Two Months

Lola is now two months old! We went to her doctors appointment on Monday and she is a growing, healthy girl! She now weighs 10 lbs, 14 oz - and is now in the 50th percentile; she's 22 3/4 inches long - in the 75th percentile; and her head is 15.25 inches - 50th percentile again. She had to get 3 shots and swallow a vaccine as well. It was so sad! I swear Max & I were both almost in tears because she was crying so much. So sad. But, she's all better now. Here are some new pictures of her that I took on Monday and today!

They look so much alike! My two babies...

Fresh out of the bath.

This baby is ALL cheeks!!

Clean baby!

So cute.

She loves bath time. Really! No tears.

Ready for bed.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Reaction Cycling - Finally took the spinning class last night and I absolutely loved it. I will be returning for more.

The Steelers - After watching the game on Saturday night, I realized how much I've missed football season. My boys won, and even though it was close, I just know that they will be much better this year. Super Bowl!!

Tuna Sandwiches - yum.

Lola Abigail - She really is the best thing ever. She's two months old, and it feels like just yesterday when we came home with her. It's a lot of work, but worth every minute of it. She has made me feel whole, like a real family, like I finally know my purpose in life and how to love unconditionally.

Max - He is an amazing father and partner. I always knew he would be a good dad, but everything that he has done has proven that is he far better than just a good dad. I know he will always do whatever it takes to ensure his two girls are happy. Every day he amazes me and I am lucky to have such an understanding, supportive and loving fella. I can't wait to grow old with him.

Road Trips/Staycations - We are going to Galveston this weekend with Max's family. One of his sisters rented a beach house for the holiday weekend, and everyone will be there. I'm excited to take Lola on her first road trip and her first trip to the beach. Although it IS Galveston, I think it will be fun! I will be taking lots of pictures.

Are you ready...

...for some football!?! I know what am I looking forward to this weekend! The STEELERS game! Shit yeah. It's only pre-season, but I get a peek at how my boys are gonna do this season. I have a good feeling. They won their first pre-season game and they are playing the Vikings, so I think there's a pretty good chance they will take this game, too. My fantasy football draft is this weekend, also. Hopefully I pick a decent team. We shall see.

I love this time of year, football season, the holidays, cold weather! Although Houston doesn't really have an "autumn", at least it will cool off a bit. I always look forward to the first day of the season where it is windy and cool with clear blue skies. For some reason, it always inspires me to pop in one of my Lawrence Arms c.d.'s and drive with the windows down. Maybe because the cool weather reminds me of Chicago...

I pretty much missed out on enjoying the cold weather last year. I just found out I was pregnant and I was so nauseated each day that I didn't want to move. I was either too cold or too sick to get out of the house. It was quite miserable. I seriously think I stayed inside from December until March. Bring on the cool weather!

Go Steelers! Big Ben is STILL my boyfriend. I heart him.

I'll take an order of motivation, please.

Alright...so I ate horribly this weekend! AND I didn't go to the gym Saturday or Sunday. It was stormy all weekend, and that is just great lazin' it up weather...so that's what I did! I felt like crap today though, knowing that I sat on my ass all weekend. So, today I doubled it up. Got to the gym and did the power flex and step class. It was easy; they were one after the other and the same instructor, so I stayed. The Power Flex class was pretty cool. I will definitely be doing that one again. You use barbells and weights for resistance training. Worked the arms, which is definitely needed at this point. I have always liked my shoulders - and this class should help get those shoulders looking good again. And hopefully get rid of some of the jiggly madness that we ladies hate oh so much. Tomorrow I look forward to finally trying the Reaction Cycling, aka Spinning, class. It looks like it's a 30-minute session, so we will see how I do with that! Never done a spinning class so it should be quite an experience. I am fully prepared to get my ass kicked.

In other news, I went to an interview today. It was at a staffing agency. Staffing agencies have always worked well for me in the past, so I am glad to go register with one or two to try to get my resume out there. Hopefully they will find something quickly. I am totally ready to head back to work. Not so much to actually work, but for money! There is just so much I need and want that a job is imperative at this point. I've seems that I've sent out my resume to thousands of ads, and I've only received ONE response. I really hope the Houston job market is in need of my skills. I'm trying not to get discouraged just yet. In reality, I've only sent out my resume to about 10.

I do have to say that craigslist has totally gone to the spammers, though. It's so fucking annoying to read an ad that sounds like the PERFECT job for you, just to waste your time sending your resume, editing your cover letter, as well as the intro to yourself in the email, just to receive some fucking automated response saying, "Go here to complete an online application, but you must register with this bullshit site that will continuously send you spam emails for stupid insurance sales agents positions." I swear, I've received about 5 of those responses and at about that point, I've decided to ban craigslist for the rest of my job search.

That is all for today.

"And men will not understand us."

Just finished reading "All Quiet On The Western Front". For those who don't know - this book is considered one of the best war novels of all time. I have to agree. It's a fantastic book. Not many people are well-versed on the Great War, most of the time, WWII overshadows all aspects of WWI, for reasons I do not know. I guess we're just further removed from 1914 than we are 1939, and there are many more living WWII vets than those who experienced WWI. The introduction of trench warfare, gas warfare, modern weaponry, massive propaganda and tremendous technological advances in WWI paved the way for the future of all conflicts.

Current events have me worried. The fighting in Georgia, Russian forces attacking after a cease-fire being declared - are pretty scary events. As we all know - Russia is SCARY. They have always been a force to reckoned with, and will continue to be for a long time to come. While Russia didn't single-handedly "start" WWI, they played a BIG role in the events leading up to the declaration of war. They do say that history repeats itself...

I do think it's absolutely hilarious that Bush is condemning the actions of Russia. Hypocrisy, much?

From "All Quiet..."
"I am no longer a shuddering speck of existence, alone in the darkness: - I belong to them and they to me; we all share the same fear and the same life, we are nearer than lovers, in a simpler, a harder way; I could bury my face in them, in these voices, these words that have saved me and will stand by me."

"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. I see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring. And all men of my age, here and over there, throughout the whole world see these things; all my generation is experiencing these things with me."

Heartbreaking. A definite must read....if you're into that sorta thing.

Step One, Two, Three...

So, I ended up taking a 'step' class tonight at the gym. I've always thought step class was kind of ghey, and totally for the old folks. Well, my opinion sticks. It was totally ghey - complete with 50+ year old gay man as the instructor, and yup, still for old folks. There were a few young 'uns in there, but majority were women my mom's age. Don't get me wrong - my mom is in great shape, much better shape than I am, and pretty much in better shape than everyone I know. But, still halfway through the routine I'm huffin' and puffin' like a mofo! And I HATE the fact that my face turns as red as a turnip when I exercise. I seriously hate that! It makes me look so out of shape. I mean, I am out of shape, but c'mon! I'm just super duper pale and that's what I do. Anyways - step class was pretty fun, granted. I feel like I got a real workout, so that's good. I've worked out every day for the past week, minus one day, totaling 6 days. Unfortunately, the scale hasn't made me very happy. I haven't lost any weight! I know it's only been 1 week (tomorrow), but still. I need a little bit of motivation. With the exception of Saturday when Max made an awesome 3-course meal for me, Monique & Brent, I've eaten pretty damn well. Maybe tomorrow I will see at least 1 pound lost! I need at least that to make me feel better about myself.

Speaking of making myself feel better - I tried on my pre-pregnancy clothes today. I know, I know - what am I doing to myself?! The shirts fit - a little snug in the boobage area, but otherwise everything is good up there. I went ahead and attempted to try the 4 pair of pants that I always wore, and all but my jeans fit! A little tight in the booty and a little tighter in the legs than I usually wore, but at least I could button them up! That made me feel better, even if the scale didn't. I would rather weigh more and have my pant size drop about 4 or 5 sizes any day.

My goal - to wear my Seven's by my birthday. It's 4 months...hopefully I can do it!!

The search has begun...

I placed an ad for a part-time nanny. We will see what happens. If I can find a good, dependable and trustworthy person to watch her 2 or 3 days a week for a few hours a day, I will be able to work full-time. But, if no one good comes from the search, I was thinking about just working part-time for a while. I just haven't found any interesting leads for part-time work. I really want to work full-time for the money & benefits, but maybe part-time is the way to go for now? If anyone knows any students/stay-at-home moms/grandmas/nannies or babysitters, send them my way.

One reason I would rather work full-time, though - I've started a list. A list of things we need & want to buy. It's quickly becoming a very long list. And if I work full-time, it will be that much easier to start marking things off of that list. At the top? Our tattoos. Max was supposed to get one before Lola came, but we were short on money every time we were about to go. Dustin drew up an awesome design for him. I know he really wants to get it and soon. Plus, I want to get my tricycle, my owl, my diamond, and after all of that, begin on my right arm.

So - here's to hopefully finding a nanny and to me finding a job!

Holy Quads Batman!

First workout session with personal trainer today. Kinda wish I would have known that he was the 'Boot Camp' instructor beforehand! HO-LEE-CRAP! He kicked my ass!! Part of my membership entitles me to not one, but TWO personal training sessions. I was thinking today he would simply assess my skill level and such and then the second one we would really work it. But, there's no time like the present, right? Within the first 15 minutes my legs were shaking and I could barely continue the rest of the workout. LOTS of leg work - squats are not my friend. Lucky for me the hour passed pretty quickly. At the end of the session, he proceeds to schedule my second workout! For MONDAY! Of course, I said okay. I hope he switches up the exercises a bit because it was no fun today!

I guess the old adage is true, "No pain, No gain."

I ate well today....kind of. Egg beaters, an apple and a piece of wheat toast for b-fast. String cheese & a plum for a snack. A meal replacement shake for lunch. And a burrito for dinner. The burrito wasn't the best choice for dinner, but I only ate half! It's all about portion control, yo!

Lucky

I've never really been into fashion. One could hardly consider me a "fashionista" of any sort. Don't get me wrong, I like fashion, I have just never found myself drooling over a new fall line or the latest trend of hooded capes or whatnot. I like to classify myself as more of a jeans & t-shirt type of gal. I love my expensive jeans and a plain ole t-shirt. But when I peruse my monthly copy of Lucky, I can't help but wonder what if? I have found numerous items that I love love love, but I know that I could never pull off even a quarter of those looks. Maybe it's because I'm only 5'3? Maybe I just don't have the confidence to wear some of the clothes? I think one of my goals for 2008 should be to buy a complete outfit, one based on an idea from Lucky that I think will look good. Granted, I do have 30 pounds to lose before I can even think about buying any new clothes. Which brings me to my next topic.

Monday I decided to join a gym. I researched my choices and decided on Bally's Total Fitness. There's two within 5 miles of my house and I have heard good things about Bally's, so I decided upon them. Well, on my way to sign up, I stopped at Memorial City just to see what the stores had out. Walked into The Gap - my safe place. I love the way Gap slacks fit me (pre-pregnancy, of course), and they have the cutest tops that really go with anything. Great work clothes. So, not knowing or even having an inkling as to what size I am now, I grab a few different sizes of pants, slacks & shorts, starting with a size above my pre-preggo size and increasing from there. Well, I have my limits. I wasn't going to go above a certain size that I can't bring myself to mention here. Needless to say, nothing fit. Let me rephrase...nothing fit RIGHT. I was mildly disappointed and walked out of my "safe place" feeling like poo.

Silver Lining - went straight to Bally's, redeemed my 30-day Free Pass and also signed up for a membership. I have my 6-week post-partum doctors appointment tomorrow, where she will clear me for normal activities, exercise included. Thursday I have my first appointment with my personal trainer, who will assess my overall physical fitness. I am extremely excited about that! I've already met him and told him my goals, and he was very encouraging. Told him I just had a baby and the first thing he said was, "oh, so you have weak abs." So, I'm guessing we will be doing lots of ab-work on Thursday. Probably my least fave part to work out, but also the most needed area I need to work now. I am excited about going to the gym, getting on the elliptical, the bike, the thigh machines, and most of all, the classes. They have the Pilates Allegro classes, which is Pilates with machines. That shit looks TUFF! Also, Boot Camp class. I have always wanted to take a boot camp class and now is my chance.

Maybe as a motivation for myself I will begin posting a weight loss (hopefully!) update here on my bloggie-blog. If announcing my weight in a public forum doesn't motivate me, then I don't know what will!