A Series of Random

That's right...I'm back! I took a brief hiatus as I've hit my busy time of year at work. Not to worry, though. You'll be hearing from me a lot more. I hope.

Trip to New York
Speaking of work, I spent three days in the Big Apple last week. It was both a good and a bad experience. It was good in the fact that I got to see the tree at Rockefeller Center all lit up at night and saw the fabulous window displays at Saks.

 

It was awful in the fact that the hotel (a Hilton property) was the size of a postage stamp, the meeting room was 85 degrees (literally), and it was just plain gross. That and the fact that I did not get to see my dear friend Kyle Krause as work had me held captive the entire time.

Holiday Baking
As many of you know, I love to bake, especially around the holidays. This year I did my standards along with a couple of new things. 2 days and many pans later, I was done.

I didn't do nearly as much as I typically do, hence a freak out when I realized that the plates of goodies for my co-workers weren't nearly as full as they typically get. Nobody else noticed and/or cared except for me. I really need to work on that.

Update on the House
The new house is coming along. Not as quickly as Glenn Jackson would like, but it's still coming along.

We should hopefully be seeing some walls being put up soon. And speaking of the new house, Moi is now famous. I got interviewed by a woman from the Star Tribune yesterday afternoon. She wanted to speak to someone who was building in Stoneborough, our new neighborhood. I know nothing about when the article will be published but you can be damn sure I'll let everyone know about it.

Debunking the Myth
No, I am not pregnant. I have simply gained weight. I've had several people ask me over the past few weeks when Glenn and I will be having another child. Plus there are 8 million pregnant people at my office and I keep getting looks like, "is she or isn't she". No, I am not. I wish I was but apparently God has other plans for us right now.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season with their friends, family, and loved ones. I know I'll be holding my little one extra tight this year. We're off to Iowa on Sunday for a few days with my family. It should be great since they just went through a blizzard and interstate is still closed. Thank god for 4-wheel drive.

Merry Christmas to you all!

My Struggle to Commit

You've probably noticed that I've been pretty quiet for the past couple of weeks. It's mostly because I've started to hit my busy time at work but it's also because of my struggle to commit to my weight loss challenge with Glenn.

I struggle with it...constantly. I cannot commit to eating better and exercising every day. I've come to realize how crappy I feel every time I eat. I'm always tired, my stomach hurts, I get headaches...you get the picture. I don't feel good about myself. And yet, I continue down the same path every day. I'm in a rut and I have no idea how to get myself out of it. I've tried different things but nothing seems to work for me. My heart just isn't in it.

I know I need to figure something out. I hate how I look in clothes. I'm tired of constantly pulling my pants up in an attempt to cover up my stomach roll. Or seeing a muffin top every time I look in the mirror.

So I need your help. What motivates you to eat healthy or work out every day? How do you manage to eat right without counting calories or dieting? What's your favorite exercise? This is my cry for help people. Yet again. I need a small goal that I know I can accomplish. Help me.

Weekly Weigh In

Once again, I'm posting this late but that's how life goes.

Weigh in was on Thursday. Or Friday, if you're Glenn Jackson. I'm down 2 pounds, which I'm actually happy with. Would it have been nice if it were more? Yes, but (warning...TMI moment) Aunt Flo decided to make her appearance so I'm all sorts of bloaty.

As for Glenn, he's down 7. *sad trombone* Yes, he's in the lead but we're only 10 days in so I've still got a chance!

I'm considering today my "free" day. The girls and I are doing a Twilight movie marathon which means pizza, chinese, snacks, and of course, wine. It's going to be a glorious day!

Go Team Jacob!

Ding Ding Ding! Game on.

Damn, this post is like 4 days late. Anyway...let's get ready to rumble!! The November challenge has begun. The person who loses the least amount of weight (percentage-wise) as of November 30 has to do the dishes for the entire month of December.

In this corner, weighing in at 268 pounds...it's Glenn "Action" Jackson!

Likes: Homemade beer and boobs
Dislikes: Anything not related to homemade beer or boobs
Favorite exercise: Running

And in this corner, weighing in at *gulp* 197 pounds (no judging)...it's Erin "Rockstar" Jackson!

Likes: Wine, beer, and anything that can be found on Pinterest
Dislikes: Sushi and fat rolls
Favorite exercise: Running or kickboxing

We started the challenge last Thursday and we're doing well so far. I'm already down 4 pounds and Glenn is down 7. Yes, it's mostly water weight but it's a start. If you check the numbers, I'm at 2.0% and Glenn is at 2.6%. The horror! I cannot lose! I despise loading the dishwasher!

Stay tuned for our weekly weigh in on Thursday. Cross your fingers that I kick Glenn's ass!

November's Challenge

It's time to do something about this weight gain. I'm slowly running out of options for clothes and feel like I'm wearing the same thing week after week. I'm a total clothes horse so of course this doesn't sit well with me.

So, Glenn and I are starting our own 30-day challenge for the month of November. We each have 30 days to lose as much weight as we can. The person with the highest percentage of weight loss on November 30 is declared the winner. The coveted prize...loser has to do the dishes for a month.

Now, if you know me at all, you'd know that dishes are the one chore that I absolutely hate doing. And we have a dishwasher. I'd much rather do 10 loads of laundry than load and unload the stupid dishwasher. So you know I'm going to take this challenge on hardcore. Ideally I'd like to lose 5% of my body weight but honestly, anything will do for me.

Stay tuned on Thursday for photos, details, and lots of snarky comments as Glenn and I take each other on for the ultimate prize!

The Next Chapter

If you've seen my Facebook post, then you'd know that Glenn and I are about to embark on the next chapter in our lives. We're building a house in Lakeville. We didn't set out to do this right now. The opportunity presented itself and after a lot of thinking and running the numbers, we decided to go for it.

It started about a month ago. We were looking at houses on the parade of homes, just trying to get some ideas. We were planning on starting to look at houses in the spring. Anyway, this was the second house we looked at and I really liked the layout of it. But since we weren't in the market, we just browsed, went to look at one more, and went home.

There was something about that house that just stuck with us. So we went back the next weekend to look at it again. This time we talked to the realtor and eventually agreed to sit down and talk things through. Lots of discussion and number crunching later, we sat down and signed the purchase agreement for it. I, of course, was freaking out. This was a huge decision but one that I knew in my heart would be right.

After that, we sat down with the builder to go over the floor plans and make any adjustments. We got super crazy...we moved the fireplace from one wall to another. That's it. Last night was the final piece in pulling everything together. We signed the papers for the pre-approval and we're on our way!

The house is 5 bedrooms, 3 full baths and is considered a multi-level. It's technically a split but there's a third level that goes up to a master suite. Glenn and I will pretty much have a floor to ourselves. Well, it's over the garage but you get the picture. The lot we chose is by far one of the best lots in the development. There is one street that loops through Stoneborough (our development) but they just added a through street in the middle. We got lucky and were able to secure the lot that is on a curve. It's huge!

We're told it will take 90 to 120 days to build. We're going to go from this:

 

 

To this:

 

That's not a true depiction since we haven't picked colors yet but you get the idea.

 

We are beyond excited to make this change. It'll mean leaving behind our first house, the one we put so much work into. The only home Rowan has ever known. We're also going to leave behind a great daycare, some great neighbors, and a great town. But it's the right decision for us.

 

It'll also mean less miles on the car and the SUV. Glenn will be a mile from his work so it'll mean less money in gas. It's in a great school district. We'll be closer to a lot of our friends. But the best part is giving Rowan the backyard he keeps talking about. He desperately wants a swingset and now we can give him that.

 

We're doing what's best for us and for our son. We're being grown-ups. And that's a scary thought.

The Blog Post That Brought Everyone Down

I've been known to have some crazy dreams. Lately, they've been coming at me every night. Typically they're just weird but last night's was a doozy. As Glenn says, lay off the booze.

I can't remember everything about this dream but what I do remember freaked me out. Glenn was in a car accident but upon looking at him, he was fine. Somehow he ended up at the vet's office, not as a patient, but as an observer. When I told this to Glenn, he got fake mad that I didn't take him to the hospital.

Anyway, I can still see him standing in a "patient" room, watching the vet look over a dog and all of a sudden he went down. Then I was told he died. The rest of my dream was about this vet needed to get a scale to weigh his dog and check his vitals but he didn't want to get it from his office. The thing that is still sticking with me from that dream is how sad I was. I mean, at one point, I actually woke up and reached over to make sure that Glenn was still there.

You're probably wondering what the point of this is. This is my every couple of years freak out over dying. I'm not afraid of dying itself but I'm more scared about what happens afterwards. Not about going to heaven (the big man upstairs and I already have an agreement) but about what happens to me spiritually. Will I still go on "living" and be able to see everything going on down here? Will everything just go dark and that's it? I hate the thought that the lights will go out and I never get to see my family again. It also makes me sad to think of Glenn dying first. I know that life goes on and eventually you figure out how to get past a death but what if you really never get to see your loved ones again?

This is why I try and not take life for granted. I know all too well what it's like to lose someone close to you, as I'm sure everyone has. So live life to the fullest and appreciate everything you've been given because at some point, it'll be gone.

Well, now that I've brought everyone down and/or freaked you out about dying...god, I am such a pleasant person aren't I? I don't blame you if you never want to read my blog again. I'm normally not this depressing. I blame the weather. Now picture this...puppies frolicking through the grass, a kitten snuggling up on your lap, rainbows, glitter...you cheered up yet? If you come to our Halloween party on Saturday night, I'll give you a jello shot. Jello always make people feel better. The booze will help, too.

Hugs and kisses people!