Today is moving day for the Atlanta Lawlor's. Our son Kyle and his wonderful wife and daughter, Abby, are leaving for England tonight for 2-3 years. Husband and I are here in Atlanta "helping" (I hope) and we will drive them and their 6 suitcases to the airport this evening. I am sooooooo EXCITED for them. Abby is a little unsure of the whole leaving her friends thing but all in all she is very excited about this wonderful new adventure. They have been shipping boxes all week and hopefully everything will be ready for them when they arrive tomorrow morning at Heathrow. Their FLAT is only about 15 minutes from the airport so that won't be a big hassle. They are leaving their cars in the USA and will buy/rent something over there. From what I hear no one drives in England, they all walk. Which is perfect for this family. Kyle and Bridget and Abby are athletes. They play soccer, Gaelic football, and hurling. (Which is different from curling. Hurling is like football, lacrosse and soccer all rolled into one, without the protective gear.) So I think moving to a country that walks will be great for them. Husband and I will die when we go to visit but I am sure we will adapt.
Will we miss them?. . . Sure . . . but we have our hats on and our passports at the ready for when ever they want a visit.
Wish them well for us and please say a prayer that they travel safe and remember to drive on the left side of the road!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Aunt AM's Suitcase(s)
Aunt AM is gone. We took her to the airport and she is now back in NY emptying her suitcases. I've told you how stunning a woman Aunt AM is right? Well in order to look that good ALL the time the woman travels HEAVY ! Husband and I travel light . . . ONE suitcase each, no matter where we are going or for how long. The size of the suitcase does vary but not all that much. My sister-in-law does not know the meaning of TRAVEL LIGHT. Two years ago husband told AM that her suitcase was way too heavy for him to lift in and out of the car. She should GET RID of the BIG suitcase and get 2 smaller ones. (When I say big I mean BIG! It is about the size of a refrigerator.) So the next year when we picked her up at the airport sure enough she had 2 suitcases . . . the BIG one and one possibly an inch smaller than that ! I thought Ger would have a heart attack. Aunt AM defended herself by saying that even though she had 2 bags, they weren't filled to the brim. She was right, until we went shopping. (Have I mentioned her passion, possible addiction, for shopping?) So now we have TWO huge suitcases, filled to overflowing and the next cause for concern (besides husband's pending hernia) is WILL THE SUITCASE(S) WEIGH MORE THAN 50 POUNDS? If they do there is an fee from the airline. So now we are weighing the suitcases by standing on the scale, lifting the bag subtracting our weight from the total. Every trip Aunt AM would go through this performance and worry herself sick that the bag(s) would be too heavy. You and I would realize the simplest way of avoiding this worry would be to: A. Use a smaller bag.
B. Not pack so much
Neither of these seem to be an option for Aunt AM. She packs her entire wardrobe! Well, to be honest since she lives alone in a 3 bedroom house and EVERY closet and dresser are PACKED with clothes it really is only about 1/16 of her clothes that she brings. But that is a LOT !
But back to the weight . . . This year Aunt AM's daughter gave her a luggage scale. Great idea, right? Not Really. Wonderful idea if you are weighing a back pack or a carry on bag because it is a device that you tie onto the handle of your suitcase, lift the suitcase off the floor, wait a second or 2 for the weight to register and there you have it! Your bag weights ____ number of pounds. Wonderful until you try to lift a bag the size of a Volkswagen. Attaching the strap - EASY - lifting the bag -NOT SO EASY -. If you can't lift the bag off the floor with 2 hands how are you supposed to lift it far enough for the scale to register and high enough for you to read said scale?
We did find AM standing ON the bed, bent over trying to pull the bag up off the floor. I can just imagine the doctor in the ER listening to that story of how the 74 year old woman hurt her back/broke her hip.
In the end we took her beach bag out of the suitcase, filled it with shoes (all 7 pair) and a ton of other stuff and she used that as a carry on. Both suitcases weighted in at over 45 pounds so off she flew only to continue shopping for another year, probably in search of a new suitcase that is just as large but weighs less when it is empty.
B. Not pack so much
Neither of these seem to be an option for Aunt AM. She packs her entire wardrobe! Well, to be honest since she lives alone in a 3 bedroom house and EVERY closet and dresser are PACKED with clothes it really is only about 1/16 of her clothes that she brings. But that is a LOT !
But back to the weight . . . This year Aunt AM's daughter gave her a luggage scale. Great idea, right? Not Really. Wonderful idea if you are weighing a back pack or a carry on bag because it is a device that you tie onto the handle of your suitcase, lift the suitcase off the floor, wait a second or 2 for the weight to register and there you have it! Your bag weights ____ number of pounds. Wonderful until you try to lift a bag the size of a Volkswagen. Attaching the strap - EASY - lifting the bag -NOT SO EASY -. If you can't lift the bag off the floor with 2 hands how are you supposed to lift it far enough for the scale to register and high enough for you to read said scale?
We did find AM standing ON the bed, bent over trying to pull the bag up off the floor. I can just imagine the doctor in the ER listening to that story of how the 74 year old woman hurt her back/broke her hip.
In the end we took her beach bag out of the suitcase, filled it with shoes (all 7 pair) and a ton of other stuff and she used that as a carry on. Both suitcases weighted in at over 45 pounds so off she flew only to continue shopping for another year, probably in search of a new suitcase that is just as large but weighs less when it is empty.
Friday, March 26, 2010
OH CRAP !
When you eat out at least one meal a day for 2 weeks, have ice cream or gelatto (OMG we have the BEST gelatto shoppe in the world here in PBG) almost every day only to top it off with the very best fish and chips (it is Friday in Lent after all) and a stop at the cupcake shoppe today . . . why would I be surprised with a weight GAIN of one and a half pounds this week? Nope, no surprise here! Disgust in myself that I am totally incapable of making better choices when it comes to food, horror that I can NOT say no to goodies and pity that I am doomed to obesity. BUT . . . it does get me thinking of reasons why it is good for a person to be fat.
1. We chubbs do not get cold in winter. We carry our own insulation.
(Too bad I live in Florida.)
2. We carry our very own seat cushions with us when we go to sporting events.
3. We have a built in tray table for picnics or eating on the couch.
4. No one wants to sit in the middle seat on the plane because we overflow.
5. It is not as painful to get a shot or an IV or give blood. Lots of cushioning.
6. You can be pregnant and people don't know it. (But this also works against
you cause they think you are pregnant when you're not.)
7. It's easy to "be" a turkey for Halloween cause we already have a wattle.
8. If we ever get caught in a hurricane we can just spread our fat "wings" on
our upper arms and fly like a bird.
9. Our thighs rubbing together keep us warm on winter days.
10. It makes it very easy to decide what to wear on any given day. You just
wear what ever happens to fit that day.
Hey, it was a fun 2 weeks with Aunt AM here. We ate way too much and I am now ready to try to get some control over myself once again. We're headed to see Abby in Atlanta before she moves to England for 2-3 years. But that is another blog for another day. Hopefully staying with her healthy, nutrition conscious parents will get husband and I started on eating less and better. I'll talk to you in a few days and let you know how it's going.
1. We chubbs do not get cold in winter. We carry our own insulation.
(Too bad I live in Florida.)
2. We carry our very own seat cushions with us when we go to sporting events.
3. We have a built in tray table for picnics or eating on the couch.
4. No one wants to sit in the middle seat on the plane because we overflow.
5. It is not as painful to get a shot or an IV or give blood. Lots of cushioning.
6. You can be pregnant and people don't know it. (But this also works against
you cause they think you are pregnant when you're not.)
7. It's easy to "be" a turkey for Halloween cause we already have a wattle.
8. If we ever get caught in a hurricane we can just spread our fat "wings" on
our upper arms and fly like a bird.
9. Our thighs rubbing together keep us warm on winter days.
10. It makes it very easy to decide what to wear on any given day. You just
wear what ever happens to fit that day.
Hey, it was a fun 2 weeks with Aunt AM here. We ate way too much and I am now ready to try to get some control over myself once again. We're headed to see Abby in Atlanta before she moves to England for 2-3 years. But that is another blog for another day. Hopefully staying with her healthy, nutrition conscious parents will get husband and I started on eating less and better. I'll talk to you in a few days and let you know how it's going.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Another week
How is it possible that another week has gone by already? I know I am getting older but time is really passing way too quickly. I get up in the morning and think of all the things I want to get done during the day and all of a sudden it is 11 at night and I haven't gotten anything done. Except to gain another pound or 2. (Tomorrow is weigh in day so we won't even think about weight right now.)
I remember when I was a kid I had a friend with whom I made a pact. When the year 2000 arrived Joan and I would meet at Times Square in Manhattan on New Years Day. (If we ever set a time I don't remember) At the time of the pact we were both about 12 years old. In the years following we lost touch completely and I often wondered if she even remembered making the promise to each other. I remember thinking at the time that I would be an ancient 55 years old in the year 2000. I would practically be dead by that age. Who knows if I could even make it to NYC.
Well, that was 10 years ago and even though I remembered that silly agreement I never thought about going. Even if we both had remembered we never would have recognized or even found each other in the middle of Times Square. But it's funny to think how very far away the year 2000 seemed when I was 12. And yet those years flew by. Here I am at almost 65, living a very active life in Florida and finding it impossible to even imagine a time when life will slow down. But I am sure these next how ever many years, (decades?) will fly by even faster than the past.
I guess this all just goes to prove the saying that TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN!
I remember when I was a kid I had a friend with whom I made a pact. When the year 2000 arrived Joan and I would meet at Times Square in Manhattan on New Years Day. (If we ever set a time I don't remember) At the time of the pact we were both about 12 years old. In the years following we lost touch completely and I often wondered if she even remembered making the promise to each other. I remember thinking at the time that I would be an ancient 55 years old in the year 2000. I would practically be dead by that age. Who knows if I could even make it to NYC.
Well, that was 10 years ago and even though I remembered that silly agreement I never thought about going. Even if we both had remembered we never would have recognized or even found each other in the middle of Times Square. But it's funny to think how very far away the year 2000 seemed when I was 12. And yet those years flew by. Here I am at almost 65, living a very active life in Florida and finding it impossible to even imagine a time when life will slow down. But I am sure these next how ever many years, (decades?) will fly by even faster than the past.
I guess this all just goes to prove the saying that TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN!
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Trouble With Aunt AM
Let me tell you about my sister-in-law. She is nine and a half years OLDER than me and looks twenty years younger. When I first met AM, over 40 years ago, she was frumpy. She had 4 kids, a husband, a house in the suburbs and a dog. She was over weight, didn't drive, stayed at home to take care of the house and the kids and looked like she was about 50. I was 22, single, looking GOOD, working, partying and dating AM's brother. I thought she was OLD! But some how, as the years passed I married her brother, had 3 kids, became a stay-at-home mom, our rolls reversed. AM's husband died, she learned to drive, got a job, lost a lot of weight, changed her hair color and style, got acrylic nails and found her sense of style. The woman today is amazing and looks even better than that. She has her hair "done" each Saturday. The nails are always beautiful and forget the wardrobe and jewelry. AM only shops off the sale racks and can see a bargain a mile away but manages to find the most stylish and flattering clothes. Her sense of fashion and style amazes me. How she can look so fabulous ALL the time is beyond me. We have travelled together for weeks at a time and the woman looks better and better with each day. I get the shot-at-and-hit look by the second day but my sister-in-law is looking like she just stepped out of the salon. HOW DOES SHE DO THAT ? I have, over the years, tried to copy her style but it just doesn't work for me. I think that 60 pound weight difference and 5 inch height difference must have something to do with it but it sure gets frustrating. The woman NEVER looks messy. I will be in my room primping and working on my outfit only to walk out the door and see AM and know there is just no contest. I might as well put on a potato sack.
The only things that I have going for me is we don't get together too often so people don't get to see the whole night/day, beauty/beast thing that gets going on when we are together. And my suitcase is always a lot lighter than hers.
The only things that I have going for me is we don't get together too often so people don't get to see the whole night/day, beauty/beast thing that gets going on when we are together. And my suitcase is always a lot lighter than hers.
Weigh in
It is Friday morning and I got on the scale. I actually lost 1/2 pound. Not bad considering all that was going on this week. Better a loss than an gain. But now I have to stop and think about what I did that helped me lose this 1/2 pound. HUM, what did I do this week? Well . . . I did cut my toe nails and shave my legs. I guess I must have done something more to warrant a weight loss so I'll just try a little harder this coming week and see what happens.
Does stress cause weight loss ? Nah, I'd be thin as a rail if that was the case. I am so happy to have this dopey blog to vent on. I stress myself out at all possible times. I worry about things that are stupid. I know in my heart I am supposed to "LET GO, LET GOD" handle all things stressful in my life but boy oh boy that is even harder than loosing weight. If only chocolate were a type of Valium I would have it made.
But today's really GREAT news is that the wonderful little grand baby that Kent and Kristen are hatching in August is a BOY ! Is that just the greatest news or what! Kyle and Bridget gave us our first grand child, Abby. Keri gave us Kaelin, who is my baby girl's baby, and now Kent and Kristen will give us our first grand son. Not to dismiss Roman who will hopefully be part of Kyle's family by August.
So after thinking about these wonderful children, who needs chocolate !
Does stress cause weight loss ? Nah, I'd be thin as a rail if that was the case. I am so happy to have this dopey blog to vent on. I stress myself out at all possible times. I worry about things that are stupid. I know in my heart I am supposed to "LET GO, LET GOD" handle all things stressful in my life but boy oh boy that is even harder than loosing weight. If only chocolate were a type of Valium I would have it made.
But today's really GREAT news is that the wonderful little grand baby that Kent and Kristen are hatching in August is a BOY ! Is that just the greatest news or what! Kyle and Bridget gave us our first grand child, Abby. Keri gave us Kaelin, who is my baby girl's baby, and now Kent and Kristen will give us our first grand son. Not to dismiss Roman who will hopefully be part of Kyle's family by August.
So after thinking about these wonderful children, who needs chocolate !
Thursday, March 18, 2010
MOOOOOOOOOOO
OINK OINK , MOO MOO . . . Whatever am I going to do ?
Do I need to say anymore ? It has not been a good week. St. Patrick's day with corned beef and mashed potatoes wasn't too bad. Except I made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread and ate about a quarter of it all by myself. WITH BUTTER ! And as if that wasn't bad enough, our house guest bought a cake for dessert. Which of course I had a nice chunk of. I could kick myself if only I could get my leg up high enough.
The weekend doesn't look any better but I'll keep you posted on my lack of progress. Tomorrow is weigh in day so I'll talk to you then.
Do I need to say anymore ? It has not been a good week. St. Patrick's day with corned beef and mashed potatoes wasn't too bad. Except I made a loaf of Irish Soda Bread and ate about a quarter of it all by myself. WITH BUTTER ! And as if that wasn't bad enough, our house guest bought a cake for dessert. Which of course I had a nice chunk of. I could kick myself if only I could get my leg up high enough.
The weekend doesn't look any better but I'll keep you posted on my lack of progress. Tomorrow is weigh in day so I'll talk to you then.
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