Gunny Sack

Maybe you've heard of the Gunny Sack before. It's a Richard/Linda Eyre idea (Joy School, etc). My mom used it when I was a kid. Anyhow, for the last several months I've had great results threatening Spencer with the Gunny Sack eating his toys if he didn't clean his room.

So the other day, he was being very contrary and after spending at least an hour in his room without putting anything away, the Gunny Sack came. I just used garbage bags, which I think are what produced his terrified response, since I have thrown his toys away as punishment before (it makes a very strong impression).

While the Gunny Sack was cleaning up, Luke had to hold Spencer down. He acted like people do on movies when a catastrophe happens. Fear, rage, frenzy. He calmed down a little when I explained to him the Gunny Sack would come back on Saturday, and if he put his toys away, they wouldn't be thrown away. He has been talking about the Gunny Sack ever since. I even heard him ask a friend if the Gunny Sack came to her house.

That was on Monday. Today the arrival of the garbage truck elicited another panic attack. He thought his stuff was being taken away by the garbage man. More tremulous raging.

There is really no point to this story, except that I’m astonished at how important kids’ toys are to them. I hope it helps him keep his room clean. It has so far. Is it mean to play on a child’s weakness? Maybe I need to read another parenting book.

Handy Dandy Dad

My dad isn't a dandy, but he is quite handy and spent a lot of time with me on home-improvement projects over spring break. He fixed things I didn't even know were broken or that I just thought had to be replaced. Best of all, he helped me hang beadboard around the bar in my kitchen where there was formerly carpet. Needless to say, it looks SO much better. Hooray for dad!! (He thought we look like a couple of assassins in that picture.)

As you can see, my kitchen still has a LOOONG way to go, but my cupboards arrived yesterday, and they'll be installed in a couple of months (judging from the speed in which I get things done). I still have to paint them. I wish my dad were here to help me with that. I think I need a visit a few times a week.

Other than house projects, we had a great time with mom, dad and Shannon. I can't remember what we did because my memory depends on photos. Unfortunately, my camera was out of battery most of their trip, but I know whatever we did, it was fun. The pic below is what I think Shannon and mom were doing while dad and I were jimmy rigging the house.

Skin Help

My face needs a little boost. What are the skincare products you love? Cleansers, creams, masks, plastic surgeons, etc?

three months of pics

Camille loves a relaxing bath.

We had snow for a couple days last week. It lasted until about noon. Just enought time for me.

We went to Austin and learned all about Texas at the State Capitol and Texas History Museum.

We took a trip to the stockyards in February. Very Texas, very cool. I wish I had a better picture.

I had a birthday in January.

Luke didn't know what to get me, so he made this wheel to choose a gift at random.

The best thing that happened on my birthday is that Spencer got better from his long and scary sickness. Hooray for antibiotics.

Camille is a do-it-all woman. She insisted on pushing both strollers.

There is nothing that makes kids happier than making a mess!

This is a piece of Camille when she is upset.

More than you want to know

I’ve seen a few blogs with 100 facts about the writer. I thought I’d copy the idea but also include some interesting things about Luke to help reach 100. Despite my conviction that there are few people as interesting as Luke, I was only able to come up with 75 before giving up. I just don’t have the will to think anymore. Besides, this is a really long list.

1. Luke still drives the same car he picked me up in on our first date.
2. We drove that car from Utah to Boston in January 2003 and from Boston to Texas in September 2007.
3. In high school Luke invited and received a republican congressman to his government class because he thought his teacher was too liberal and wanted to represent the other side.
4. We’ve lived in ten houses and apartments since our marriage in October 2002.
5. In high school I bought, raised and sold three pigs for the Clark County Fair.
6. Luke is allergic to milk.
7. Luke once abstained from carbonated beverages for a year, but argued that ginger ale is not a soda because it has less sugar… What?!?
8. Luke is a political fanatic.
9. I am not good a sports.
10. Luke wins every game we play against each other, even games of luck.
11. We don’t play games much anymore.
12. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day. Luke brought me a carnation.
    
13. I don’t like carnations, but I do like Luke.
14. When Luke was little he wanted to play centerfield for the Giants. He probably still does.
15. Luke used to collect 1964 pennies.
16. I’d been home from my mission ten months to the day when we got married.
17. Luke’s mom has boxes and boxes of Luke’s “treasures” stored in her house. Some of these treasures include an enormous collection of baseball cards, random newspapers and cereal boxes.
18. Luke is very sentimental and prone to nostalgia.
19. Luke loves to argue.
20. Luke broke his wedding ring finger five times and that knuckle is HUGE.
21. Partly because of his oversized knuckle and partly because he thinks wedding rings are a pagan tradition, Luke wanted a medallion instead of a wedding ring when we got married.
22. Instead getting Luke a wedding ring, I got a necklace and earrings with the credit we got at the jewelry store from buying my wedding ring.
23. Several months after we were married, I bought an $8 sterling silver ring for Luke’s wedding finger on the streets of San Francisco. He wore it for a few days until it caused a sort of nervous breakdown because he couldn’t take it off.
24. I can play songs on my teeth.
25. I played tennis in high school.
26. My doubles partner and I once purposefully lost a tennis match so we wouldn’t have to drive into Las Vegas the next day for the championship.
27. I’m not very competitive.
28. I grew up in a town of less than 6,000 people with no stop lights.
29. Luke’s favorite author is Charles Dickens.
30. I used to play dress up and have tea parties with my friends and sisters in high school.
31. I also collected tea cups and hats.
32. Luke plays the piano.
33. According the Meyers Briggs personality test, Luke is an INFJ.
34. According the Meyers Briggs personality test, I am an ISFP.
35. Luke’s a very strong J and I’m a very strong P. We clash the most in that category.
36. Luke can juggle.
37. I love hot drinks and have one at least twice per day. I like tea (herbal, of course) and Pero.
38. I used to like hot chocolate until I went to Burdick and became a hot chocolate snob.
39. I was a lifeguard.
40. Luke is published.
41. I wish I were published.
42. I served a mission in Lisbon, Portugal.
43. Luke went to Romania on his mission.
44. I have four sisters and three brothers. I’m #4.
45. Luke has two sisters and two brothers. He’s an oldest child.
46. I am getting really desperate for facts.
47. Luke worked as a garbage picker-upper at a water park.
48. There are a lot of foods Luke has never tasted. Here is a list of some of the more normal foods he’s managed to abstain from:
49. refried beans
50. peaches
51. apricots
52. mangos
53. He tried his first cherry last summer and has only eaten one mushroom back when we were dating (when he would do anything I asked).
54. I’m a more adventurous eater and have eaten:
55. raw, cold steak
56. whole, boiled baby crabs
57. cow tongue
58. escargot
59. whole chicken feet
60. caviar
61. raw oysters
62. I love food, but not all the foods I listed above.
63. Luke and I both like to read and our favorite date is a trip to Barnes and Noble.
64. Luke loves to go to the movies.
65. Luke loves Jamba Juice.
66. When I was a child I had an imaginary friend named Bayzate.
67. I sucked my thumb until I was seven.
68. Luke had a paper route.
69. I had really long hair in high school.
70. Luke and I have never been camping together, and I’ll be surprised if we ever do.
71. Luke likes to take baths.
72. I was a nanny in France when I was 20.
73. I got lost in the forest there. It was just like a fairytale.
74. I spent the night in Amsterdam's red light district.
    
75. Luke's dream job is to be in the CIA.
    

Why???

My fellow mothers of three-year-olds will predict that Spencer's favorite word is "why." He doesn't even use it properly all the time, but it sure sucks me into conversing with him. Yesterday he was chowing down a huge ham steak when he started asking where ham came from. He asked why enough that I finally told him it's pig bum.... That shut him up for a few seconds until as an afterthought he said, "Mmmm, I love pig bum." The questions then continued until I told him it was a muscle he was eating, that pigs have big bum muscles and we call it ham. Predictably he asked "why" do pigs have big bum muscles. I'd reached the end. I had no creative answers, but he did. "Maybe it's so they can poop REALLY good."

Skinny- erased blog published

So I erased it initially because my sister has some privacy paranoia, (you'll know what I mean if you follow my link) and I wanted to get permission before I put her link out. After obtaining permission, I started questioning the appropriateness of writing a blog on losing weight. I still have those concerns, but I haven't blogged in a long time and I have to put out something, right?

So I never quite lost the last five pounds of Camille. Even when I was running 25 miles a week or more, I still couldn’t shake the last 5. I told myself it was muscle and wasn’t worried because I felt healthy. Since the half marathon, I’ve been exercising inconsistently and the muscle is gone, but I weigh the same.

Well, I weighed myself yesterday and guess what? It’s gone! I think the last time I weighed myself was three or four weeks ago. I wasn’t trying to lose weight, but, on reflection, I did do two things differently.

First, I started going to the gym more consistently, working out for 45-60 minutes. I walk hills for at least half that time and run the rest. I used to just run for 30 minutes. Maybe it’s from doing more in the “fat burn” zone. Who knows.

Second, I’ve become a disciple of my fiber-eating sister. Check out her blog: Fiber . You have to scroll down a little and look at the older posts, but she has a series of fiber blogs. I’ve noticed that when I need a snack, I ask myself how many grams of fiber I’ve had that day and then grab an apple instead of something less… fibrous.

Crazy!

So I wrote that a month ago and the weight is still off. . .