Busy Weekends

Wow, last weekend (before the one we just had) we took a trip to look at some property in W.Va and decided to buy it. It will make bills tight for awhile but it was worth the investment. Check out Greg's blog to see the pics and more info on it.

I'm really excited about it even though I know we won't be able to build a vacation home on it for a long time. I'll just be glad if the land doubles in value for us. I was watching a show called Flip That House last night and I wish we had money to invest in real estate, fix up a house and resell it. Like what Jim did on his house (even though he's not reselling it). Its now worth a lot more than he paid for it because of the updates he's done. I'm sure if you do that on one home, you can make a good profit then use that money to put into a different home to make more of a profit. It's a great business. This one guy bought a home built in 1910 in S. Carolina for about $310k, spent $45k to redo the roof, floors, put new appliances in and paint the whole thing (among other things) and put it back up for sale for about $450k. Thats almost a $100k in profit.
Too bad the market's not great right now. If we were to do that around here, it still could take a while to sell at home.

Went to dan's going away party on Saturday. I'm so going to miss him. We had a funeral for our beloved Chelsea and Watson and, as Matt said, It was closure. I hated doing it because I hated saying goodbye but it was good to do it. Mom had them both creamated and was a bit upset when I didn't want to touch the boxes at first. I just didn't want to imagine 60lb Watson and 10lb Chelsea in tiny boxes. Dan said a wonderful speach, which he's so good at, and as he cried during his speach I wanted to give him a hug but didn't for some reason. That was the first time I saw him break down over it and he gave me the biggest hug when I cried. I don't know why I didn't hug him. We shared our love for those two together. They were, as he said, our emotional support for our parent's divorce. We helped each other through it also but it helped us both to focus on this wonderful kitten and wonderful puppy. They made us so happy growing up. Just thinking about things they did and the way they were brings a huge smile to my face. They will always be in our hearts.

Dan seemed so happy that family and friends came together for a nice crab feast Jim put together. Jim and Lia did a fantastic job!! Holly and John came up which was so nice to see them and Dad was happy and healthy looking which I love to see him like that. I loved seeing Lauren, Monica and thier sig. others too!

Dan we're all gonna miss you so much and we love you and hope you really make the best of your adventures out there!

I hope you keep up your blog and let us all know what you've been up to! I'm sure you'll be very busy too.

Love ya!!

Now onto a new workweek (which is always eventful lately). Is it wrong to say I wish it were Friday?

New Leaf?

I debated on whether or not I should post about my new try at weight loss but it does sort of help. I also think it can jinx me but we'll see. Weight loss really shouldn't be said...I should say eating better and walking, because, really, thats all it is right now.

One thing I'm trying is eating breakfast. I've had a bagel almost every morning for breakfast instead of sleeping in. It does help me to wake up and energize me for the day. A cup of coffee helps too but my tummy doesn't like it all the time. My meals havent been perfect but I'm trying. Today I did go to the salad bar and I got rice, broccoli, carrots, peas, corn, hb egg and some mac and cheese. That m&c helped with the dry broccoli. I also grabbed baked lays for later. I have whole wheat spaghetti with sauce for dinner too. I know its a lot of starches for now but its the idea of trying to grab better things that I'm trying to work on.

I've had fun and have been looking forward to our half hour walks. The pups love it too. We found a new path around the Germantown Rec center that is about a mile long with lots of hills. By the time I'm done with the hills and I get back to the car, I'm beat. Thats how out of shape I am. I would like to work up to increasing speed and distance but I gotta start somewhere.

Go me! (again)

Moving on

It's been tougher than you think to move on from the loss of Chelsea. I've cried or teared up thinking about it every day so far. I'll never get over it really. I have the picture mom gave me that says "Best Cat Ever" on it and it has cartoon type cats on the frame. It plays music too. The pic I have of Chelsea in it was when I took her outside at the Olney house and put her near some flowers. She was too scared to go anywhere which made it perfect for me to get a "professional" looking shot. It's a great picture actually. She was probably only 2 or 3 when it was taken. I keep wanting to hold her one more time but to tell you the truth, there could never be one more time with me, I would want to keep holding her. But, I do need to move on and keep going. She'll always be in my heart.

Yesterday, I watched a show on the Discovery Channel called XXXtreme Weight loss or something like that. It had to do with people finding odd ways to lose the weight in a healthy way without diet pills or surgery and these were all people who lost at least 100lbs if not more.

One guy trecked across the US on a one man bike tour. He called it "Fat Man biking." Another woman who couldn't walk a half a mile joined a race to walk 7 miles and made herself train for it. She can now jog 20 miles. Another lady broke her leg and had to help herself eat in the morning so she made a big meal at night and put it in the fridge and started eating big for breakfast. She listened to her body and it told her to eat heavy in the morning and at lunch but don't eat after 3pm. She started snacking on veggies and fruits too. It just sort of formed a habit to her and without much exercise (other than some walks here or there) she lost over 100lbs. Another lady started taking belly dancing classes for fun and stuck with it.

These stories were great. It just shows that people can find their own motivation and ways of losing weight and keeping it off. It shows that everyone is different. I know it definately helps to motivate me.

Now I plan on eating something for breakfast and a big lunch with snacks inbetween and nothing after 3pm. Lets see how that goes.

Chelsea, the love of my life

I was just told she was put to sleep yesterday. I really can't believe she's gone. We went through alot together. When I needed someone growing up, she was right there with me. I use to bunch up the covers and she would crawl under them and lay next to me while I slept.

I use to love to treat her like a doll and I would prop her up in funny poses and take pictures when she was a kitten. I still have those.

She was afraid of everything and I remember when Dad and I went to pick her up from the breeder she ran from us but the breeder said "Oh she'll get over it she's not normally like that." But it turns out, that became a personality trait of hers. When I brought her home to Dad's they gave me her litterbox and she layed in it because it had the familiar smell of home. She ran and hid under the bed and I layed there dangling a feather toy for her for at least an hour before she came out to play. That was our first bonding experience.

She adored Watson and they became fast buddies. She would rub up against him as if he could pet her and I remember him looking at her like "Stop that!" She also use to love to crawl on top of his cage or walk right next to it as if to taunt him. She was good at that.

She use to find the funniest places to sleep. She crawled into a mini basket that barely fit her 4 paws and slept there once and she slept in the bathroom sink a few times. I remember she once found rolled up dollar bills to play with and she would carry them down to the basement (which was her favorite place). She use to hide up in the boards in the laundry room.

And of course, how can we forget her recent adventure out of the house and hiding under a shed for 2 weeks. They may have been the beginning of her downfall but she was a survivor and the love of my life. I hated that I couldn't take her with me because of my allergies and everytime I wanted to pick her up and hug her I would sneeze and get sick for the next 24 hours but it was so worth it. Just to snuggle with her and hold her.

Please post your favorite memory of her. It truly helps.

I love you Chelsea and thank you for giving all of us almost 15 wonderful years!