Wordless Wednesday - Skinniest Me...

Check out skinniest me rockin' that shag do! And the outfit! I white t-shirt and jeans? How much more dyky could I be? This was taken in Florida at Disney World when I went with my sister, grandma, aunt and cousin. This was June, just after 8th grade . My Mom and I had gone on the Perma-Slim Stay Slim System (a low rent version of Weight Watchers) and both of us lost quite a bit of weight.
(Yes, I found the actual trademarked logo online. It's amazing what you can find on the internet.)

Picture an overweight teen being dragged to those weigh ins! I was miserable. I vowed I would never join an organized weight loss plan where weigh ins and cheer-leading were required. I also cannot stand yellow mustard. My snack of choice when I was starving was hamburger pickle slices with yellow mustard. Both items were freebies on the plan and you could eat as much as you wanted.

I haven't joined one of those plans since.

An update on the weight loss...I haven't weighed in at the doctor, but the Old Navy clothing I purchased awhile back that was a bit tight, is now baggy. I'd say that translates to several more lost pounds.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: Meme Of Many Odd Questions, Part Two

Cheers to all of us thieves!

23. Do you rent movies often? Not nearly as often as I should. I have the Blockbuster by mail membership and I literally end up keeping movies for months.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you’re in? My personality.

25. How many countries have you visited? Only the one I live in.

26. Have you made a prank phone call? Ages ago when I was a kid, before the advent of caller id.

27. Ever been on a train? I used to take the train every day to work. Blah! I definitely don't miss it.

28. Brown or white eggs? Who cares as long as they are fresh?

29. Do you have a cell-phone? Yes I do, but I covet my girlfriend's Droid and all the Iphones everyone I know owns. AT&T SUX! It won't let me upgrade now without literally paying $405 for an HTC Aria (very much like the Droid :-)) or $400 for the Iphone 4g. That SUX! I am tired of my Samsung Magnet texting phone. Accessing the internet from it is a joke, it rarely is able to load a page.

30. Do you use Chap Stick? Chapstick or Burt's Bees. Whichever I have nearby and feel the need to have kissably smooth lips.

31. Do you own a gun? Squirt gun, calking gun, what kind of gun did you mean?

32. Can you use chop sticks?Yes I can, and I love to use them when I have Japanese food or Chinese food. Because more coordination is required, my theory is that I eat at a slower pace and possibly eat less and have no stomach issues from eating too fast.

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? I'm not sure yet.

34. Are you too forgiving? Yes, I think so. Sometimes I feel like I let people walk all over me. (Mostly just certain people.)

35. Ever been in love? Hasn't everyone?

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow (or the next soonest week day)? Umm, probably going to work. Hello! Week day!

37. Ever have cream puffs? Only every time I go to the Wisconsin State Fair. It's been a few years...wonder if there are any camping sites in that area???

38. Last time you cried? Oh grow up! That's highly personal and private and noyb!

39. What was the last question you asked? To my son...can you make me some coffee? (And yes, he's making it right now. Woo hoo!)

40. Favorite time of the year? I like cool weather. Early Spring, and Fall.

41. Do you have any tattoos? I don't currently have any, but I'd like to get one. I just can't decide on what to get. (It's kind of a permanent decision, no?) Got any suggestions?
42. Are you sarcastic? Hell to the yes!

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? The movie? Yes. And I think I may have the 2nd movie sitting on my shelf, waiting to be watched or sent back to blockbuster.

44. Ever walked into a wall? Uhhh yeah. And I've held one up too. :-)

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

How To Really Go Bat Shit Crazy or Taking 4 Kids Camping for a WEEK...

Ok, remember my post from last month? How To Go Bat Shit Crazy Or Taking 4 Kids Camping... Well we did it again a couple of weeks ago. Only we went out of state and went for an entire week. What? Are we freakin' crazy?
Ok, this time we did remember the tent poles. (However we ended up losing the bag that holds the tent that contains the instructions. Apparently it blew away in the wind. Hopefully now that we've set it up twice we don't need the instructions.)

We did bring plenty of things to do...handheld video games, 2 portable DVD players and loads of movies, horse shoes, badminton (which never did get set up or played), and croquet (which was a big hit.)
We went to Indiana Beach in Monticello, IN. We cooked all of our meals, except for donut runs for breakfast 2 days because we forgot to bring single serve coffee packets (like tea bags, only they are coffee bags). (Yes! I know! How can you forget coffee?) Well, coffee was purchased, but somehow didn't make it into the stuff that got loaded into the camper and van. I think the big hit of the week was the Pita Pizzas I made on the grill. (You use pita bread instead of dough and then pile on sauce, cheese and whatever toppings you want.)

Most mornings I had my coffee with the birds. Usually the kids would take off for somewhere (restrooms, showers or the camp store, or just walking to get kindling sticks for the fire) and I'd be left alone to contemplate my navel while I had coffee. Every morning after the kids took off, the birds came in to pick at any cereal they left behind. (Wish I had a photo, but they moved in so quickly there was no time.) Relaxation at it's finest!

My son got a bit of heat stroke after the day at the amusement park. All of us will definitely remember this camping trip as the one where he horked after downing a sports drink. I soaked a bandana with cool water and sent him into the air-conditioned trailer for the rest of the day. (See, having an air-conditioned trailer has it's perks.) By evening he was fine. Oh, and just a tip, if you use that spray-on sunscreen...don't spray it on in the wind. His back had a nice wavy design of white skin and sunburn from where the sunscreen hit and didn't hit.

Mosquitoes were aplenty and using any of the spray-on repellents proved futile...for me anyway. I finally gave up on that stuff after 3 days. I was getting eaten alive anyway, so why deal with the nasty smell and stickiness? Every single bite I had swelled up and blistered and filled with fluid, even when I completely avoided scratching. They haven't all healed yet and I look like I have some disease.

Fun was had by all! Even though my kids have sworn off camping, we know they had a blast. (They've been telling everyone else they had a blast.)

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Random Tuesday Thoughts

We didn't get Lebron. Oh well. The Bulls would have needed to do more team building anyway. Having 1 star wouldn't have gotten us a championship any way.

They caught that fugitive teen in the Bahamas. What a wiley one! It didn't seem like he was ever going to get caught.

Drew's Law backfired on prosecutors. That sux. Will Peterson ever go to trial?

Will the cap work for the oil spill? Doubt it.

My cats are quite talented. I left the A/C on when I left the house the other day. When I came home there was no familiar drone of the A/C. I freaked! I thought the power had gone out. When I got in the house, the light I left on was still on. Puzzled, I checked the window A/C. It was off. Either Maddux or Irish had pushed the button on the power strip that the A/C was plugged into and turned it off. I turned it back on and wah lah! The A/C was back on. Goofy cats!

Hey looky there over at my Followers! I've almost reached 300! Who will be my 300th follower? Now's your chance, if you haven't already, become a Follower!

In other blog news, I'm almost half way to a pay out on Google Adsense. It's taking forever! I've been doing Google Adsense since shortly after starting this blog. WTH? I would have thought I would have reached the $100 threshold long ago.

My birthday is coming up. July 24th. I have no idea what is planned, but I know the kids will be with their dad. I'm sure no matter what it is, we will have fun.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Sprucing Up...

Being a homeowner there are always things to do around the home. Some need immediate attention, others, well, it would be nice to give attention. I think the longer you live in a home, the more you think about making some improvements, or maybe just a few decorating changes.

I recently purchased drapes for my daughters room. Now that's a challenge! She's a teen, so you know her color palette is umm, how shall we say? A bit wild. Her colors are bright pink, purple, and lime green. I managed to find the perfect curtains to go with that scheme. Bright pink and purple. Each window has a panel of each. She's ecstatic!

So now I'm about to do something for the rest of our home. I can't believe I haven't done something about this sooner, especially since it's my domain...the kitchen. Since I moved in the lighting has been 2 fixtures which are just a simple light bulb. Yup! That's it! (Ok, so it looks a bit fancier because I'm using the new compact fluorescent bulbs.) See for yourself:

Every other fixture in the house is either a ceiling fan, or a nice decorative gold-tone fixture. The fixtures in the kitchen seem to have been forgotten when the previous owners remodeled.

So, my question is this, do you have any suggestions for the fixtures in my kitchen? I'd like to have your input.

Lola's Diner©2008-2010

Sunday Stealing: Meme Of Many Odd Questions, Part One

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. First thing you wash in the shower? My arms.

2. What color is your favorite hoodie? I don't have any hoodies. I wear the zip front fleece. My favorite is black.

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Most definitely. ;)

4. Do you plan outfits? Kind of. Last night was date night, no kids, so some extra planning was involved. Otherwise, I do try to wear stuff that goes together. No red tee shirts with green cargo pants.

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Good. Waiting for the time to pick up my son from his video game session at his buddies and for kids to go to bed so I can unwind.

6. What’s the closest thing to you that’s red? The tee shirt I'm wearing. (Which for the record, I am wearing with navy Joe Boxer shorts.)

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? I have no idea.

8. Did you meet anybody new today? Not today, but I did on Monday.

9. What are you craving right now? Can't say. ;)

10. Do you floss? Not as much as I should.

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Either Cabbage Soup or Cabbage Rolls. Haven't had either in a long time.

12. Are you emotional? Only when I'm breathing.

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? I'm sure I have. I have insomnia, so I count backwards from 100. Sometimes it takes more than several 100's before I fall asleep.

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? Lick. (Giggle! I typed "lick"!)

15. Do you like your hair? Love it! Love it! Love it. I colored my hair last week to hide the gray which was taking over. My color came out a slightly reddish brown. Love that the gray is covered! And I love my shorty, spikey do!

16. Do you like yourself? Ever since "coming out". It's amazing how feeling comfortable in your own skin can change your outlook.

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Even if he sprung for an expensive meal, I don't think I could do it. I happen to like intelligent conversation...something that would be considerably lacking in a meal with GWB.

18. What are you listening to right now? Finally watching the 2nd Twilight movie. I saw the first one for the first time earlier this week. I have to say...I don't understand the hoopla, and I am finding myself very bored.

19. Are your parents strict? Both my parents are deceased. I have to say though, I don't think they were overly strict. My parents had us later in life, so they were of the generation before my peer's parents. Different values for sure, but I think we were pretty good kids.

20. Would you go sky diving? Not unless my life depended on it.

21. Do you like cottage cheese? Yes. Sounds odd, but I like it with fresh cracked pepper on top.

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? Yes! Several.

Former 1972 Miss Wisconsin and 1973 Miss America, Terry Anne Meeuwsen at a 4-H event when I was a kid. I also met a former member of the Green Bay Packers whose name escapes me. (Not a Packer fan, what can I say?)

I attended an Oprah Show taping. See Oprah's Touch/I Shook Hands With Oprah".

I also met Rosie O'Donnell at a book signing at Michael's craft store. She also shook hands with me and my kids and one of her staffers took a photo for us with my camera. She seemed to be going through the motions and was more interested in people with small children and babies. Kind of disappointing. She was kind of my idol. Her coming out helped me come out.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010

Ask Me A Question - The Answers, Part 3

I am Harriet said...

Entrecard is a bit safer again Stacey. I'm back to 300 drops/day....knock on wood. Quite a few bloggers are coming back- not as quickly as they left though.

My question for Lola-
How's the diet going?
I saw your picture at Lin's and you looked fabulous!

June 29, 2010 4:46 PM

Thank you! It's not really a diet. It's the UN-diet. It's called, eat only when you are truly hungry and watch portion size. In other words, don't overeat. I also tend to skip 1 meal a day. I had a recent doctor visit after my blogger visit with Lin and Cardiogirl. It was just under 2 weeks from my previous doctor visit. I lost an additional 6 pounds! I thought I was slipping, eating badly, but I still lost weight. I don't exercise, because of my back. I would think if I were able to exercise, my weight loss would be more dramatic.

I don't own a scale. I rely on my doctor's office scale. They only have 1 digital scale, so I know my weight is as accurate as it could be. Since I only weigh myself at doctor's visits, there is no tendency to feel guilty if I indulge in sweets at a party, and then the guilt doesn't turn into a downward spiral. You know...where you go "I messed up, might as well enjoy myself", or "I messed up, screw it, I'm gonna do whatever I want".

And since I don't own a scale, I'm not constantly checking my weight and in a way sabotaging myself by analyzing those minuscule day to day changes.

It may sound like a silly system, but it's been working for me.

Please click HERE to submit your questions in the comment section.

Lola's Diner ©2008-2010