or eight 5K or longer races between now and October, so I better keep on training!

3.  What is your favorite food to eat for breakfast? Multigrain Cheerios with Vanilla Almond Milk and blueberries and bananas on top. When I am trying to have a lower carb day, I will make and egg or two, but I really love Multigrain Cheerios. (So do my kids!)

4. Do you enjoy window shopping?  I like to window online shop! Mostly when I am out at the Mall or somewhere, it's for a mission to get something. I either have the kids with me (so I don't have a lot of time before I lose their attention) or I have just an hour or two to myself (so no time for dilly-dallying!)

5. What is your favorite candle scent? I don't really like candles and with two toddlers, they aren't very safe. But I do like a nice peppermint or cinnamon or other homey/holiday scent at Christmas time.

6.  If you had to choose between going to a zoo or an aquarium, which one would you pick? Zoo. My kids love it and I like to walk around outside. Here in the Twin Cities, we have two zoos to choose from: the Minnesota Zoo or the Como Zoo. Minnesota Zoo is expensive if you don't have a membership (we do), but so worth it, IMO. Como Zoo is a free city park, but it's always overcrowded and a lot of the animals are in cement cages. It smells bad and depresses me.


7.  How many times do you plan to exercise this week?  At least 3 or 4. I've started running in the morning before my kids get up and I *love* it!!! It's nice and quiet and cool. I live just 3 blocks from the Mississippi River Road, which is a nice route to run, so I hope to get out there at least 3 times this week, plus one trip to the Y for some elliptical work (and a break from the kids!). The Y also recently started offering Water Zumba, which I think sounds interesting. I want to try that on Saturday morning.

8.  Do you speak another language fluently? Not even a little. I wish I had kept up my Spanish, though. I took a few years in college, but then dropped it for something else.
 
9.  What are you currently reading?  I've just started reading Raising a Son and Loving Frank at the same time. I alternate which one I choose when I read before bed.

Isn't the cover of this book
HILARIOUS?!

 10.  What are you looking forward to most in the coming week?  My best friend is in the hospital having a baby as I type. I CANNOT WAIT to go meet him!!!!!! (and see her, too).

FMM: Par-Tay!!

It's Monday, and I'm ready to do another Friend Makin' Monday from All the Weigh. If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

How Do You Celebrate?

1. When is your birthday?  November 7th.

2.  Do you like to celebrate it or do you prefer to keep it quiet?  I like to celebrate, but I don't go around announcing it's my birthday when it is. I love it when I get cards in the mail, though. And of course Facebook makes it easy to feel loved because so many people send an electronic greeting.

3. Have you ever had a surprise party? No, probably never will. No offense to my husband, but he could probably never plan one.

4. What sign are you?  Does it represent you well? I'm a Scorpio, but I don't really know what that means... I've never really thought about it.

5.  Do you tell the truth about your age?  Usually, unless I forget how old I am. I'm 33, and sometimes I just plain forget. (SERIOUS! I was typing this answer and I typed 32! What?!)

6.  Share your best birthday memory. My husband and I went on a cruise for my 30th birthday. The cruise itself wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, but there was something awesome about sitting on the deck of the ship watching the ocean on the day of my birthday.

7.  Share a few item that could be on your birthday wishlist. I'd like to sleep in past 8:00 am. haha. I'd also like my kids to make me something (with husband's help) and I've always wanted a DSLR camera (and classes to learn how to use it).

8.  What is your favorite kind of cake? Marble with chocolate frosting. Or Funfetti with vanilla frosting. Or German Chocolate cake (or anything, really) from Cafe Latte (where we usually go to celebrate birthdays).

9.  If you could be anywhere on your next birthday, where would you be?  At home with my husband and kids. I like to have my time away, but mostly I like to be around them. :)

10.  Do you make a wish when you blow out the candles?  Yes, if there are candles! Probably my kids will blow them out for me from now on, though. 

FMM: Summer & Slacking

Slacking! That's me. Slacking on blogging, slacking on housework, slacking on weight loss. I blame the cold, rainy, dreary weather! Where the heck is spring?!?!

So, back on track today (hopefully) brings me to the Friend Making Monday post from yesterday.

1.  What is your favorite summer fruit? Strawberries when they are warm, and always watermelon. Mmmm.

2.  Do you know how to swim? Yes, but not "properly" - I can certainly keep myself alive if I'm in deep water, but I'll never win an Olympic medal.

3.  Do you prefer sun or snow? SUN! Minnesota is my home, and if I didn't love it so much here, I'd hate it from Octoer-April (or, I guess this year, JUNE!)

4.  What temperature do you like most inside your home?  In the winter, we keep the temp at 66 or 67. In the summer, we keep it at 69 or 70. I wish we could keep it at 70 or 72 in the winter. I hate being cold.

5.  Is it humid where you live?  Sometimes, yes. July can have a few muggy days, but nothing like the south.

6. What is your favorite food to put on the grill?  Anything! But I really love burgers & brats!

7. Do you prefer to wear a one-piece  or two-piece swim suit? One-piece. I don't trust my kids to keep my top on when I'm swimming with them!

8.  What is your favorite summer drink?  Summer Shandy.

9.  Do you prefer the pool or the ocean?  I've only been to the ocean like 3 or 4 times. I loved it and would love to go back! So for now, the pool is good. Though, I do have a goal of swimming in a lake with my kids this summer.

10.  What are you looking forward to most over the summer? SUN! I also want to take a few short trips with my husband and kids, maybe heading up to Duluth for a long weekend. I am also planning to run at least four 5K or 10K races this summer. They are so fun!

Thanks for stopping by and reading!

FMM: TV & Movies

It's Monday again! And after missing a few Friend Makin' Mondays (one from illness, one from sheer laziness), I'm jumping on the bandwagon again.

Remember, if you want to see the original post and more answers from other bloggers, go to the blog All the Weigh.

Here we go!

1. If you could be a recurring star on a show that is currently on TV, which show would you choose? I don't watch many current TV shows (aside from "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood") because we watch a lot of Netflix, but I guess I would like to be on "Downton Abbey." I mean, who wouldn't? Fancy clothes, elaborate meals, English countryside. Yes please!

A Minnesota gal would fit in here, right?

2. Name the movie that you are most embarrassed to admit that you love. There are many movies from my childhood that I still love to watch, like "Adventures in Babysitting" or "Home Alone." I love them both.

3. Name one show that you’ve never seen and would love to watch.  As I said above, we don't watch much new TV shows, but I would like to see some of the shows that are on cable that we don't get - like "Homeland" or "Girls" or all the shows that always win the awards that I've never seen. (I didn't watch "Sex and the City" until it was on DVD!)

4. Do you ever go to movies alone?  Nope. I never go to the movies in general. Maybe I should plan an afternoon out alone and see a flick.

5. If you could only watch one TV show for the next year, which show would you choose and why?  I love "Big Bang Theory." I would probably watch that.

6. If you could star in one reality show, which one would it be and why?  When I was a teenager, I dreamed of being on "The Real World." Since then, I have never wanted to be on TV. (Though when "American Idol" was auditioning in Minneapolis several years ago, I did joke that I should go audition so I could be on the BAD reel.

7. If someone rented a billboard for you, what would it say? "Thanks for all you do, Momma!" I can wish, right?


8. Who is the most famous person with whom you have been in the same room? Hmm, not that I remember. I do always say that I was in the same room as Springsteen when I saw him in concert. Though, 8,000 other people were there, too. :)

9. If you were chosen to be a contestant on a TV game show, which show would you want to be on?  I have always wanted to be on Jeopardy. And I think I *could* do great at it if the categories were my strengths. I would also want to be on Wheel of Fortune - and I KNOW I could be good at that show. Really. I bet I'd win, as long as I didn't hit bankrupt.

10. If there was a movie being made about you, which actor would you choose to play you? Tina Fey, though she's older than me, so I'm not sure how that would work.



OK, so I have plenty of new blog posts in the works. I have a lot on my plate right now (but hopefully not a lot of food!), so I'm about 1/2 done with about a dozen projects. UGH. Anyway, Please follow my blog to see when my new posts come up! My topics include running, losing weight after quitting Weight Watchers, new delicious food finds. a DietBet I'm participating in and more!

FMM - Pondering Personal Thoughts

It's Monday again, which means I'm doing my little survey again. I love surveys. I'm not kidding. I always fill them out. I create them all the time for my MOMs club (my fellow board members make fun of me). Even when I was a kid, I used to exchange surveys with my friends. I love it! I'm glad I stumbled upon All The Weigh and her weekly Friend Making Monday survey!

Pondering Personal Thoughts

1. How old would you feel if you didn’t know how old you are? I usually have to stop and think about how old I am, and my initial reaction is usually 25 or 26, so I guess that is what I feel like. Though at 25 or 26 I was not married, had no kids, and lived in an apartment with a roomie. Nothing with my life now!


2. Are you the kind of friend you’d want to have as a friend? Of course. My grandma taught me if you want to have a friend you have to be a friend. In recent years, I've been really working on active listening, which I hope my friends appreciate.

3. Look back at the last year.  When did you feel most excited about something in your life? My twins turned 2 last December. I was very excited for the fun toddler times that lie ahead (tantrums and all).

4. Have you ever been with someone and not spoken a word, only to walk away thinking that was the best conversation ever?  Sure - I have a husband, a BFF, and 2 toddlers after all!


5. If you won 100 million dollars Monday, would you continue doing whatever you usually do on Tuesdays? Of course - who else is going to watch my two kids?! Though we might start looking for a bigger house to live in!


6. What would you do differently if you knew no one would judge you? I don't feel worried much about people judging me at this point in my life - but I do get worried about people judging my parenting. Especially with twins it seems like I'm always on display.

7. Share something you do differently than most people. I push 2 carts at Target. :) I also change my kids' diapers with them standing up.

8. What’s one thing that you really want to do that you’ve never done?  Travel outside the USA. I never did before having kids and now I can't picture how we would ever do that. We have enough trouble traveling 3 states away to Grandpa's house!

9. If you had to move out of state right now, where would you move?  Florida. For real. It's March 18th and it's snowing AGAIN. So over winter in Minnesota.

10.  What is the one thing that you’d like to change most about the world? I guess I wish that people everywhere were more tolerant of others unlike them (be it religion, race, sexual orientation, etc).

To participate in your own FMM this week, click here.

If you're here from All The Weigh, hello! I've added a Follow button to join the site with your Google ID. I'd LOVE to have you follow my blog. I will repay the favor, I promise. :)

My First Friend Makin' Monday

I've been browsing around the internet today (rather than doing my Wii Zumba workout!) finding new blogs to follow and be inspired by. I somehow stumbled upon All the Weigh and found her Friend Making Monday questionnaire. I love a good questionnaire, so here goes!

Food Questions

1. What did you eat for dinner last night? This Taco Soup, some Fritos, half and apple, and a bit of cheese. I had Herbal Tea for "dessert." It came to 472 calories.
2. If you could make one food calorie-free for the next year, What would you choose? Cookies!
3. How often do you go to the grocery store? FRICK. I go about every other day. I can't get it together to be a once-a-week shopper. Plus, between the kids and myself, we're always running out of bread, milk, eggs - and especially bananas! Seriously! How many bananas can one family eat?!
4. Do you make a list before buying groceries? Yes, and I meal plan, but you know things jump into my cart all the time.
5. List three things that can always be found in your kitchen. Bananas (see above), yogurt, bread.
6. How often do you clean out your fridge? Once a week. Leftovers OUT.
7. Do you ever use a slow cooker? If so, will you share a recipe? I do at least once a week. The taco soup recipe I mentioned above is a slow cooker recipe and it turned out great!
8. How often do you try new recipes? Some weeks every meal; some weeks not at all. Depends on what is in the freezer and what I feel like eating. I have my favorite recipes, but am always looking for new yummy things!
9. What is the most delicious meal(s) you make? I make a good (but not as good as my mom's) lasagna. I rarely make it because it's so bad for you!
10. Share at least one thing that is currently in your kitchen even though you don’t like it.  Food? I don't like tomatoes, but my kids love them, so we always have grape or cherry tomatoes in the fridge. Other stuff? The 5-10 toys that always end up on or near the kitchen table. Drives me crazy to find choo choo trains and baby dolls all over! ;)

So, from what I can tell from All the Weigh blog, I am just to publish and encourage any readers I have (hello? Anyone out there...?) to also head to her blog to get the questions and keep it going.

So, there ya go!

To the people who are reading this from All the Weigh - this is a new blog for me and I'm just beginning to make it "public" (it was my private journal/blog for about 4 months). Welcome! I'd love some readers & support & advice and hope I can do the same for you someday. :)