Cookie Thief and Dum-Dums

So, this is undoubtedly the information and computer age. Everywhere we go we're confronted with different technology media, all vying for our attention. At the grocery store, at the mall, in the bathroom *giggle*...you can't get very far these days without seeing someone with some kind of device attached to their ear or palm.

I am an avid Apple lover. I love all things Apple(with the exception of the newest system "update"). I have a Macbook computer and an iPhone 4S. If it wouldn't be completely ridiculous and superfluous, I'd get an iPad. Whenever I do eventually buy a full desktop computer, you can bet it will be a Mac.

Unfortunately, technology has become one of those things that you can't live with or without. While most of the time it is consistently consistent, there are those terribly inconvenient times when it decides when it doesn't want to be consistent. Like at 11:45 p.m. when you have a paper due at midnight. Or when you're lost in the boonies and your GPS stops working. Or when you're trying to register for classes and instead of the desired screen, up pops a screen with random numbers and letters with the word "dummy" interspersed between.

Yeap...the computer was calling me dummy.

Of all the nerve!

All I wanted to do was register for next semester!

So, I giggled to myself and then shut down Safari, waited a few minutes before trying again...this time I got an error message that said something like, "break in attempt detected, number of cookie sections detected: 2"

Oh Lawd! There's a thief amongst us trying to break in and steal all my cookies!

Teehee.

Haha. I don't know why but that error message struck me as hi-larious. I mean, really...I could laugh or pull my hair out...and well...I do so love to laugh.

Anyhow, I'm still trying to register for classes and continue to be alternately verbally abused and warned of break-ins by my computer...and because I'm feeling a  lil zany, a lil crazy, and a lil awesome....whilst I'm being abused warned....this is the music going on in my head....

30 Before 30: Update

Well Blog Land, I figure that the time has come to update you on what has been accomplished in my 30 Before 30 Challenge...So what has happened? Well...to be honest..erm...not much.

Now, I will say that I have started working on a few things....but as of yet, nothing has been completed. But as you can imagine, these things take time. Two of the biggest challenges that I have begun to work on are the weight loss and taking control of my finances. As I have endeavored to correct all that is wrong in these two areas, I was shocked to find that these two seemingly different problems share a common root problem. Are you ready for this? Self-Control.

Yes, Blog Land...I said Self-Control.

As I have mentioned before, I have been doing the ViSalus Meal Replacement Shake Program. It started off quite well and I was amazed at how quickly the weight rolled off. I was super-vigilant. I cut soda out of my diet and cut back on how often I ate out and my intake of sweets. I was in heaven the day I got on the scale and discovered that I was 12 pounds lighter. However, around the same time, I experienced a disappointment which led to some emotional eating. I was craving everything I knew I shouldn't eat. Remember the whole burrito thing??

While I was still doing the shakes, I was eating anything and everything I wanted between meals. Mostly fast food and sweets. I literally couldn't get enough. This continued for about...ooooh...I'd say 3 weeks, and then I climbed back on the scale.

I had gained 5 pounds.

Well really, what did I expect?

I WISH I was one of those people who could eat whatever they want and never gain a pound. Sadly, due to a hormonal disorder, I have the metabolism of at least a 50 year old. So if I don't watch what I eat, I will gain weight.

I'm happy to say though, that I have snapped out of my binge eating and have gone back to actually considering what I'm eating before I put it in my mouth, as well as, how much I'm putting in my mouth. Portions are EVERYTHING.

The same thing goes for my money. I have a tendency to be very impulsive at times. For the most part, I carefully weigh all of the options before making a decision. But there are times, like when I'm craving chocolate or want a new pair of shoes, where are all my resolves flies away, and I cave.

I have had the opportunity to work in some very beautiful and very expensive homes in the last year. I often come away thinking, " Man, I would love to own a home like that one day". Of course, right now, that's impossible. While I do well as a nanny, there's no way I can afford a 500,000 dollar house. But it did bring to mind a conversation that I had with one of my aunts a while back. She said, " It's not always about how much money you have, it's about what you do with the money you do have." Well said, and so true.

If I want to have nice things in the future and be able to do fun things, then I have to stop throwing my money away, simply because I cannot, or rather choose not to, control my spending now.

With God's help I'm getting better.

I know that self-control is important to Him, because it is listed as one of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22 & 23.

Doing this 30 Before 30 Challenge is already turning out to be more work and more revealing than I thought it would!

However, learning more about myself is just another part of my Wonderland Adventure!

Disenchantment ---> Transitions

It's Midterm week.

I can't believe that the semester is already half way finished. For the most part I have been staying on top of things, and not procrastinating too terribly. Which is a vast improvement for me.

I'm afraid that there hasn't been anything particularly blog worthy going on in Wonderland....or perhaps I'm just a little too preoccupied with everything to really consider whether it's newsworthy or not. It could also be that most of my writing energy has been tunneled into pumping out 2 papers a week on the vastly interesting (can you taste the sarcasm?) worlds of Tort Law and Civil Procedure.

But anyhow.

In the last month I have stepped out of my comfort zone and and really stuck my neck out. In the end, the result wasn't what I had hoped it would be, and I am still weathering the disappointment. But mostly I'm proud of myself for trying something new.

I've learned that rejection isn't the end of the world. Even though some days it hurts like it is. I've learned that the image in your head of how things are "supposed to be" is detrimental and counter-productive to finding happiness in each day. I've learned that feelings are like waves...you can't always keep them from coming, but you can decide which one to surf.

Everyday I'm learning that if all I have in this world is Jesus, then He is More than Enough.

Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock, is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives. 

William Throsby Bridges

ViSalus & Contractions

I officially feel like I've been run over by a truck...that then backed up and then ran over me again just for good measure. Blah. I can't be 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure this is all my own fault.

Since the middle of August, I have been doing ViSalus, which is a meal replacement plan, where you drink shakes 2 times a day instead of what would be your normal meal. All of the plans differ and some plans only require you to replace 1 meal a day. It really just depends on what you're trying to accomplish. I'm happy to announce that after 1 month of ViSalus I have lost exactly 12 pounds! And that's with minimal exercise. I hate exercising.

My sister is a promoter for ViSalus and I have to admit that when she first started talking about it, I was more than a little skeptical. However, when I finally decided to try it for myself and then proceeded to lose 3 pounds in the first week...well...I was a believer!

At the risk of sounding like one of those infomercials, I will say that I have never felt better about my body, and I have also never had more energy. I am on the plan to replace 2 meals a day, so for me, that is breakfast and lunch. You know that feeling you get after you eat lunch and then go back to work and then have to fight to stay awake? I haven't had that experience since I started ViSalus! It really has been amazing. I've lost 12 pounds and only have 18 more to go!

Anyhow, I digress.

The blah feeling.

Have I mentioned I'm an emotional eater? And that for the last week, I've kept forgetting to refill my anti-depressant medication? Ha. So yesterday, the whole time I was at work, I was feeling a bit blue, and started craving something fatty, cheesy, and meaty. I wanted a huge burrito from Puerto Vallarta! I asked my dear baby sister if she wanted to come along after work and she declined. Boo on her.

I, however, remedied that situation by stopping at Moe's. My favorite thing to get there? The Homewrecker Burrito. It's HUGE. I mean, like, a burrito as big as your head. So I ordered it in all of it's burrito-y goodness, filled to bursting with beef, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and rice. And of course, you can't go to Moe's without getting a cup of their creamy queso.

So, quite excited, I rushed home, to settle into my PJs and start chowing down. And chow down I did...until I ate the WHOLE thing AND half of the cup of queso.

It was delicious. I enjoyed Every. Single. Bite.

Until about 20 minutes later. Dear Lord, did that burrito wreck my life!

What was I thinking? What with the shakes and really only eating one real meal a day, my stomach has shrunk considerably. And I just stuffed a burrito as big as my head into it? What a stupid little girl I am.

Fast-forward to today. I get up this morning, quite excited that the kids are on fall break and that I don't have to work...and proceed to the bathroom to um...drop some friends off at the pool. Ha. Well when I go back to lay down I am hit with pain so severe  I literally double over. I head back to the bathroom. Nothing happened. I head back to the bed. Gut-wrenching pain again. Head back to the bathroom. Nothing happened. This continues for over an hour and I take gas-pills AND Pepto Bismol. But I'm still experiencing burrito induced contractions every 3 to 4 minutes.

*Sigh*

I finally decided that I was just going to have to ride this out...or go to the ER. So, I curled up into a ball in my bed and rode the burrito waves until I fell asleep. About every hour I would be awakened from some very strange dreams by a particularly painful burrito contraction. And would then contemplate heading to the ER before drifting back in to sleep land.

Finally at 3:30 (that's in the P.M.) I woke up and didn't feel any pain radiating from by stomach region. Yes, people of blog-land, I had burrito contractions for 5 hours!

I am happy to say that the contractions have subsided, but my stomach is still not feeling very regular. I have had 1 shake today and half a cup of coffee and it looks like soup will be all I will be having for dinner. But I consider this a lesson learned. 2 lessons learned actually.

1. I will never live through child-birth.

2. Don't stuff a burrito that's as big as your head into your tummy that has shrank to the size of a lemon!

A Thief Amongst Us

It's been quite some time since I've written about my beloved little dog, Oliver. Some of you may have been wondering whether he still exists. I'm happy to inform you that he is alive and well and up to his usual shenanigans. His usual shenanigans being the theft of anything made of paper. Or terry cloth. Or nylon.

My bed sits pretty high above the ground and my dear little Oliver's favorite past time seems to be rooting through the garbage in my bathroom, or my sister's bathroom and pulling out tissues and other artifacts and then running as fast as he can to the safe zone underneath my bed. The safe zone is dead center, where he is exactly out of my arm's reach. He has perfected this skill.

So today as I was tidying up around the apartment, I decided that I would get a broom and push out all of the artifacts that he has so lovingly collected over the last few weeks. This was what resulted...

As you can see this is an assortment of tissues, napkins, a soap box, a knee high stocking, candy wrappers, and who knows what else. This was spread out underneath my queen sized bed. Ri-dic-u-lous! And the worst part is that he KNOWS he's wrong! LoL. That's why as soon as I hear him rummaging through the garbage can and say sternly, "Oliver!" the rummaging promptly stops and I hear the clicking of doggy toenails high-tailing it across the tile in the bathroom, scurrying as fast they can to safety underneath the bed where he can chew in peace on his new found treasure.

Hard to believe that this angelic looking little dog could wreak the havoc you saw in the picture above. Haha!

More Will Follow

Autumn seems to have come upon us quickly and unexpectedly. The arrival of the cool temperatures has beat even the changing of the leaf colors. While this is one of my favorite times of year, the change of the seasons brings with it an unwanted guest...allergies! Boooooo!

Both of the kiddos have been sick and Little Sis has had a sinus infection. As soon as I noticed her runny nose, I began popping Vitamin C, but to no avail. Who can withstand the pollen laden air of the Ohio River Valley? No one. So, at 3:30 this morning I was awakened by the inability to breathe through my nose. This was remedied only by the liberal smearing of Vicks right under my nose and all over my face where my sinuses should be. That along with lying practically in an upright position allowed me to fall back asleep after about an hour. Boo. 

Other than that, all is well in Wonderland. 

I have exciting things to talk about, but I'm so Benadryled I can hardly keep my eyes open. 

More to come later!

30 Before 30: The Challenge

I can in no way claim credit for the idea behind this post. I read another blogger's site and wanted to use the idea for myself. Below you will find a bucket list of things I want to accomplish before I hit the big 3-0. I figure that 5 years is more than enough time to at least try to get all of these things done. I'm also looking for some ride or die ladies to do some stuff with me...namely doing a cancer walk and going to Italy! Each time I accomplish one of the things on my list, I will post an update complete with a detailed description of the event as well as pictures. This is a pretty random bucket list...some are shallow...some are deep...and some are in between. 
1. Take tennis lessons---I can play...but would love formal training!

2. Take an art class

3. Lose 30 pounds---Work in Progress, thanks to Visalus!

4. Take a road trip to Gatlinburg with my girls---we keep making plans.....

5. Finish my Paralegal Degree---After this semester, only 3 classes left!

6. Get a job at a law office

7. Pay off last credit card---Harder than it sounds

8.  Fall in love for the last time---I know the day will come...and I can't wait

9. Plan my own wedding---after helping almost all of my close friends plan theirs...I can't wait to do mine

10.  Get married---

11. Be a better manger of money---basically have self-control

12. Learn to Swim---it's a shame ain't it? 25 and can't swim! Disgraceful!

13. Go to Italy---My Dream Trip

14. Write a Thriller---Work in Progress....14 chapters completed

15. Get my Thriller Published---ambitious indeed

16. Journey into the very heart of God...then live there

17. Start a reading group or book club

18. Buy myself a beautiful piece of jewelry from Tiffany & Co. ---*Sigh* Yes, Yes.

19. Make a list of 100 books I want to read and start reading them

20. Do a breast cancer walk with friends

21. Buy a house---regardless if I'm single or not

22. Get a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel 

23. Go to New York City

24. Journal everyday. Even if it's only one sentence. 

25. Take a picture everyday of the year, then scrapbook the pics.

26. Spend an entire weekend cell phone and internet free. 

27. Read/Re-read ALL the Jane Austen books.

28. Go to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra Concert

29. Go to WorldFest 

30. Stop worrying about things that are beyond my control