no rain

it rained all over the 'southland' today - thunder, lightning, hail, even! except for over the one square mile where i live:| it's just not fair! actually it did rain for all of 12 seconds - the 12 seconds it took me to walk from my car to the grocery store. but not long enough for me to get home and hibernate with hot tea, digestives and the latest bbc america documentary. grr.

tonight i don't have the time to blog. we are watching Mommie Dearest, but i do have to quickly file my energy income and expenditure report.

sooo, today i ate:
one yogurt boston cream pie just for a change :)
two cups of coffee
75% of a small banana
a bite of a m&m cookie forced at me by Danny (i couldn't refuse...)
campbells french onion soup that tasted suspiciously like stomach lining vomit
one slice of whole grain bread to enhance the taste of the soup
2 red gummi-vites
a one inch square caramel shortcake (i pulled off some of the chocolate to remove some calories)
the heel of the warm french bread driving home from the store... (je ne regrette rien)
steak. corn. onions and mushrooms. half a baked potato shaped like a heart (cute)
a large bite of Aaron's cinnamon roll
a small bite of Danny's cinnamon roll (thanks boys!)
one more gummi-vite

exercise:
6.7 miles at 67 degrees. but i had to RUN most of the way because i lingered too long at Trader Joes tasting hut (.... oh yes i need to add a sampling of garlic naan and curry above) and i was late picking up Sam so it felt more like 8.7 miles at 87 degrees... phew!

oh well, off to shower and watch the movie in bed :)

me

i'm easily distracted. yes i am. i have sat down at least 20 times to buy Barry Manilow tickets at the Hollywood Bowl. then i remember, i wanted to put in some laundry, including what's on the bed which is another source of distraction, since then i need to sort the sheets by thread count and usability in summer months. how good the bed looks makes the bathroom look bad... so i have to wash and replace the towels in there too. then come back again.... oh i'll just turn on "it", the robotic vacuum cleaner. and get a drink. and some soup - seriously one teeny can serves 2.5 people??? in whhat world??! ok, back to ticketmaster! ohhh but there is a message on facebook - must just peek at that. which reminds me, i need to email that person a picture - which needs to be processed. oh yes, and i wanted to download pics from my camera. and quickly glance at the prices of the 15mm on amazon. and so it goes.........

i do not have one of those disorders though, ADD, OCD, whatever. personality disorders are for Americans only! i just have a busy mind. always. and look at all i got done while buying those tickets!

why oh why oh why when i ask my children to help... and they actually listen... do i live to regret ever asking for help. case in point: the two ever-empty dog food bowls that i fill up 25 times a day... so i asked Danny to fill them up and the dogs started to dance around the room with glee. ten minutes later he was still in the garage, singing 'i wike to move it, move it!' over and over and playing with all the 18month+ toys in the goodwill pile. "hey! dog food - remember??!" "oh yes, Mama! coming!!" and suddenly crash! spilled dog food all over the garage floor. and under the car. and inside all the shoes. and inside all the bags. and under the washer. and dryer. all out bawling! too distraught was he to help pick one single nugget of dog food up. thanks Danny... nice try anyway :(

sheesh, i don't know where he gets his inability to stay on track and his emotional outbursts from - must be his father :)

shhhhh!

the robotic vacuum cleaner is fast asleep (or a-peep as Danny would say:) it's little light on top looks like it is breathing softly - aww! and when it is ready for work, it plays a little fanfare. and when it gets stuck it goes 'uh-oh' and just sits and waits for help. soo cute!! i usually think naming things is completely lame, but i need to name this little robot, it feels like one of the family already. i think "it" would be a great name!

it loves going under our bed... trust me that is not a safe place for a little robot! then it cries out 'uh-oh!' because of all the discarded dryer sheets and dust bunnies that get tangled up in it's wheels... bless it's heart for trying though! i would NEVER attempt to clean under the bed :|

it has picked up 3 whole pans full of dirt so far. (i have to whisper this next part...) don't tell it, but to be honest i can do a better job, but it is certainly an improvement over the hair and dust just swishing around in midair.

anyway, there is life beyond the vacuum cleaner, i swear! ok not much really, but today i walked 9.5 miles. yes! that's practically a half marathon. now my sunburn has sunburn but i am very eager to weigh myself in the morning and see if a pound has magically melted off yet! NO MORE FOOD TODAY!! nil by mouth!!

today i did eat:
half a cup of vanilla fat free yogurt that had been left open overnight so i am assuming it contained less calories than a fresh one
a small banana (fresh... i do believe the browner ones contain more sugar)
half a freedom gummi-ring and one red gummi-vite
one yoplait boston cream pie yogurt
strawberries with fat free yogurt (i like the yogurt... can you tell?!)
chicken breast, penne, sundried tomatoes and archichoke for dinner
since then nothing - and once it hits 6pm, i go on hunger strike :)

oh well... that's it for tonight. more stories about "it" and other stuff tomorrow!!

lensbaby sunflower

my windowsill nursery - where i keep a watchful eye on the cuttings of my plants (have no doubt they will all die... i SUCK at gardening)

love and don't loves

• i love emoticons
• i don't love things like this ~ and |/| used instead of words :|

• i love bare escentuals
  
• i don't love the woman who does their infomercials. her eyes are too far apart and no amount of mineral veil can fix that

• i love people who stop for pedestrians
  
• i don't love people who don't stop for pedestrians (people who go to Trinity Presbyterian church, i'm talking about YOU)

• i love Honda and Toyota
  
• i don't love BMW and Mercedes

• i love Trader Joes
  
• i don't love (no... HATE) whole foods. it doesn't even deserve capital letters

• i love Ruby
  
• i don't love jon&kate (who also doesn't deserve capital letters...)

• i love cursing when used in casual everyday conversation, for example 'what a fucking jackass'
  
• i don't love when someone says 'OMG i fucking love you'. i find it offensive:)

• speaking of which i have no love equivilent but i h-a-t-e OMG/LOL/ROFL/IRL... and the worst one ever... DH instead of dear husband. when does one ever call one's husband dear????!

• i love rusty old playgrounds
• i don't love the little gym

• i love crocs
• i don't love ugg boots

• i love the ocean
• i don't love "the river"
  

• i love down-to-earth
• i don't love pretentious

• i love gap
• i don't love old navy

• i love noon
  
• i don't love 1pm :(

• time to walk......

i am old

yesterday i did the hundreds. JUST the hundreds. and now i cannot even cough without feeling like i have an infected tummy tuck incision. ohh my sore abs! it's official, i suck. but it's also official that pilates could possibly rock my world (if i did the entire workout...)

in better news i made my own coffee this morning and it didn't suck. more creamer, that was the key, like 3 scoops of creamer.

friday is Danny's half birthday. shh don't tell Danny, i don't think he can do the math yet :) but he has been begging for a plasma car (as if i needed an excuse to get one:) and always drags me to the TV when the giant cupcake infomercial comes on "wook at this Mama! this is something a lady would like!! want to get it?" ohh Danny boy... you don't know me well enough yet - i already have it, child! and i'm making it on FRIDAY and covering it with dinosaur candles and presenting you with your very own plasma car with the license plate "GODANNYGO" (which he chants whenever he needs a little mental encouragement :)

today's agenda: pilates. not eating anything but grapes. Costco. a walk to Michaels followed by dragging a helium tank home balanced precariously on Danny's stroller :) Steph and Theresa, i had the bestest time yesterday with the balloons at the beach - oh yes, and i need to stop by Walgreens for sunburn relief:) i hope i can look at my pictures today (computer needs to STOP saying no)

off to watch the robotic vacuum cleaner - who needs cable? it's a thing of beauty - especially the4 panic stricken animals pinned against the walls fearing for their lives. yes it's YOUR fur, guys!! the robot is staying :|

monday night

my nose is doing the strange thing again where it looks unusual when i close one eye and look sideways at it... is it odd to bring it up at my next doctor's appointment?

today so far, i have eaten not very much.
the list:
one inch of a banana
a can of diet coke
one chicken breast
rice-a-roni
corn
2 flaky biscuits (urgh... my moment of pathetic weakness)
strawberries and fake cream
a bite of one of Danny's freshly baked warm pains au chocolat - ohh it was GOOD!

sadly (ok not so sadly;) i was unable to work out, thanks to the DVD being broken. therefore i was unable to do my Pilates for Dummies. but thankfully Aaron fixed it ready for tomorrow's work out (grr....)

the robotic vacuum cleaner is here! as is my fancy remote control that i can hold behind my back for my camera! and a certificate for a free build-a-bear! it's been a wonderful day in the neighborhood. not to mention getting sunkissed at the beach and letting the kids play all day long. oh yes, mr rogers would have approved of today :)

pics so far...

damnitalltohell

argh. i forgot to say 'white rabbits white rabbits white rabbits' this morning first thing. so the month is officially doomed to failure :| i did say it after talking numerous times but somehow i just know it won't count - the words must be the first uttered to ensure success :(

i cannot make coffee. i watch how Aaron makes it and i do exactly as he does and it just tastes better when he does it. why is that?

my kids are on the edges of their seats watching the news coverage of the missing Air France plane. my kids are so strange, aren't they?

in other news - this morning i had 2 spoonfuls of oatmeal and a yoplait boston cream pie yogurt. and two cups of coffee. so far so good on the diet....

back with more after the beach.... and the arrival of the ROBOTIC VACUUM CLEANER!!!!!!!!

things

i think the flu is finally behind me.... at last i have things in my head again and the energy to write them down.

and i can finally start my diet again. leftover chonbons to the freezer stat! put nothing BUT George Michael on the shuffle!! i'm back on track (the flu lasted approximately 5 months....:)

so, without further adieu, what i ate today by Carol Ann aged 38 1/2:

• one chonbon (before i tried on the black eyelet skirt and decided to start the diet with immediate effect... i did cut the chonbon in two therefore halfing the calories... but then i ate both pieces....)
• two cups of coffee - fat free creamer and fake sugar
• icky chicken breast and a corn on the cob doused in ketchup to add flavor, at Chili's (this diet is going to suck)
• 2 freedom colored gummies
• 6 strawberries
  
• 12 chips dipped in queso (i know... and i am going to suck at it)
• half a fat free yogurt and half a breadstick (sigh)
• a cup of peas and an inch of fish
• one french fry
• child's leftover frozen yogurt with gummibears drowning in it
  

exercise:
walked up to the corn field. got a hankering for corn and came back to go to Chili's for lunch :|

the new vacuum cleaner arrives tomorrow. sadly i was not plucky enough to break into UPS for it, nor convincing enough to talk Aaron into doing it. he said we can wait. sure, we can... men are sooooo from mars sometimes

i have deliberately not vacuumed the floors for 3 entire days. it's agony - like waiting to wash your hair after a perm. or like waiting to bathe your newborn until the stump falls off. or like waiting until it's daylight to go out and admire your brand new car . i literally have to sit on my hands so i don't vacuum or at least give the floor a quick seeing-to with the broom. but i want to able to really give the robotic vacuum cleaner "the floor" so to speak - so it can show us what it can do and shine for all to see! i am going to be very straight faced and Simon Cowell about it's performance... while secretly wanting to love it and hug it to death

oh well... off to see if Obama's at the frozen yogurt shop :)

more weekend pics...
a very evil cookie sits in the chonbon bag, mocking me

how Sam eats strawberries and cream

today we made little birds


then along came Mr Bumps... until he was placed under arrest by Danny :)

weekend in pixels

friday night walk/ride... this is honestly the way Danny rolls (he's practicing for the circus, apparently...)

at Target while we waited for our tires........

off to the english pub

enjoying a pint of (root) beer at the pub

at the herb sale, we bought mint, fennel, dill and some butterfly friendly plants

a really fascinating video about 'the hand' (i jest)

what we did in may

it isn't technically the end of the month yet... and i could technically bump into Obama getting frozen yogurt tonight at cherry on top... but i am taking a chance and posting my month in pictures 8 hours early :) the art of living dangerously and all that.... (if i do meet Obama tonight, it might even get it's own collage:)