Aside from my experiment in alternative dieting, 2 things have made this a GREAT week so far.

First and most importantly... The Twin Law is now GEORGIA LAW! YES! No more battles to keep my boys together. Maybe now I can get back to just being Alex & Jamie's mom. It's important for parents to have a voice in the school system, the PTO/PTA isn't what I'm talking about, unless you are part of that 'board' you don't get listened to anyway. My children may not be considered special need by medical standards, but emotionally, all twins should be considered as special need children. Finally, a reason to applaud the legal system.

Secondly, for anyone that reads this blog that may have a friend, family member, acquaintance stationed overseas... go here MotoMail to send that person a rapid delivery mail for FREE! Excellent service. I've just found it and I've sent 3 emails that are hard copied to the Marine we have over there. I love it. No more waiting for weeks hoping snail mail reaches him. The greatest thing about MotoMail is that you can now send photomail. It's MARINE based so you will not have to do anything other than simple registration, you aren't going to receive SPAM or unwanted mail from the site. It's important to let those over there know that we at home want them to come home safe and I can't say thank you enough to the USMC for initiating this service.

Now, on to the 'diet'. Yesterday I managed a total intake of 4tsp. of VCO. I also managed to down 2 'lemonades' of ACV. That is NOT an easy feat. I'm thinking that's all I'm ever going to manage. I keep thinking it's going to set my stomach on fire, but it's actually acting just the opposite and calms my acid reflux and the stomach ache I had after eating at Burger King last night.

I don't really measure the honey, but I've come up with a drink that is relatively palatable: 2TBS honey, 2TBS of apple cider vinegar, 1TBS lemon juice, 1/8tsp of baking soda. I put the first 2 ingredients in a coffee cup and heat it in the microwave for 18 seconds. Then I add the other 2 ingredients and top the cup off with cold water from my Brita tank. Some sites recommend drinking through a straw, some also suggest that you sip the 'tea' over the course of an hour. Personally, I'm finding it easier to drink it like I drink my normal hot tea and it's consummed within 10-15 minutes tops.

Effects? Disgusting as it is to talk about it, as of today, I'm at least having bowel movements which has been one of my biggest problems since the birth of the twins. I almost didn't have coffee this morning, because for the first time in 20yrs, I just didn't wake up super groggy. Now, I'm guessing that is because I had that last 'lemonade' around 10pm last night and honey is a natural energy booster. I slept extremely well the past 2 nights as well, which is unusual.

My scale never seems to give me an accurate reading. At 8am yesterday morning I weighed 158, at 9am I weighed 161. This morning at 8:30am I weighed 157.5. Interesting. My typical weight is around 163 (since the twins thank you very much!) so I'm going to start basing my daily weight against that number. I'm not expecting miracles mind you, but supposedly VCO is one of the things that helps regulate hypothyroidism. I kinda think that might be my problem. Of course, I am going to be 39 this year so age definitely is a factor and I'm keeping that in mind.

Ciao

Funny how I managed to forget all my login information.

I'm on a mission. I MUST lose some weight. It's been a major battle since the twins were born, they took an enormous toll on my body. Nothing has been easy since then, but losing weight has been a nightmare. Over the past 6 years, I have starved myself, gone carb free, gone sugar free, been liquified & pureed, and avoided fats of all kinds... all to no avail. I was a lovely size 7 before I got pregnant with the twins. Now granted, I'm almost 40 now, I don't ever expect to see that number pop into my life again unless it's a birthday for a future grandchild. I'd be happy with a size 9. That's fairly reasonable don't you think?

Now that I majored in all the fad diets and still weigh the exact same as I did the day I gave birth to those little bundles of joy, I'm going to give the oddball diets a shot. I've purchased a 16oz. container of Virgin Coconut Oil. Tonight is the start of a 'cleansing' of sorts.

I'm starting after dinner (right now actually) with a mixed up tea. 2TBLS Apple Cider Vinegar & 1TBLS of honey. I added about 1/4tsp of baking soda to this odd combo to counter the acid reflux that I tend to have so badly in the evening. The 'tea' isn't actually horrid like you might think. I souped it up a bit and added part of my evening glass of ice tea to top the cup off. When I finish sipping this, I'll go on with my usual evening routine of 2 cups of hot green tea (I admit a serious addiction to green tea... Sobe ROCKS man!). To the first cup of hot tea I'm going to add 1tsp of the VCO.

Seriously I've been thinking about doing both a colon cleansing and a liver cleansing, but I think I'm going to hold off on that for a month to see what happens with just adding the ACV drink 3x a day and the VCO 3x a day will do. Maybe nothing. I tend to be optimistic, but I've come to the conclusion that while I may not be happy with my weight I can rejoice in the fact that although I can't seem to lose the excess I don't GAIN more!

This is my journey and I can't wait to see how it ends.

~*~So Worth Missing Dinner~*~

Last night turned out to be pretty special. I discovered something about myself that I thought was lost & gone forever (I do love Guster!). I still retain a sense of humor. After 6 years of marriage and only remembering ONE anniversary, hubby & I both remembered that day this year and it was a monumentous occasion. We actually deigned to celebrate.

Most of our day was spent perusing the luscious offerings at Ikea... what a treat! Ikea is my new best friend. We had planned to eat dinner at The Cheesecake factory but it appeared to be Prom night in Atlanta both of the most convenient locations were packed to overflowing. At the last minute hubby decided he wanted to catch a comedy show. Ok, cool. Last time we tried going to The Punchline was for one of our first dates. The man was going to take me to see Judy. Unfortunately, the nanny at the time tagged along and of course as she was underage she wouldn't be allowed in. I couldn't leave her sitting in the car for 2 hours, so we didn't see the show. Anyway, last night on the way to a 3rd CKF location we popped by The Punchline, grabbed tickets for the 10pm show. Ended up not having enough time to make it to the 3rd CKF location, eat & get back, so we settled on Mexican for dinner. Not great, but oh well.

The headliner last night was Greg Warren. Opening was Derrick Tennant, then Mike Speenberg. I laughed so hard I was crying and my rib cage is still hurting today!!! Talk about hilarity at it's best. I will most definitely be going to see both of them again. Oh, Greg, he just didn't hit my funny bone. No, I won't be spending my husband's hard earned money to see him again... but that's just ME!

Derrick Tennant has the most amazing eyes and an immediately infectious smile. Very disarming, enough so that you don't realize almost until he makes a quip about 'Lefty' that his left arm is paralyzed. The man is extremely easy on the eyes as well. Lefty (don't ask... says Derrick) was a featured part of his act, but he drew on human nature and stereotyping like it was simply air being spun into gold. Go see him, you WILL laugh, you WILL want more and you WILL be a fan. No doubt. Derrick Tennant!!

Mike Speenberg's act drew from life. Simply put, he's an 80's kinda guy. Something about Mike just makes you hover on the edge of your seat waiting for the next word out of his mouth. I honestly thought I'd lost the ability to laugh wholeheartedly until last night. Yes, I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to pee myself! I'm not ashamed to admit it. Anyone who grew up in the 80's will appreciate Mike best, he has the ability to make you remember things you thought you had completely forgotten (in my case, shut out!) and remember them fondly! Go see Mike, you will be sooooo glad you did! Ooooh yeah... check out his podcast here Speenberg Radio.

Go! Go NOW!

Spring has sprung in Georgia! Yippeee! Ok, so maybe it's not officially here, but with the weather forecast showing upwards of 80 all week I've been hit hard with spring fever. Today I purchased several packets of seeds, some topsoil and a couple of 9pks of portulaca. The seeds were probably a very bad idea since my seed starting has never gone very well, but I'm one of those people that persevere no matter the consequences. So kick me. Topsoil is to refresh a bed against my winged elm to make a home for the hostas I love so dearly... should have divided them last year, but I was supremely lazy. Portulaca is just one of my faves, it's a must have and I'm sick to damn death of my hanging planters being filled with shit that just won't grow in our deathly dry summers. I can't wait to play in the dirt!

On another note, the spring fever has run over to my knitting as well. I started working on a Garnstudio pattern that I absolutely loooove, but the chart was confusing the daylights out of me. After finding that the lovely Queensland cotton I recently purchased is not very strong, I realized that I should forget frogging more than 2x. So I've changed the pattern to an Adriafil top that is quite adorable and will fit my 'matronly' frame very nicely. I'm not far into it, but it's working up pretty quickly. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be 2/3 done. Depending on weather, baseball, play practice and my freakin' mental state of course. ~Ciao

The upper photo shows the completed glittens for Baby A. The blue ones that are currently in progress are Baby B's. This is my own pattern worked to fit a 5-7yo hand. One strand of Red Heart Strata, size 3 & 4 dpn's. These gloves rock. I can't wait to finish everyone else's so I can make a pair for ME! It's about 2 weeks until baseball starts and it gets very chilly out there!

Broad Street Mittens knitted using Regia Stretch. Turned out fair I think. Overall, I'm pretty happy with them, as they were my first REAL project using only dpn's :0)

I've learned something new. Turns out that knitting socks isn't that hard after all! I am in head over heels for socks... and gloves for that matter. I made a set of Broad Street mittens for my 10yo using a self patterning Regia Stretch. They turned out quite nicely if I do say so myself. After the Broad Street's I created my own pattern using Red Heart Strata to make similar gloves for my 6yo's. I'm done with one set and am making adjustments to the pattern and starting on the second set. Pictures will go up tomorrow maybe.


~~The Terrorist Bird~~

Coming home from a birthday party a couple of weeks ago, a bird hit my windshield. It was horrible. I had the twins (plus baby B's best friend) in the car as well as the 17yo. I almost started crying. I can't stand to hit a butterfly, so the bird was a major shock. The girl pipes up, laughing as she says it, "It wasn't your fault mom. It was a suicide bomber." Ok, yes, we both admit it was a terrible comparison, but the kicker was when she added, "It was a terrorist bird, mom!" Needless to say, we both cracked up. I actually thought about it several times when the tears would start to break the surface later that day and it got me through the rough spots. Yes, I am a SUCKER, I can not stand to see a wounded creature, so, for me to have caused the aforementioned death is a heavy burden to bear. She comes home from school early this past week and tells me that she told the 'Terrorist Bird' story in her AP Lit class. They were discussing examples of tragic comedy. That's all fine and dandy, but why oh why did she have to bring me into it???? I'm the cool mom. This most definitely will have blown that facade. I believe my life is the epitome of tragic comedy.

THREE freakin' days! That's what I have spent trying to learn the kitchener stitch! Unreal. My very first knitting project as soon as I learned to p & k was a child's cardigan with heart accents around the bottom edge. You would think that being the adventurous needleworker that I am I could certainly master the art of invisible seaming pretty quickly. Not so. I was wounded. My creativity damaged to the point that I don't even want to knit today. I'll get over it... thanks to STITCH DIVA! Woooohoooo! Frustrated by grafting tutorials that leave you throwing your needles across the room? Go here StitchDiva Tutorial. You will thank me. In about half an hour you will be grafting like a pro!

Funniest thing I've heard in WEEKS~~~~ Gene Norman CBS46, "...our weather is stuck on stupid"

I have cackled for 10 minutes over that comment, it just isn't the kind of thing you expect to come from your local meteorologist.

Thoughts on love.

My head reels and my heart never ceases pounding whenever I think of my FIRST love. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that, yes, it's very possible to love more than one man with every ounce of your being. The differences lie within the very same qualities each of those men may possess. In my case, I've married someone that is uncannily similar to the man I've loved for as long as I can remember. I love my husband. I would never even consider leaving him for another man, UNLESS said husband gave me a damn good reason. Would I ever commit adultery while married to this man? Given the opportunity and should I be wanted as well, with the first love, yes I would.

I'm not a bad person. I'm a bitch, I readily admit that to those that think they are hurting my feelings by calling me such a name. My mother recently admitted to me that when people call her a bitch she says, "no, she's in Georgia", no it didn't hurt my feelings that my own mother considers me such. It's who I am, it's what makes ME individual from all the other women out there. I'm not beautiful, I'm not overly witty, I'm most certainly not a saint. I am reasonably attractive, I've a caustic sense of humour, I commit random acts of kindness on a daily basis. I love life and I live vividly.

Back to my husband, he's exactly what I want in a man. He's almost a perfect likeness of the other man. They share the same sign, same colouring, same character of nature and I'll be damned if their names aren't close as well. It was an unintentional act upon my part I assure you. I believe everyone has a soul mate, mine is currently residing in Mississippi although I will spend the rest of my life with the man in Georgia. It's a matter of destiny if you will. My heart belongs to both of them. I would never be able to choose between them and should I ever have to make that decision I have no doubt that I would turn away from them both.
I'm slowly learning to live with these tumultuous emotions that lie so close to the surface that I feel I'm about to drown. It's not easy. Not at all. But, it is possible. I think it's simply a matter of acceptance. The first love and I have not had much luck with crossing paths at opportune times. If I'm married/with someone else, he's not. If he's married/with someone else, I'm not. See? Maybe unconciously I chose my husband because he so much resembles the other man. Maybe not. I do know this. In the next life, the other will be my husband and this one will be the other.

WTF is wrong with Mark Foley? Could this man possibly be any dumber? 52 years old and putting the blame on a Catholic priest who sexually abused him when he was a child. Unfreakinbelievable! That makes his own actions acceptable? I think I'm still in shock over the fact that Foley thinks by naming the person who abused him will make it a less perverse act. I'm thinking that if this alleged abuse really happened, then why did Foley not come forward until so many years after the fact and why only in the face of his own dishonor? Politicians are along the lines of car salesmen, they are all liars, they are all crooks and they are the best damn actors on the face of the earth. Disgusting.

I finished this hpl shawl (my own design, thank you very much) about a month ago. I didn't take time to work out the math on the different strip lengths so I ended up scrumbling the edges to make it uniform. I think this would work VERY well as a straight line shawl, would certainly be much easier to work than the triangular shape I was hoping to achieve. The scalloped border helps a lot though.

Twins Legislation This is currently my favorite site on the web. I spend way too much time there... I'm ticked as hell that the politicians in Georgia are all too keen to pass the buck on this issue. I know that there are a lot more issues that are more pressing, but as the mother of multiples this is at the top of MY list at the moment. Education is way too important to be screwed up by the system and that's what is happening when multiples are involved. They ARE special need children even if they do not have mental or physical disabilities. They were born together for a reason and the schools do not acknowledge that fact. Help the multiples in Georgia by signing our online petition at Georgia Twins. You do not need to be a resident of Georgia, you do not need to be the parent or relative of multiples, every signature helps. As I've told everyone on my email lists, pass it on!!!! Urge everyone you know to sign one or more of the petions for the Twin Bill. Last time I checked, I gave birth to these kids, not the school board, what gives them the right to presume they know my children better than I do?

Sitting here watching CNN's report on the children of Romania. How sad. Yet one more thing to add to my list of things to do should I ever win the lottery... so yeah, I know that's not going to happen, but it's definitely worth dreaming about.

It made me think about the whole immigration controversy in the last few months. I personally do not have anything against anyone coming from another country to try to improve their lives. What I have a problem with is the cultural habits. That is why mexican laborers accept such smaller salaries that the good ol' American working class. Mexican's don't think twice about having multiple families living in one house. In the apartment complex I lived in in Atlanta, my next door neighbors consisted of one actual married couple, their 4 children and 4 adult men. They lived in a 2 bedroom apt!!!!! Of course they could afford to make the rent, they had 5 incomes! This is where the problem lies. Apartments claim to screen their tenants, make all adults sign the lease... yeah right! Not at that one and not at 2 other complexes I've lived in the past. This is what fucks up our economy. This is why middle class families suffer so much these days. Lou Dobbs called it, he stated every single thing that I've had on my mind for years. Gooooooooooooooooo Lou! Give 'em hell and call it straight up!

This is something I'm quite proud of and I was ecstatic when I realized that I did have copies saved on my computer! Took a while and some thinking to find them since I tend to put things where I'll find them, then forget... silly, I know.

My best friend (since elementary school!) has the most gorgeous little girl named Bailey. This is the afghan that I designed for her. Not quite completed at the time of the picture, obviously. I can't seem to find a picture of the completed blanket. It's a perfect afghan for putting at the end of a little girl's bed. Actually, it's just perfect!


I designed this adorable baby afghan for one of my 'adopted' kids' new baby. Buuuut... since the monster hasn't come by in about a month, I'm sending it to Bailey. This will be a belated birthday present for her and the best thing about this one is that it's small enough for her to carry around wherever she may want to take it, yet large enough to cover her comfortably if she decides to nap. What 4yo naps these days though? Mine certainly didn't!