Surviving the Pork Chop

The Pork Chop

Last night was MUCH BETTER than the night before. This is what happens when you implement the things you learn!

We did NOT try to make her sleep in her crate last night. So there wasn't FOUR HOURS of digging, crying, yelping, whining, banging the door of the crate, and any other freaking noise that the Pork Chop could come up with. Because we severed her water supply at 7:30 AND didn't try to make her sleep in her crate there wasn't the drinking binge at 3 in the morning that produced a 5:30am need to potty. Which means we didn't have an accident this morning because I wasn't quick enough to get my slippers and sweater on to take her out.

The licking and itching are driving us nuts but that's not her fault per se. She has allergies and her meds ran out right before we got her. So we're waiting for them and then that should solve that problem. Hopefully.

Sunday night, I would've said, "We've made a mistake."

Last night, It's more like, "Maybe we can do this after all."

Oops...

...I did it again.

NO! Do not cue horrible Brittney Spears music here, please!!!

Let me explain. Every year for every holiday, I start shopping early. You know, so it's not so financially painful. And EVERY year for EVERY holiday, I squirrel stuff away and forget how much I actually have until I put it all together.

And this year is NO different.

The Easter Bunny is being VERY good to the boys this year. They have so much crap it's over flowing their baskets...

See?


(Now in all fairness The Little People's Farm is from Nana and Papa they just had me pick it up for them and the Lego Starwars III The Clone Wars game they got 3ft isn't here yet because they picked it up)

And on top of that we're adopting a dog. Yes. A. Dog. So 3ft is having like the best Easter ever because he's been wanting a dog since he could say the word, "Dog." The best part is that we've known the dog since she was 6 weeks old -- an Easter present for my sister (notice a trend?). Well 8 years later my sister has to move and can't take her dog with her. So we volunteered to adopt the dog. 3ft doesn't know. It's going to be epic to watch his little boy face light up.

The cool thing is that I'll definitely get my walking in every day because I'll be taking the pork chop for walks. Pork Chop is what I christened the dog when she became a potbelly pig of a dog. It's also what 3ft calls her so to this day anytime I serve pork I call it chicken. I will not be responsible for the therapy 3ft would need if he thought we ate the dog, you know? So the Pork Chop and I shall be slimming down together.

Someone out there please tell me I'm not the only one who does this...

K?

Not a Tuma...

So, I was a day early in my pictorial debut of my porch garden. The pods on the one plant really did bloom and they're pretty, see?

"I'm not a tuma." (Hey plants can channel they're inner Arnold too)


And my dud watermelon seeds? Well this morning, when I was rearranging my plants for the morning sun, I found this!


So even my melons are growing! (yeah cuz that doesn't sound wrong) WOOT! I'm totally excited.

In totally unrelated news. I got a new workout top today. Isn't it super cute?



And do you notice it's a tank top? It's my first workout top that is. Mostly I workout in yoga pants and the baggiest shirts I can find to hide my fat and jiggles. Screw it. I've come a long way. I've lost over 100lbs. I'm proud of my jiggles because they jiggle much less than they jiggled before. I embrace my jiggles. Well, okay, I don't really go that far but I'm far less subconscious of them. Well, okay, you caught me. I'm trying to be less subconscious of them.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary...

...how does your garden grow?

On my porch.

I have wanted a garden forever. For-Ev-Er. And I've never had one because I'm lacking one small thing. Ground/dirt/soil/land to put one in. Year after year I've watched in silent jealousy as my friends put up their gardens or being envious of the gardens I'd see out on my walks. Finally I decided enough was enough. So I broke the vicious garden envy cycle.

So what if I live in an upstairs apartment and have a small balcony to call my yard? Why can't I grow things out of flower pots and buckets? Have soil will grow with a little water and some sun, right?

Right.



So I've started my little porch garden. So far nothing big. Just some herbs: parsley, basil, and chives. Then I've got two different kinds of tomatoes going -- cherry tomatoes and normal sized ones. The one on the right is a hanging upside down one. I'm just waiting for my babies to get big enough to do so. Then I have some sunflowers, zinnias, and daisies to add a little color and fun -- if they ever bloom.



Then I have my snapdragons (on the right), which I totally love and then my grandmother-in-law gave me a jade plant (the one on the left) and something else. She told me what it was but I don't remember. I think it's going to flower eventually either that or it has tumorous offshoots. *in my best Arnold voice* It's not a tuma -- I crack myself up.



And then there's Flora. My grandmother-in-law gave her to me last year for Mother's Day. She's starting to bud again. When she gets full blown she's more red than green. My GIL told me what kind of plant she was too but I don't remember.

I'm also giving another shot at sugar baby watermelons. The first attempt was a dud but I need to get a rectangular type pot for that I think. I'm also thinking about doing some sage, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and maybe some sugar snap peas. I just wanted to make sure I got enough sun on my porch because I'm faced north and I'm sandwiched between apartments. I only get a couple hours of sun in the morning on the right side and a couple hours in the evening on the left side so I move my garden around to try and give it ample sunlight. So far everything is growing (except the stupid watermelons) so I'm going to add more. MORE! MORE!!! Muwahahahahahaha I've gone gardening crazy!

Healthy Kids...

...who has them? And how did you make that happen? I would dearly love to know.

At first it was just 3ft with his asthma and his personal little pharmacy to keep him healthy and pneumonia-free. Now, the Grumpybutt has chronic ear infections. So much so that if this latest medicine doesn't clear it up he's going to be referred to a specialist to get tubes in his ears. If it's not one thing it's another with these boys. I swear any vacation their pediatrician takes is because I paid for it. So that is the fun we're having over here. I spent my morning at the doctor's office -- lucky me.

On a good note: I walked over 4 miles today.

On a bad note: I ate Mc Donalds for lunch.

On a worse note: I had french fries.

On a more worse note: I followed it with a cookie.

Guess who's doing some Wii Fit tonight?

Great, that damn balance board is going to bitch at me because I haven't used my Wii Fit in like a month! Maybe I'll just jog around my apartment for half an hour and avoid it completely. How sorry am I that I'm afraid of being berated by the Wii AI?

Yep. Pretty sorry.

Rainy Day Chef Salads

I know that the rain is good for us -- no droughts and food growth -- but I just have to say I'm tired of the rain. It keeps me indoors. If I didn't have children I'd probably be one of those hardcore runners/walkers that is outside even in a downpour but I can't do it to my kids nor can I afford to be sick. Mom's don't get sick days. Ever.

Mondays are Riana lunch days where she comes over to my house and we have lunch together and let our kids play. Today I made Chef Salads with hard boiled eggs, ham, cheese, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce with lite 1000 island dressing. They were super delicious. I have enough stuff left over to probably have it for the next couple of days. Yay me. The only thing that would've made the salad better was if it had been a sunny warm day (those feel like salad days to me) instead of a dismal raining day.

(Can you tell I'm tired of the rain?)

I'm so excited. Riana and I are making a hexagon tiered cake with tropical flowers on it for a dessert auction fundraiser for our elementary school. We bought some of the supplies today and finalized our design. The tiers are going to be (from bottom to top) purple, pink, red orange, and yellow -- deep vibrant colors like a tropical sunset. Then we're going to do gum paste white tropical flowers with the inner petals dusted with different colored luster dust. It's going to be awesome. There's a prize for the top three cakes with the highest bid . So, hopefully we'll win but if not we're having a blast anyways. I'll be posting pictures as we go. We haven't started yet other than the planning phase. The cake's not due until May 13th. I'm so excited.



The flowers are our color palette for the tiers. Fabulous, right? And then I bought the hexagon cake pans today. Aren't they awesome? I can't wait to bake in them.

Dusting the Old Blog Off...

I have a problem. I can only say the same thing in different words so many times before I'm boring myself. With that being said Melting Before Your Eyes is getting a makeover. I'm just going to babble about any ol' thing I want -- from weight loss, to food, to whatever pops up into my wee little brain.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

So, guess what I've been doing lately! You'll never guess. Go ahead and try.

Give up?

I've been buying tank tops. I can't tell you how many years it's been since I've willingly purchased and comfortably worn a tank top (bathing suits don't count). To give you an idea, I have a picture from when I was either a freshman or sophomore in high school. It was a teal sort of blue sleeveless shirt that I had a matching big floofy bowed barrette to go with it. Nunan, should remember the barrette, if not the shirt, as she wore it a time or two (unless oldtimers has set in) and I have pictorial proof that she did. You gotta love late 80's/early 90's fashion. Anyways I digress.

I've been buying tank tops like hotcakes. Like hotcakes I tell you! See?


Aren't they cute? I'm also wearing a dark blue one with a lime green under one right now (like the brown/pink one) so that's 7! And guess what? They're all XL. I don't know as if you remember but the last time I mentioned clothes sizes it was a 2XL. So can I get a woot?

WOOT!!!

Still in size 18 pants but then I haven't been really being as good a girl as I could be. So I'm dusting off this blog because I have the most success when I type on it EVERY DAY and getting down to business. Bathing suit weather is just around the corner and last year I was a 28. Wouldn't it be fabulous if I could squeeze into a 16 by June? Oh yes, it'd be FABULOUS!

You've heard it here, folks. I'm back.

Again.

Yeah, I know.