A Day Spent

Closing up shop

2011-07-05T09:33:00.000-05:00

I wanted to put this up for anyone that might read regularly or stumbles upon this blog from other sources -- I'm closing up shop.

This blog has never had much of a focus, but I have enjoyed being here. I just don't have the energy any more for what has come to feel like one more "obligation". Especially with my second year of nursing school just around the corner.

I would love to be one of those awesome mom bloggers -- but instead I'm just going to focus on being an awesome mom, wife, student...an awesome ME, in the real world.

I'm still reading blogs where I continue to get inspiration to try new foods, activities, and books.

Thanks for the fun!

Weight Watchers -- Week 9

2011-06-22T05:52:00.000-05:00

Week #9: 0 lbs.

Total lost: -10 lbs.

I was exactly, to the ounce, the same weight this week. On the one had, at least it's not a gain! But it doesn't surprise me in that I only exercised a little and I had a very crazy day on Saturday -- it was hot and we were at a car show in which I indulged in a Cracker Barrel breakfast, corn dogs, and root beer floats.

Since I seem to keep whining about not exercising, this week I'm doing something about it. So far I've done the first two days of the four-week program called Xtreme Calorie Burn at Exercise TV. I'm enjoying the series, except for the fact that Monday's Explosive Cardio workout had a lot of jumps and power moves -- and two days later, my calves still feel like giant knots! I may substitute a different cardio video when that workout comes back into the rotation tomorrow.

I'm loving having more activity points in the beginning of the week and my goal this week is to only use daily and activity points -- not touching the weekly points at all.

Junk I Got at an Estate Sale, Vol. 1

2011-06-16T19:07:00.002-05:00

I've seen more estates sales in the last year I've lived in my rural Arkansas town as I have in my entire life. There are two outfits that run the sales -- Sales by Dan and Sales by Pat -- and their little neon signs with dates, times and addresses pop up at least a couple of times a month.

The jeweler and I scored big last year buying almost every volume of Second Line magazine, decades of publications from the New Orleans Jazz Club for about $15 -- that's netted us over $250 so far on eBay (I need to get cracking selling some more).

Mostly, though, we go looking for things for ourselves. High on our list are childrens' books (rare as these are usually the home of elderly folks), records, and vintage Tupperware. And sometimes we find other oddball items.

Today, we hit a bit of a mother lode at what I thought at first, based on the size and condition of the house, was going to be a disappointing sale. But I saw a big stack of LP's and called the jeweler to come meet me for lunch early and look through them.

This is what we ended up getting for $18 today!

(I really need a new blog format...sorry the pic is spilling over onto the right side)

George Foreman grill -- $10 (I have been wanting to get one since there are too many mosquitos to really grill here)
Jar of beads -- $1 (projects with Benjamin?)
Books -- $2
Tote bag -- $1
Records -- $4! Two Richard Pryor comedy albums, several Johnny Cash albums, and a variety of randomness

Wordless Wednesday -- Camouflage

2011-06-15T06:39:00.001-05:00

Find other Wordless Wednesday bloggers here.

Edit: Fixed the title. Note to self: look up a word when you think you've spelled it wrong but there is no spell check to save your ass!

Weight Watchers -- Week 8

2011-06-14T14:21:00.000-05:00

Week #8: -1.4 lbs.

Total lost: -10 lbs.

Still a pound away from my 5% goal, but I hit my first 10 pounds lost! I bought 5 pounds of ground turkey yesterday (manager's special, filling up the freezer!) and I thought to myself when I got home -- I have lost twice that much meat off my bod in the last two months!

As I posted last week, exercise (or a lack thereof) is still my biggest issue lately and nothing has really changed. Right now, I'm lightening up on myself in this crazy heat...while I deal with three summer school classes and the continuing mess that is happening afar in my family right now, but is becoming my problem.

Weight loss, in my opinion, really is 80% sensible diet changes and 20% increased activity so for right now, I'm focusing on the 80% and will get back to the 20% when I can.

Menu Plan Monday -- June 13-19, 2011 -- Summer recipes

2011-06-12T10:55:00.002-05:00

I sat down last night with a fresh, blank monthly menu planner and a few ideas for menu changes to accommodate the summer season. It's *hot* here and I don't want to turn on the oven -- at all. There are just too many mosquitoes here (here being: a farm in the lower Arkansas delta) to grill outside so I'm revamping my menu to include more salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches and a bounty of summer fruit. I was particularly inspired last week by this post from Life As Mom on easy theme nights for summer meals.

Menu for June 13-19, 2011

Monday: Turkey burgers with pineapple slices, chips, melon

Tuesday: Bean and rice burritos

Wednesday: Pan-fried turkey brats, broccoli slaw

Thursday: Shrimp diavolo (recipe I found in an older Weight Watchers cookbook), steamed veggies

Friday: Dinner out (heading out to a classic car show for the weekend so the jeweler can show off his '72 Chevy!)

Saturday: Dinner out

Sunday: Slow cooker lasagna, salad, fresh garlic bread, lemon pineapple cake mix cookies

Check out more menu plans posted at Org Junkie.

Weight Watchers -- Week #7

2011-06-08T14:16:00.001-05:00

Week #7: -1.0 lbs.

Total lost: -8.6 lbs.

Two weeks ago, I promised that I would stay focused without a Memorial Day meeting and get to my 5% goal (which is about -11 pounds). Well, that didn't happen. But I'm actually rather pleased at the meager one pound loss as I didn't track most of those 14 days and ate out...a lot. And exercised...a little.

However, I did make decent choices along the way. And when I made a choice to eat something a little decadent, it was with eyes wide open and purposeful. So...yay for one pound!

This week, I'm back to business, tracking with Weight Watcher's eTools, eating a lot of fruit and controlling my portions.

My biggest struggle remains with exercise. I enjoy exercising, but I don't like to do it alone. Being so isolated on the farm with only small towns around me, group classes are hard to come by. And it's already so hot that running after 8am is pretty much out of the question (I'm not exactly hard core). At home I can usually muster up the energy for a video or two or 30 minutes on my elliptical, but with a nursing class until 10am every day right now, I find it hard to get motivated when I return home.

One bit of good news, I heard from a friend that works at our nearby hospital that some group exercise classes will be starting up in a week or two so I am cautiously optimistic that I might be able to do a Zumba or kickboxing class soon!

And I need to just stop making excuses and get on that elliptical machine right now. I'm outta here!

Find me on Twitter @lauriadayspent

2011-06-07T15:00:00.000-05:00

If Twitter is your thing and you dig this blog -- follow me here. Blog post updates including menu plans, toddler activities, general rambling about whatever is going on in my world that I think might interest someone else as well.

An Arkansas Weekend Getaway -- Kenda Drive-In and Blanchard Springs Caverns

2011-06-07T14:20:00.000-05:00

Summer snuck up on us in Arkansas, with temperatures up in the high 90's last week (and continuing now). We had a weekend free of obligations so we decided to take a bit of a spontaneous trip to the Ozarks a few hours north to beat the heat, catch a flick at the drive-in and get away from our daily grind. We packed up the car with camp chairs, filled to cooler with food and drinks and hit the road Saturday morning!

Our first stop, after lunch, on Highway 65 was the Natural Bridge, just north of Clinton. This bridge is a 100-foot sandstone formation. Beautiful little nature trail to walk down, as well.

The guys got to play with rocks -- always a popular activity for them!

There is also a little museum of old-timey appliances and even a still!

After we left, we headed up the road to Marshall and checked in to the Sunset Motel. (Note to self: bring own towels and ask for a room in the back next time!)

After relaxing in the room for a while, as the sun started to think about setting, we made our way to the Kenda Drive-In.

This was a great, family-friendly drive-in. Hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, candy...the snack bar was rocking during the first movie and intermission -- and cheap, too! Benjamin crashed out in the back of the car during Kung Fu Panda 2, after running around most of the evening, giving us a bit of peace to watch Thor.

The next morning, we had a great, down-home country breakfast at the Sunset Restaurant, next door to the motel. After buying a bag of sourdough croissants from Serenity bakery in Leslie (which made great ham and swiss sandwiches when we picnicked later in the day), we turned the car east towards Mountain View, with the Blanchard Springs Caverns in our sights. We spent an hour touring the Dripstone Trails, which was full of marvelous formations. I wish we could have grabbed better pictures, but taking photos in caverns can be tough...as you can see from this lovely shot the jeweler took.

These caverns were amazing, actually! The hour-long guided tour was fun and informative. Going into it, I was worried about Benjamin's ability to stop and listen, and not have a total meltdown at least once down there with the group. But he rocked it! Listening to me, not running ahead, holding my hand. A new milestone for my (almost) three year old.

When he was 14 months old, we did a southwest road trip that included a stop at the Carlsbad Caverns.

And now look at the little spelunker!

We returned from our weekend refreshed and ready to take on another hot Arkansas week.

Hello, blog!

2011-06-03T08:40:00.000-05:00

The long Memorial Day weekend derailed my usual internet habits and I've been unplugged off and on all week. We spent a few nights with family celebrating my stepmom's birthday and playing a lot of disc golf. One day I need to do a post on disc golf -- a very fun and cheap sport that pretty much anyone can play. And it's where the jeweler and I met! (Another post for another day.) Anyway, here's what's up in my world.

Summer school

After a few brief weeks off, I'm back in school.

Nursing pharmacology -- 4 days a week for 4 weeks! Phew! Fortunately, no tests, but lots of case studies, pre-quizzes and a presentation.
Computer information systems -- I'm bitter about this class. It's a totally bogus class that I *have* to take for my community college program, but it seriously is about getting online, using Word and making spreadsheets. I've been doing that for over 15 years! At least it's only an online course.
US History -- I somehow managed to never take this class in all my years of school and previous degrees. While I don't need it for my RN program, it's the only pre-req I have left for the online BSN program I have my eye on once I graduate and start working. No time like the present! And it's online, too.

Busy Bags

Last week I sewed 50 buttons and cut out 300 felt squares to make button snakes for the busy bag swap! And then I forgot to take a pic for a post on the activity itself. But I will get one back from the swap (and 24 other great activities) and will show you how easy they were to make.

Menu Planning

I didn't post one of my usual menu plans this week as we've just been winging it with some easy meals. It got HOT here in the last few days and I'm on the lookout for ways to keep the oven off and the house cool in the evening. My usual lasagnas, enchiladas, and baked chicken aren't really going to cut it the next few months so I'm working on some easier meals that only use the stove top, slow cooker and a George Foreman grill (which we are getting soon -- it's too hard to grill for us out here with the mosquitoes and other bugs on the farm).

I still have a mess of CBR book review s to write, wedding thank you cards to send out, and at this very moment a stack of dishes and loads of laundry to tackle as I get us ready for another weekend on the go.

What are you up to this weekend as summer gets under way?

Cannonball Read III #3 -- Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy

2011-05-25T08:38:00.001-05:00

Your Three-Year-Old:Friend or Enemy isn't your typical CBR book, but it's also not your typical parenting book, either. Louise Bates Ames's series of child development books covers ages 1-14. So far, I've read the 2- and 3-year-old books and plan to keep reading these every year before my son's birthday.

Published first in the 70's, what makes these books different from most parenting books is the focus on behavioral information. This book won't tell you how to deal with your 3-year-old's tantrums exactly, but it will tell you WHY your child acts the way they do. I appreciate the gentle, reassuring tone of the books and the emphasis on trusting your own parenting instincts.

Some may argue that these books are dated, but there is a reason they are still in print 30+ years later. The descriptions of what is normal behavior at each age are, in my experience with my son and many other children, spot on. The books describe the variations of behavior and what happens developmentally at specific ages. For me, having a better understanding of why my son is clinging to me, acting out, or trying new, crazy stunts leads me to finding my own strategies to help him through his challenges -- and fosters in me an appreciation of just how much he is growing and developing every day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*I'm doing a Half Cannonball Read -- 26 books in 2011. To see other bloggers' CBR reviews, go here. For my other reviews, click here.

Wordless Wednesday -- Tigers!

2011-05-25T06:14:00.002-05:00

Find other Wordless Wednesday bloggers here.

Weight Watchers -- Week #5

2011-05-23T20:12:00.003-05:00

Week #5: -4.2 lbs.

Total lost: -7.6 lbs.

I'm relieved that I was right about last week's weigh-in that followed a long weekend of eating out (with gusto). I'm back on track now -- but with only a net loss of 0.4 pounds for the last two weeks. My work continues to be cut out for me.

I kickstarted the new week this morning with two workouts on Exercise TV -- Crunch's chisel (upper body sculpting) and kickboxing with Amy Dixon. These two together proved to be a good total body workout. I recommend both workouts.

Things that worked for me last week:

Tracking -- once again, working the plan worked for me. After last Monday's big eating day, I had used up many of weekly points the first day of the week! But I kept myself on track the rest of the week, trying to "make up" those points with activity.

Challenges:

Snacking -- in the first few weeks, I ate a lot more fruit and veggie snacks. But not so much lately.

Goal for the upcoming week(s):

Out here in BFE, we only have one meeting on Mondays for many miles around. There won't be a meeting next week (Memorial Day) and there is not one for me to go to anywhere close. So my next weigh-in is two weeks away. Regardless, I am going to stay on track from now until then (eTools are great for that) and make it to -11 pounds so I can hit my first milestone -- 5%!

Busy Bag Activity -- Color Sorting

2011-05-23T15:06:00.001-05:00

I snagged a spot in the Busy Bag Swap replacing one of the other 25 moms who couldn't complete the swap. Totally psyched! Now time get to work. (As an aside, I am considering hosting my own busy bag swap in June...if you are interested in participating, please comment on this post or email me through my Blogger profile and I will keep you posted with details.)

I did get a few basic craft supplies to add to the collection at Dollar Tree yesterday and made my first busy bag that Benjamin enjoyed playing with today.

This one was super easy. I painted part of an egg carton with six different colors and sorted out six pom poms to match those colors. Next time I have a cardboard carton, I will probably redo it, but it passed toddler muster.

We counted the colors and how many pom poms of each color there were...but mostly he sorted.

And re-sorted, naming colors as he went.

A small start to my busy bag collection, but a successful one.

Menu Plan Monday -- May 23 - May 29, 2011

2011-05-23T07:58:00.001-05:00

This week is the last I have off before it's back to daycare for Benjamin and summer school for me. The freezer is still stocked up from all of the freezer cooking I've been doing the last few weeks so I'm looking forward to an easy week of cooking.

We are going to visit family and friends this weekend, too, for the holiday weekend. Nothing too exciting but we will be grilling hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixin's on Sunday. Not sure yet what side I might contribute.

What are your food plans for Memorial Day weekend?

Menu for May 23 - May 29, 2011

Monday: Turkey pot pie, fruit salad

Tuesday: Tacos, refried beans

Wednesday: Broccoli chicken casserole, stuffing with gravy

Thursday: BBQ chicken sandwiches, fries, salad

Friday: Pizza, carrots and celery with dip

Saturday: Dinner out at Applebee's...why?...because we are meeting friends there to watch UFC 130! (a guilty pleasure of mine)

Sunday: BBQ at my dad's house

Check out more menu plans posted at Org Junkie.

Weight Watchers -- Week #4

2011-05-21T16:51:00.002-05:00

Week #4: +3.8 lbs.

Total lost: -3.4 lbs.

Ouch! Those numbers are rough.

I weigh in on Monday evenings and this weigh-in happened after I had spent a long weekend eating and drinking a bit freely, with lots of restaurant meals including a huge Cracker Barrel breakfast that morning. And...to put it nicely, things weren't moving.

These aren't excuses -- I know from my own scale at home this week that I really didn't gain all that weight back, but that Monday was not the best day to weigh-in and I fully expect to be back on track this Monday. I've been tracking my points, eating well and exercising this week and should see the results.

Toddler Busy Bags and a Busy Bag Swap!

2011-05-21T13:47:00.003-05:00

I am not really a crafty person. And I have no experience teaching or creating activities for young children. These things are fact.

But I am resourceful! And I have been brewing on the idea of finding toddler/preschool age activities for Benjamin this summer. He's been home with me this week and will be next. Back to daycare in June then home again all of July and half of August.

We live in a farmhouse 15 miles from literally anything. And over an hour from the big city of Little Rock. So while I do have plans to swim, go to the zoo and play at parks as much as we can -- I also know that in the dead heat of an Arkansas summer we will be staying indoors with the A/C often.

I can either rot out his brain with too much television (and don't get me wrong, we do love our Blue's Clues, Dinosaur Train and Super Why! around here) or try and find a balance with some fun activities.

When I came across the concept of a toddler busy bag I was intrigued. And excited. I thought "I got this!" A toddler busy bag is, as described here, "a ziploc bag containing a simple, sometimes educational, activity for your child to do either with you or while you need to get other things done."

I found the motherlode of busy bag ideas here (scroll down past the sequencing cards). Totally doable!

Here are a few that jumped out at me:

All that being said, I missed the swap linked above but found another Busy Bag Swap here at Fruitfully FruGirl! While I have the time to make up some of my own bags right now, it would be so awesome to trade with others.

5/23/11 UPDATE: Fruitfully FruGirl's swap is now CLOSED. I am considering hosting my own busy bag swap in June. If you are interested, please comment below or email me through my Blogger profile and I will keep you posted on developments.

Catching Up on Book Reviews

2011-05-20T08:43:00.000-05:00

Though I haven't posted a Cannonball Read III review since February, I *have* been reading a bit the last few months, despite being crazy busy with nursing school, the wedding, and life in general.

Here's what I have reviewed so far:

On deck to review in the next week:

3-5. Hunger Games Trilogy (Suzanne Collins)
   6. One Day (David Nicholls)
   7. Holy Fire (Bruce Sterling)
   8. Your Three-Year-Old: Friend or Enemy (Louise Bates Ames)
   9. The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin)
10. The Great and Secret Show (Clive Barker) -- reading this one now

I also have a few books being shipped to me as we speak!

11. The Reapers Are the Angels (Alden Bell)
12. Impatient with Desire (Gabrielle Burton)
13. The Lonely Polygamist (Brady Udall)

That's half of my Half Cannonball Read -- 26 books in 2011. To see other bloggers' CBR reviews, go here.

A week later

2011-05-20T08:03:00.000-05:00

Sorry to have left in such a funk. Unloading here I think helped clear my mind. About an hour after the last post, I talked with my sister in California -- our mom is safe (for now) and there is a plan. The anxiety and weight I had been feeling all last week lifted and I basically have been on a staycation (I kind of hate that word) ever since.

Things I have done in the last week:

Had several hefeweizens at the Flying Saucer while enjoying the last cool remnants of spring
Took the trolley from Little Rock to North Little Rock (I have a thing for trolleys)
Watched the Travs lose while having a great time eating Cracker Jack and hot dogs
Played 2 rounds of disc golf with the jeweler and friends
Kept my 3 year old nephew for two days -- two boys = total chaos
Visited 4 different parks in 3 days

I still have about a week and a half before summer school starts. Benjamin is staying home with me and I'm really looking forward to spending a lot of time with him while catching up on a ton of projects around the house and online.

Messy

2011-05-13T14:41:00.000-05:00

It's been a bit of a surreal week. Out of school as of Monday, for a few weeks of vacation before starting summer school. But right before that test, I mentioned in the last post how I had some stressful conversations going on.

Life is messy. I am struggling with a big adult life situation that I don't feel I'm dealing with adequately now, despite reassurances from others I am.

It's messy and things happen. I am struggling with what, if anything, to even post about it. What kind of mommy blog is this? My life definitely doesn't feel like all sunshine and roses like so many of these blogs do.

I'm about to leave to head into the big city of Little Rock, to get a bite to eat and a coffee in the River Market. Read for a few hours. Then take the trolley (!...for some reason I'm geeked out about that) over to NLR to watch the Travelers play some ball. Hopefully, I can get my mind off things for a while.

And then, tomorrow, I need to work at reconnecting with my husband, because I have been distant all week.

Life is messy.

Weight Watchers -- Week #3

2011-05-10T07:53:00.001-05:00

Week #3: -1.2 lbs.

Total lost: -7.2 lbs.

Yesterday was a very stressful day for me, unrelated to weigh-in. I had to take a custom HESI exam that covered the entire first year of our nursing school program...and I passed with a 1144 (needed a 900)! Which was a great feeling in the midst of conversations with my family and a social worker about my mom (more on that later). I just ran in to weigh and left the meeting -- I was too distracted to stay for the discussion.

Things that worked for me last week:

Tracking using Weight Watchers etools -- I am still in a two-week trial using their site but think it will be worth the money to keep using it. Though I don't have an iPhone, the app on the iPod touch is great, too, and handy in the house when I don't want to cart my laptop to the kitchen to point a recipe.
Exercise -- I did 3 workouts plus the 5K last Saturday. I'm trying to vary my workouts too -- did upper body circuit, kickboxing and elliptical workouts.

Challenges:

Fruits/veggies -- Though I managed to stay within my points, I did not eat nearly as many fruits and vegetables as I had in previous weeks. My intake wasn't as nutritious last week as it can be.

Menu Plan Monday -- May 9 - May 15, 2011

2011-05-09T08:55:00.001-05:00

Another busy week -- I'm taking my big test today then spending Tuesday and Wednesday a couple of hours away with my dad. He just had back surgery last week and is having a tough time recuperating. The boys are also on their own Friday night as I will meeting my brother to watch our minor league baseball team, the Arkansas Travelers, playing a game. Hot dogs and cracker jack for me!

I got some freezer cooking done last week and plan to finish it off this week. Getting stocked up is a great feeling!

Menu for May 9 - May 15, 2011

Monday: Turkey burgers with pineapple, fries

Tuesday: Grilled turkey and cheese (for the guys)

Wednesday: Sweet and sour chicken (from the freezer), stir fry veggies and brown rice

Thursday: Turkey hamburger quiche (from the freezer), fruit salad

Friday: Pizza, carrots and celery with dip

Saturday: Slow cooker lasagna, bread, salad

Sunday: BBQ at my dad's house

Check out more menu plans posted at Org Junkie.

I Wasn't Last!

2011-05-07T12:30:00.000-05:00

Somehow, despite not running for months (I ended up bailing on the Little Rock Marathon 5K due to weather and logistical issues) I managed to jog/walk a local 5K today.

And I did it pushing 50+ pounds of toddler and stroller.

In 42:44.

Woohoo!

It was a small town event, about 50 runners in the field. Perfect weather, high 60's and breezy. I had planned to do it on my own, but the jeweler had to work last minute. Somehow that didn't deter me and I loaded up the little dude -- my plan was to simply walk it but I had enough energy to jog some here and there...I would say about 1 mile of the 3 miles was actually running.

Did I mention pushing the 50 pounds?! Because my arms, shoulders and chest are jelly.

In other good news, I wasn't last! Almost -- there were two ladies behind me the whole way -- but not last!

Anyway, I'm off to pop a few ibuprofen and take a well-deserved hot shower.

Home Entertainment

2011-05-06T08:45:00.001-05:00

I have literally had a Netflix red envelope mocking me from on top of the TV for two months! The same movie, we just don't get around to watching. I'm finally packing it up to mail back because I'm dying to finally finish the last season of Friday Night Lights. This show literally makes me cry every episode. Plus, of course, it has Coach Eric Taylor:

I don't know whether I want him to be my dad and give me a fatherly pep talk, yell at me on the football field, or kick Tami Taylor out of the picture and marry him.

[edit] Grrrr...I spoke too soon. The last season is on DVD but not available on Netflix yet. But...the first three episodes of Season 5 are streaming on NBC.com. Yay! At least I can catch up.

In other home movie news, I thought I'd share a link to a free Redbox rental on May 12. Like them on FB and you can have a code good for that day emailed or texted to you.

I wasn't kidding

2011-05-05T15:43:00.002-05:00

I ended up with an 86 (high C) on my fundamentals final, which should be enough to keep the A in the class.

But...and I really am ashamed to admit I actually failed my clinical class final exam. I got a big fat 76 (the lowest C is 78). I only have myself to blame. While I do think it was a hard exam (especially compared to the regular unit exams) not only did I not prepare adequately, but I made some really bone-headed mistakes on the test. I didn't bring my A, B, or even C game to that one.

But fortunately I think it was enough to keep my B in the class. And I nailed my nutrition final this morning.

Now is the time to dust myself off and get ready for this HESI exam.