Tales from the Scales Challenge

Week 1 went rather well for me. I'm down 3.5 lbs. YAY ME!!! I keep this up, and I could surpass my first goal of losing 10 lbs. by Oct. 23. With me...it's about mini goals. If I set too high of goals, I think I'll get easily discouraged. This week, I cut down on the soda pop. I've been experimenting with some of the diet versions because I really like soda, however most that I've tried have an after taste that I don't like. Not only that, I seem to be affected by the sweetener in some of them. So... I only had a soda if I was really craving it and I made it a regular one. I CAN DO THIS!

Interested in seeing how others did...http://www.talesfromthescales.net/weighins/index.html

If you're up to the challenge, join us! http://www.talesfromthescales.net/the-challenge.html

Heads or Tails - Week #7

The theme this week is our choice.
HEADS - Pets or TAILS - Pet Peeves

This is an easy one for me. I've had pets all my life. Right now I have 6 dogs and 1 cat!

My pets are basically more children to me. I love them so much. Some have asked why so many? It seems as though there is a story for each one.

It started with Teddy Bear (age 5-black and tan pomeranian). He was our 1st boy! We had lived in places that couldn't have pets for so long...once we got our house, we went looking for a pet. He's a great boy.

Click HERE to see pictures of the babies!

Sophie (Pomeranian-age 4) - She is a daddy's girl. I'm okay if dad's not around, but if he is here, she much prefers him. He likes to share his table food more than I do.

Sampson and Peaches (Pomeranians- true ages unknown) - We got peaches and sampson at the same time. Peaches is a cute little laid back girl. She barks when the others bark. She is the smallest of our poms. Sampson is our other boy. He's a big boy, dark red. He loves to cuddle and doesn't really like sharing with our other boy Teddy Bear.

Zoey - She's my baby...a Jack Russell Terrier. She is all white except for her ears..they're black. She loves to curl up with me. She is the playful one of the family. She's very active. But she knows when bed time is. She is pretty spoiled. Zoey is the one who was there for me when my hubby and I were having some challenges. She brightens my worst days. I love her so much.

Dusty - (Chow mix). He's the biggest of the brood. We pretty much inherited him. My sister-in-law moved somewhere that only allowed small pets. I didn't want to see Dusty go to just anyone so we stepped in. He's such a great guy. He is blind in one eye.

Last but not least... the cat. Her name is Skittles. There's a button in the side bar that goes to Skittles very own page. I'll probably do one for each of our pets. We just got her a few weeks ago and we weren't sure how she'd act with the dogs. To our surprise, she's not bothered by any of the dogs. It's hilarious to watch her and Zoey to play. She's a cutie who likes to give kisses.

Have a good day!

Weekend Snapshot

This past week I discovered the Macro mode on my camera. I had a lot of fun with it.

Photo Hunt - PAPER

Toilet Paper taken in Macro Mode. I just discovered this feature on my camera.

The Memorial of Grandpa

Today was the memorial prayer service for my grandpa that passed away this past weekend. It was a small service and for the first time, I actually spoke up to share some memories. As I spoke, I fought back tears as best I could. I had that awful feeling in my stomach, I thought I was going to fall to my knees. I'm still trying to gather my thoughts and I'm feeling sad and tired (crying really takes a lot out of you). So until tomorrow, I bid you peace, love and joy from my little place in the blogosphere to yours.

Time to Come to Terms

with my body that is. I'm not going to say that I've denied the fact that I have a weight problem because that's just impossible. There's no denying it. My name is Dottie and I'm overweight! Damn it! I'm 36 years old and I've had a pretty serious weight problem since the birth of my 2nd child... that was 12 years ago. I can say I've maintained this weight for a few years. I guess that's better than gaining. I guess I would classify myself as an emotional eater or at least that's how it began. I don't want to blame anyone, but I will say my mother was the same way. I remember when I was a teenager, she work all week and her reward for a long week was a meal at the Sweden House (which was a buffet). Luckily, I was pretty active in highschool so the weight couldn't catch me then. After graduation, I got a job in an office working 2nd shift. That's when some of the weight began to find me. I had a sit down job and often ate after I got off work at midnight. Then, I'd go home, watch some TV and fall asleep. Lack of activity, poor diet = weight gain. When I moved to day shift, I thought things might get better. A little, but not much. I got married and eventually had 2 kids. I was pretty active, but not to the point where it was giving me a cardiovascular workout or anything. Unfortunately, I had carried on some of the habits of my mom.. ice cream in the evening, etc. Those things are fine for some... but not for someone who has a pretty sedentary job. I never liked exercise. I've always..can I say it loud enough (ALWAYS) had poor self esteem. I was always fat, always ugly, always comparing myself to other girls in school. I hated it, but it's all I knew. Not to push blame again, but I do think a lot of it had to do with my dad calling me "Porky". And, telling me things like "Stop acting like your mom and grow up." (my parents were divorced). Grr. I get angry thinking about it again. I've always hated the fact that I was overweight, and I've made some very good attempts at weightloss in the past. Problem is, something would happen in the family and I'd go into depression, start thinking poorly of myself again and blow it. I'd quit... convinced that I wasn't worth the effort. I decided to start counseling because I didn't like how I was at times with my kids. I wanted to 'break the cycle' of depression and emotional issues that seem to stream throughout my family, grandma, mom, etc. I'm really glad I did go to counseling. I learned alot. Oh there were some tough times though having to bring to surface to much from my childhood. You know... I could probably go on and on. Bottom line is... I really am sick of being overweight. I'm a smart person and I pretty confident that there is a thin and beautiful person just wanting to rid of the fat suit. I want to live past 56 (that's how old my mom was when she passed). I want to live beyond retirement age. I want to enjoy my grandchildren some day (assuming I will have some). I want to walk into a room without feeling like everyone is judging me in their mind. I want to shop for clothes in a regular department store. I'm much too embarrassed to share the exact amount of weight I need to lose...but it's a lot. I could lose 100 lbs. and still need to lose. I'm going to make small goals. I'll start with 10 lbs. I want to lose 10 lbs. I'm afraid to put a date on it. But maybe I should. Oct. 23. I've heard that 2 lbs. per week is healthy. I do want to do things right. Do I have what it takes? I think I will be participating in the Tales from the Scales challenge. I'm hoping it will help keep me motivated.

Note to Self: You're worth every effort. Let's try not to forget that. STAY FOCUSED!!

Heads or Tails - Week #6

September 18: HEADS - The theme this week... KEY(S).

I did some head scratching to figure out what to write about. I will type something here using the keys on my keyboard.

I've never been to the Florida Keys - Key West or Key Largo
I like to sing, but definitely sing off key I'm sure.
I've had Key Lime Pie and it's a refreshing treat in the summertime.
My family is the Key to my happiness.

Maybe I'm tired and am having trouble keying into any really good ideas, so I'm just going to leave you with this:
Keep
Enjoying
Yourself

Weekend Snapshot

Who do you suppose was having more fun with this? Great thing about pets... they love you unconditionally! My daughter Kara was having a blast "dressing up" our dog Peaches.

To join the fun, go to Weekend Snapshot.

You Will Be Missed

I received news on Saturday that my grandpa passed away in the early hours of the morning. He was 83. I feel so bad because I hadn't seen him in a while. And, I didn't know that he had been sick. I spoke with my aunt and uncle who lived with him and they told me he was diagnosed with lung cancer back in December/2006, but did not want them to tell anyone else in the family. I guess he didn't want anyone to worry or make a fuss over him. Grandpa, I wish I would have known. Actually, I wish I would've made better efforts to visit more often. You didn't live very far away. I will miss you grandpa. I'm sure grandma is happy to be reunited with you in heaven though.

My grandma passed away in February/1989 of lung cancer. Prior to her death, she would make sure everyone gathered together at Christmastime. I always enjoyed those gatherings. Every Christmas Eve, we would go to grandma and grandpa's house. After her death, I can count on one hand the number of times the family has gotten together. I tried a couple times to get everyone together. One of those times was this past December. Nearly everyone cancelled. I was disappointed.

Getting older is sure tough at times. People no longer make a big deal of your birthday... I don't know why. Does your birth lose importance the older you get? I'd like to think not. My mom was always very good at recognizing birthdays no matter how old you were. I always got a card from her and a birthday cake too up into my adulthood. It was only when she got sick that she was no longer able to do it. She passed away in February/2006...she was only 56. I miss her so much too.

With family scattered and not many keeping in touch, it makes me sad. I am going to make better efforts to get in touch with family. I feel like I don't even know my own dad. Considering all the horrible decisions he made and the rough childhood I had as a result, I guess I never really wanted to know much. But now.. as I lose yet another family member, I can't help but feel guilty in a way for thinking that way. If my dad were to die, I would be devastated. There's so much I don't know. Have you ever felt like a stranger in your own family? I feel like such a ball of emotions right now. As you can probably tell from this post. I don't even know if it all makes sense.

R.I.P. Grandpa. I love you.

Photo Hunt - PLASTIC

These cute little guys keep me company at my computer. Spongebob can be a little aggressive at times.

OK... so I'm not very good at trying to be funny. Have a great weekend and Happy Photo Hunting!

Look! What's That?

At first glance, one might think we strung our cat from the wall! Really, we did not. My hubby was playing with the cat, watching it chase the laser. I just happened to have my camera in hand and was taking some pictures of her and our dog playing. My timing wasn't perfect on this shot, but when we saw it, we had a good chuckle.

This little cat has taken to our family including our dogs so well. I was so surprised. I don't know cats all that well, but the ones I have known in the past usually kept to themselves, hiding out somewhere or sitting in a window. Skittles likes to be where we are usually and she likes to play and even has given us kitty kisses. Dogs like to give kisses I know, but I didn't think cats did that too much. Like I said though... I really don't know a whole lot about cats. She is a sweety though. I'm glad we rescued her. Perhaps... she's glad too.

Extraction or Root Canal?

I've been having this toothache for some time now. I had thought that a cavity was the root cause; However, the cavity was filled more than 2 months ago and the tooth has not stopped aching. I've been taking three 800mg. Motrin per day because the pain is quite unbearable. So last week I went to an Endodontist and he did some testing. He applied some pressure to the teeth-no problem there. He tapped each of the teeth on that lower side with a metal hook, no pain from that. But, I will tell you that I about went through the roof when he iced up the end of a QTip and touched the tooth with it!! "Any sensitivity there?" "Uh yeah! That friggin' hurts!" It hurt for another hour or so. I was not very happy with Mr. Dentist.

So what was the diagnosis? "Well, Dottie it looks like you need a root canal." You've got to be kidding me! The tooth was just filled 2 months ago.

After the root canal is done then I need to get a crown put on. Good grief! That's a lot of mulah for one tooth - even with insurance I'm looking at over $2,000. Is that tooth really worth saving? Extraction would be so much cheaper. If I have it removed, (by the way, it's the very back tooth on the bottom right) then over time the top tooth will descend which will then create the possibility of needing that tooth removed as well. Do I really care about saving those teeth that much? Honestly, not really. Nobody would be able to notice missing teeth when I smile.

Root Canal or Extraction? I'm beginning to lean toward extraction. It just seems odd to spend so much money for them to deaden the tooth. Yank it out and be done I say!

What would you do?

Heads or Tails - Week 5

September 11: TAILS - Your reflections or memories of the 9-11 terror attack.

I do remember where I was at the time the first plane crashed. I was driving to work listening to one of my CD’s, just like every other work morning. However, my day changed tremendously as soon as I walked into work. The mood and air was very different. I got to my desk shortly before 9 a.m. and it was then that I had learned what happened. The break room was crowded by those watching the reports and horrifying images on TV. Our reactions were all pretty much the same. Back in the department, one of my coworkers had her radio on. She listened to constant reports of what was going on. Others also listened. I did for a while, but it became increasingly painful, especially when it was reported that American Airlines Flight 77, hijacked from Dulles Airport in Washington crashed into the Pentagon.

My brother-in-law, Michael, and his roommate, Mike lived in Virginia. Both Michael and Mike worked in DC. Mike worked in the Pentagon. I was overwhelmed with sadness. I cried, my stomach ached and I felt like I was going to be sick. I couldn’t listen to the radio anymore. I felt terrible for everyone, but I really wanted to know whether Michael and his roommate were okay. I called my husband to see if he had heard anything from his brother or dad. He had talked to his dad, but nobody had heard from Michael. It was gut-wrenching waiting to know. I was relieved to hear later that Mike was not in his office that morning and he was OK. Michael was fine too. I was relieved for them, but of course felt horrible for everyone else.

I said a prayer and I cried more. I remember being anxious to get home that evening so that I could give my husband and kids big hugs. Come 5 p.m., that’s exactly what I did.

My heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones in the devastating acts of 9/11. We will always remember.

Welcome to Our Family

We have added another animal to our family and no it's not either of snakes that we found in the yard. Isn't she cute? We left the naming up to our daughter's and they have decided to name her Skittles. She is a very friendly little cat. Surprisingly, the dogs have all accepted her pretty well too. Zoey (our Jack Russell) is the most curious and just wants to run and play around with her. But Skittles just wasn't ready for that quite yet. When Dusty (our Chow mix) walked by her as she was resting on the ottoman, Skittles proceeded to paw at his nose. I think it was just to get his attention because he was paying her no mind until then. He simply turned toward her and checked her out. He's been around cats before so it was nothing exciting for him...just another furball for him to have step around. Our girls were so excited when we decided to bring home a kitty for them. The first night has gone well. Welcome to our family little Skittles!

Warm the Globe through Friendship

Click here to Warm the Globe with Friendship One Blog at a Time

This is something new started by Vic Grace-Cariboo Ponderer. I think it's a great idea so I'm participating. Unfortunately, I don't know too many bloggers so those who see this may already be on the list of links below. But if not, please, by all means follow the instruction below to join us.

A good way for a blog to get established is to have backlinks.

All you have to do is copy this post with the list of links below and add your link at the end. As others do the same we get the word out about a lot of great blogs. Eventually we may circumnavigate the globe. That’s it, then just sit back, and watch the links grow, over time.

Cariboo Ponderer
Down River Drivel
Me, my life, my garden
Author blog
A little piece of me
The BiPolar Diaries
Turning the Pages of Life
A Blue State of Mind
A Day in the Life of Sasha Stinerova
Whitterer on Autism
Pastorette Ponderings
Skittles Place
It's About Time
Creatif
Meloncutter's Musings
Bleeding Espresso
10 Years Running Blind
Rather Than Working
Are We There Yet?
Overthehill Boomer Chick
Whee! All The Way Home
Mother's Home
A Place I Call Home
Time With Shelby
Any Apples
BoggyWoggy's Cache
Erika Jean
My Dogs Keep Me Sane
Rambling Shan
Random Autumness
The Turtle Parade
Dottie's Place

Good News/Bad News

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? I suppose you really don't have a choice here do you? Well... I'm going with the good news first because it's more exciting (OK-it's exciting for me). I got on the scale this morning and I've lost 5 lbs.! Yes, that is VERY exciting for me.

Now for the bad news. We found another snake in our yard. This one was on the side of our house. It was smaller than the last one we found, but still much bigger than the typical little garter snake. Here's a picture of the ugly thing.

Photo Hunt - MUSIC

This week's photo hunt topic is MUSIC. I decided to post a couple pictures of my daughter. She is in 7th grade and started playing clarinet when she was in the 5th grade. In the last year she has also taught herself to play the Alto Sax. When she is not playing the clarinet or the sax, she can be found playing our organ. MUSIC definitely seems to be her thing. Whenever and whatever instrument she decides to play, you can be sure, it's always MUSIC to this proud mom's ears! Happy Hunting!

Snake Species

After some further study, the snake we found in our backyard is actually an Eastern Hog-nosed Snake. (Note: Images are in earlier post.) I filled out a Michigan Herp Atlas Survey Card for the DNR. They suggested that if it can be rehabilitated, it should be placed back in the area it was found so that it can find its hibernaculum in which to spend the winter. Whoa! I don't want that thing returned to my backyard!

Does anyone else have an intense fear of snakes? Has anyone overcome that fear? I love animals, but this is one that just creeps me out. I don't have much love for it.

Unwelcomed Visitor

What an eventful evening we had and I'm here to tell you... I don't like these kind of events! My daughter headed outside to feed two of our dogs. The other dogs followed her outside. She noticed Teddy Bear barking at something, which caught the attention of our Chow "Dusty" and our Jack Russel "Zoey". Dusty and Zoey went over by Teddy and started barking. My daughter went to take a closer look and was hissed at by this snake! She let out a blood curdling scream and immediately ran in the house where my husband was cooking dinner. He asked her what was wrong and she told him. His initial thought was good grief you girls and your reaction to these little garter snakes (we had a couple of those before). He went out to check it out and his reaction changed to "Holy Shit - that's a pretty big snake". Definitely bigger than what we are used to seeing. I was in the front yard at the time and the girls came out to tell me. I went through the house to the back patio and my husband had it on the forks of a rake. It was bleeding. Dusty had bitten at it. Dusty is blind in one eye so I'm not sure if realized what exactly he was nippin at. The snake wasn't moving and when I saw it, I absolutely freaked out. I panicked really and started to feel sick. He brought it around front and laid it in the grass and got some pictures of it. We really weren't sure what species it was. Neither of our neighbors knew either. We went in the house to look on the DNR website to see if we could figure it out by comparing our pictures to the ones on their site. Shortly thereafter, my husband went back outside so he could dispose of it properly. Well... that snake wasn't dead!! And, the damn thing had slithered into our garage. It startled the hell out of my husband. He ran back in the house and said "Holy Shit, that thing is still alive." My husband likes to kid around a lot so at first I didn't believe him. So I peeked out the door to the garage and sure enough, there it was!! OMG!! My husband put it in a box. We called a friend of ours who used to work for DNR and she said she would take it and get a hold of her friends at DNR in the morning. My husband took it to her. By comparing it to photos on the DNR website, we were thinking it might be a Copper Belly Water Snake which, according to the DNR site, is endangered here in Michigan. Needless to say, the girls and I are all unwilling to go outside in the back yard to feed the dogs right now. It'll probably be winter before I go out there.

Heads or Tails - Week 4

First of all, sorry I'm late on this. This is week #4 of the Heads or Tails meme started by Barb at Skittles Place. This week's theme is SCHOOL.

I've decided to write about my youngest daughter's (Kara) first day of Kindergarten. I took the day off from work so that I could watch the girls get on and off the bus. It was pretty much tradition when they were younger. This was my baby and I was feeling a little emotional about it all anyway. I had made her a nice large label that we pinned to her shirt indicating her teacher name, daycare name and address and bus number. The label was huge (5 x 7 note card). She didn't like wearing it, but it was the rule for all new Kindergardners on their first days of school. I took pictures in the morning (Side note: the girls got on and off the bus at daycare) and watched them get on the bus for their exciting first day of school. My older daughter (Kayleigh) was in 2nd grade at the time. They were both very excited. I was excited for them. As soon as the bus left, I pretty much lost it. I cried. My baby was off to school. How time flies. I went about my day and about the time the bus would be dropping them off I went back to the daycare to wait. The bus came and I had camera in hand ready to capture their expressions. I watched a dozen kids get off the bus. Kayleigh was one of the last. I snapped her picture. Then... what's that??? NO KARA!! I asked Kayleigh where her sister was and she said she didn't know. Luckily, my mom was there with me and she drove us up to the bus garage to see what was going on. They could not locate her! I was pretty much hysterical...crying...etc. My mom brought us to our house and to our surprise Kara was there in our yard playing with some older kids who kept her company! I was so extremely happy to see her I ran up and gave her big hugs, tears in my eyes. Of course, her first words were "Mommy, they made me get on the wrong bus. My teacher wrote the wrong number on my hand". It's as if they paid no attention to the HUGE label that was pinned to her! My husband and I were quite upset by all of it. He called and talked with the Director of Transportation.. It all worked out, but boy did it make for a very memorable first day of school!

After that, I told Kayleigh to always look for her sister when she gets on the bus in the afternoon. My girls are not so little anymore. Kayleigh has started her freshman year of high school and Kara is in 7th grade now. I haven't stopped taking pictures on the first day, however this year, Kayleigh was running behind because she had to gather her flags (she's in color guard) so my picture of her was her backside while getting on the bus. I'm still pretty emotional. Now it's because they've grown so fast! I just can't believe Kayleigh is in high school already.

That's my school story. Have a great week.

Photo Hunt - "DIRTY"

This week's photo hunt topic is "Dirty". The first thing that came to mind was my dirty laundry, but I figured that people really wouldn't care to have me air my dirty laundry over the blogosphere. So then I had thought about how dirty my daughter's feet get because she seems to run around barefoot everywhere...but that didn't really go anywhere. My daughter wasn't about to let me photograph her dirty feet for all to see. So... I thought on it and as I was about to go downstairs to tackle some of that dirty laundry, I ran across my daughter's boots she had worn the other day out at her friends farm.. They are pretty DIRTY.