Monday, December 31, 2007

Tackle It Tuesday #2- The dining room shelves

Tackle It Tuesday Meme



Weighing the risks

Recently a friend(who shall remain anonymous since she doesn't talk about weight loss stuff on her blog) and I were discussing weight loss and being healthy and what risks were worth taking to get there. Is it worth the risks to take diet pills? I've known lots of people who have tried it. Even getting ones like phentermine that are prescribed from their doctors. Pills that have a very similar chemical make up to methamphetamine. Of course you'll lose weight, but what are the side effects? Head aches, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, sweating, not being able to sleep.

Is it worth finding a Los Angeles lap band doctor and having your stomach banded? It's a major surgery, which is always risky, but even more so on someone who is overweight.

Even though both of these things have risks, so does being overweight. Being overweight can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and a million other problems, many of which can result in death. When you consider that, is it better to have surgery or take a pill with a lot risks and possible side effects, or is it better to be overweight?

No I'm not considering diet pills or weight loss surgery. Just one of those things I think about. What about the rest of you? Which is riskier?




Finding myself

Saturday was the first day of my new weightloss challenge. It's a 12 week challenge, (you can see my stats starting next Saturday in my side bar.) Along with joining the challenge, I have been journaling everything I eat. It's a pain, but it works. We have mini challenges each week, and this week just happens to be journaling. I guess I'm not the only one who struggles with that. But it's something I have to do. And it works. It makes me aware of what I'm eating. It also helps me remember to eat a regular intervals all day. I am already eating more veggies, and I am already feeling better. I feel so much better when I eat consistently throughout the day. I have also been exercising in the mornings. If I do it first thing it gets me going for the day, and I don't have to try and squeeze it in later.

I wish I understood why it's so hard for me to get going doing this again. I feel great when I do it. Maybe that's something I need to look at a little more closely. Maybe my issues have nothing to do with food, and everything to do with how I feel about myself.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

It's cold!

We have been freezing here in Southern California! I realize the weather other places is much cooler than it is here, and I really shouldn't complain, but we are just not used to this chill in the air. Our low over night has been 45 degrees. That's pretty darn cold! And it's so dry too. I really hate to run the furnace at night because I get too warm and the whole house gets so dried out. But then if I don't, I worry that the kids get too cold.

With that in mind, I thought of getting a heater just for Amelia's room. Her room is generally the coldest in the house. If I put a heater of her own in there, she would be nice and toasty, and I wouldn't be roasting over in my bedroom. I found these vent free heaters that I think might work in a kid's room.

Desa's online outlet store features a lot of great heaters. They start as low as $89. They feature fireplaces, stoves and wall heaters. The heaters are available with propane, natural gas, or electric power. I think they offer a great product if you need to heat just one room.

Friday, December 28, 2007

They are asleep!!!

Both of my children are asleep. I spent the last 20 minutes picking up my house, with no one interupting me. It was heaven. Now if they would just do this every day. Amelia may not go to bed until midnight now, but I don't care!!

Christmas Morning

Here's how we found Amelia at 6:40AM on Christmas morning. She was sitting patiently at the desk Santa left her, waiting for us to wake up. At least she hadn't attacked the presents! She loves this desk. It's been her favorite gift by far.



It's too early!


Mommy and Daddy weren't too awake yet.




Anthony was asleep still while we did presents. Amelia helped him open his presents a little later. I hope everyone else had a great Christmas.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Sunday, December 23, 2007

New address

I have a new web address. So update your links to

http://www.TheOCMama.com

Halloween

Anthony will be two months old in a few days. When he was only 6 days old we celebrated his first Halloween. Amelia was so excited to have her baby brother here, but she was even more excited to dress up and go trick or treating, and see all of the Halloween lights. We live in an old neighborhood without many children, so there were not a lot of trick or treaters. Many of the people in the neighborhood are also older, and we could tell they enjoyed having trick or treaters. I had only been out of the hospital for a few days, and just wasn't ready to walk around the neighborhood so Amelia and Jeff walked and Anthony and I drove. It was a great way to spend our first holiday together as a family of four.

Mama's weight loss challenge

I know I wasn't going to post this weekend but here I am anyway!

I have issues. Isuues with food. I am going to start blogging once a week about my challenges with food, and my experience doing weight watchers for the second time in my life. I found a challenge through weightwatchers.com,thanks Mar for showing it to me, that I have joined. It starts next Saturday. I am going to be accountable to that group, as well as to my readers. (All 3 of you. LOL) Starting today, I will be following WW religiously. Every piece of food I eat is going to be logged into my food journal online. I can do this. I will do this. I added a little list in my sidebar where I will log in my losses or gains each week. I am also going to add a weight loss ticker somewhere in my blog as well.

Friday, December 21, 2007



I hopw you all have a Merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate. We had lots of drama today with the Honda which I will blog about later. Jeff is off work the next 4 days so my goal is to stay off the computer and psned time with my family.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Do you think she'll notice?

... if we don't go for a walk? I spent the last 20 minutes getting everyone ready for a walk. First I fed Anthony and changed his diaper. Then I took Amelia to the bathroom, and had her get dressed again. She wears pajamas at all times now when we are home. The second we arrive home she runs for her room, stripping clothes as she goes, and reemerges moments later in her jammies. Always a clean pair too. We sometimes go through 2 or 3 pairs a day.

Anyway, I got everyone all ready, and told Amelia she could watch a cartoon while I got changed and put my tennies on. Then I noticed it's getting dark out. And it's cold. And Anthony just fell asleep. Do you think she'll notice if we just don't go? She's still watching her cartoon. I really should go for a walk, my @$$ needs all the help it can get. Hmm maybe we'll go tomorrow...

My Smiley Boy







Look at my handsome little man. He is 8 weeks old today. He's growing so quickly, he weighs almost 11 pounds.

And isn't his outfit cute? Thanks Sophia!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Finance Genius

Have you ever bought a new car? Then there is a chance you've heard of Gap Insurance. What is Gap Insurance you ask? Gap insurance will insure you for the difference between what you would owe on a vehicle and what your insurance company says it's worth. (You know, when you buy a new car it depreciates about 10 seconds after you drive off the lot.) If you don't have gap insurance, and you get into an accident right after buying a new vehicle, chances are your insurance won't pay you the replacement cost, they will only pay what the resale value us, and that's often much less than the price new at the dealership. Gap Insurance will pay the difference. If you want more info about Gap Insurance, go to Financegenius.com and look around.
Have you ever noticed how much babies smile in their sleep? Anthony does it all the time. When Amelia was an infant, around 2 weeks old or so, I commented to her pediatrician that the baby must be gassy because she was smiley. "She's just having sweet dreams,"she told me. I asked her more and she explained that she is a Hindu, and they believe that babies are dreaming about their past lives. I think that sounds way better than saying they are gassy!

Wordless Wednesday #7




Tuesday, December 18, 2007

I screwed up my layout, so I'm working on getting all my links and formatting back up. Hopefully it won't take me too long...

Tackle It Tuesday #1

Tackle It Tuesday Meme


The laundry piles! This is not dirty laundry we are talking about. It's all clean stuff that has been getting piled all over. Jeff did about 37 loads of laundry last weekend, but it never got put away. So finally, once and for all (or for today at least,) all the laundry is put away.

The hallway counter

BEFORE
AFTER
My Desk Chair
BEFORE
AFTER

Monday, December 17, 2007

Arg

I'm frustrated with our health insurance company again. Anthony is 7 weeks old, and I still haven't had my 6 week check up from the surgery. The way it works is they open the schedule around 4-6 weeks ahead of time. Once it's open, I can schedule my appointment. I called the day I got home from the hospital, and the schedule wasn't open yet. I called a week later and made an appointment. They appointment center called me back a few days later and canceled my appointment and told me to call back and reschedule. It was around 2 weeks after I had him that I called back to reschedule. Of course by then there were no appointments available with my OB. Most pregnant people don't get to see OB's, with our insurance, you get to see a midwife unless you are high risk or have problems. So the OB's appointments fill up quickly. So anyway, they say they will take a message and have someone call me back. No one calls, so I call again. We did this 3 times. Finally last week someone called me back again. Um the kid is 7 weeks old now. It's a little late to be scheduling my 6 week appointment, don't ya think? I need to call them back since I wasn't home when they called me.

So then today, they call to tell me they are canceling Anthony's 2 month appointment. It's scheduled for next week. It's been scheduled for a month. Apparently they just noticed today, that the doctor won't be available on that day. Then they wanted to reschedule for sometime in the middle of January. The kid was seen last when he was 5 days old, I think 2 months in between appointments is long enough, we don't need to wait for 3 months. So I threw a fit and they scheduled an appointment with another doctor for this week. I should be able to make Amelia's 3 year appointment soon, hopefully that will have less drama than her check up last year. (They wouldn't let us see her ped for her check up, only a nurse practioner.) We have never actually met Amelia's pediatrician. I'm contemplating changing her to Anthony's ped so we can just have one doctor, but I'm not sure how much drama that will involve.

Web Hosting

Hey everyone. I know it's that time of year when work is the last thing you want to think about. We're all in holiday mode. Making cookies and candies, sending out Christmas cards with the latest family picture, and getting the last of the shopping done. But if you are in work mode right now, and need some web hosting, I came across a cool website http://www.webhostingchoice.com.
It has some useful information about web hosting in general, and it also has a nice way to search for a company to do your web hosting. There is a Quick Web Host Search available. You put in your requirements including how much bandwidth you need and how much you can afford to pay, and it returns a list of Web hosts that are supposed to meet the criteria. I don't currently have webhosting, so I'm not sure how good their webhosts are, but it can't hurt to go check it out!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

One more load of laundry to do, and all of the laundry in the house will be done. I have about 4 more loads folded that need to be put away, but still. It's been a long long time since I was totally caught up on laundry. (Probably since I got pregnant. I think there is something to do with me being pregnant that makes me unable to do laundry properly. LOL)

Woohoo for me! :-)

Furniture

We need a new couch. I'm really disapointed with the one we bought just after Amelia was born. I guess we should have known better since it was a hide a bed. It's been slept on twice and it's all sunken in. The chair that goes with it has held up great, so I really think it's because it's a hide a bed that it has broken down. So, I'm looking for a new sofa. I thought I'd check out furniturefromhome.com since I have seen their site before. They have a lot of great furniture on their site.

They also have great stuff if you are looking for a new bed queen size. Amelia and Anthony are set for beds for now so I think we're okay for a while.



But back to living room furniture, some of my favorite sofas are leather like the one above. I know it's completely unrealistic with a 2 year old and newborn and a cat, but I don't care. I like them anyway. Sadly enough I'm not sure when a new couch will be in the budget. Jeff's hoping for a new TV first.
I am slowly working on our christmas cards. I am pretty sure Jeff wants them sent to everyone we've ever known. Probably not going to happen this year. I told him he's welcome to do them himself. So far he's not interested. Funny how that works.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Wordless Wednesday #6 Baby's First Smile!



Go here for more Wordless Wednesday posts.

changes

I'm playing with my layout today, so don't mind my mess. Everything will be back to normal soon.

Finding the best deal...

It's Christmastime. You know, that time of year when we, as Americans, feel the need to spend lots of money on new toys. Not just toys for our kids, but toys for ourselves and our spouses as well. If you're looking for new toys for the adults in your house, you're probably looking for some tech bargains. Someone in our house is hoping for a new TV this year for Christmas. I'd really like to get a new TV but they aren't cheap.

Techbargains.com is a great website. So far I have been really impressed with the ease of use, as well as the deals available. Basically the website helps you find the best deal on whatever tech items you're looking for.

Coupons and rebates are available for many items on the site. You can find product reviews and comparisons, which is always helpful when you're shopping for a product you don't know everything about.

I also really like the lowest price search. When you find a product you like, you can click on the lowest price search, and it will search all sorts of sites, and tell you which one has the lowest price, as well as the lowest overall price (once you include tax and shipping.)



I'm a Top Mommma!

So can you believe I have made it for 10 days on TopMomma.com? Click on the button above if you want to check it out. There is a picture of Amelia in her pumpkin costume once you get there. Click on that picture and it will bring you right back here.

Thanks to everyone who's been clicking to keep me on the front page, I've been getting lots of new visitors to my blog, which is always cool. So if you're new here, welcome!

Payday loans.

I've said this before, but overall, I don't really like payday loans. Often the interest is a huge amount and the people who use them can't really afford them. They are generally something I would avoid. However, I know we all have those days where everything goes wrong, and your car breaks or your kid needs something and you have a while still until payday. If that's the case and you want some Payday Loan Quotes go to PaydayLoanQuotes.com.

One thing I do like about their website, is they have a loan calculator on the first page of the website. That way you can see how much the fee really is, and you can figure out what what APR is. Overall, I'd avoid getting a payday loan if at all possible. If you can't avoid it, go visit this website and at least find out how much that loan will really cost you.

Thursday, December 06, 2007





We got our Christmas pictures done yesterday. Amelia was a little bit wicked, and Anthony isn't holding his head up much and doesn't smile on command yet, so I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Now I just have to get the Christmas cards done and mailed out. Hopefully that will happen before Christmas...

Christmas time



Finally, I know what I want for Christmas. How about a Human Touch HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair Who needs a glider to sit and nurse the baby in, how about a massage chair? I could sit and relax and get a massage, while Anthony gets some food. I wouldn't mind those middle of the night feedings quite so much. And my aching muscles would definitely love it. I'm lucky that Anthony is a pretty good sleeper, and he will sleep in his bassinet, but when he's awake, he thinks he should be held at all times. If I get a massage chair holding him all the time wouldn't be so bad. Not sure if I'd get anything done though. So Jeff, honey, I want a massage chair, and a maid and a chef, for Christmas. Thanks sweetie!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007



This is Amelia shooshing me while she is jumping on my bed. LOL



Then after jumping on my bed, she dumped out a laundry basket and went swimming in it. LOL Then it was her airplane, and we were flying on the laundry to see Grandma.

You can't make this stuff up! But at least we had fun playing around while Anthony was napping...

Wordless Wednesday #6











As usual with blogger, the pictures are better if you click on them. :-)

Because I said so!

My kid cracks me up sometimes.

For months she has had this saying that I could not figure out. It sounds like "because a so so." She says it when she knows she's done something really wrong.

Typical uses of this saying would include

Me: Why did you spread poop all over the bath tub?
Amelia: Because a so so!

or

Me: Amelia, why did you pick up your brother? You're not supposed to touch him without mommy's help!
Amelia: Because a so so Mommy!

Well, I finally figured out what she means. Are ya ready for this? It's because I said so! Where does she get this stuff? I don't say that to her (she isn't in the why phase yet so I have no reason to say that yet.) So yeah, my sassy little two year old, when she knows she is in trouble tells me she did it "because I said so Mommy."

I'm gonna be in so much trouble when she reaches college.

NameYourLoan.com

Mortgages and home loan banks are in the news a lot lately. With all that talk about the bad stuff happening, it seems that we could use some good mortgage news. I came across a website that may just be that good news. NameYourLoan.com, America's 1st Online Mortgage Auction is a new website with a lot of potential in my opinion. Of course like any other mortgage product, you need to pay attention. Do your research. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That being said, Nameyourloan.com seems like a good idea.


Here's the press release on NameYourLoan.com

NameYourLoan.com Diversifies Current Lending Environment for Borrowers with New Approach to Online Mortgage Loans.

New online mortgage auction site, NameYourLoan.com, has revolutionized the way borrowers obtain mortgage loans online. As a unique and creative online community, borrowers can easily connect with the best mortgage lenders while lenders benefit from a wealth of real time mortgage leads and opportunities for business growth.

(PRWEB) – In today’s tough lending environment, littered with deceitful lenders and cunning tactics, it’s high time for a revolutionary tool that can empower borrowers yet still benefit lenders. NameYourLoan.com has answered the need with the launch of a new online mortgage auction site designed to give consumers access to an increasing mortgage lenders network to ultimately obtain great online mortgage loans.

“For centuries, auctions have been the most efficient and effective way to get the best deals in everything,” says Al Salahi, President and CEO of NameYourLoan.com. “Why not have auctions for all mortgage loan types?”
NameYourLoan.com is an online community where borrowers can easily connect with the best mortgage lenders. Lenders compete with one another in an online auction to win the borrower’s business. As numerous lenders submit loan offers, the site enables consumers to see “apples to apples”, compare mortgage interest rates and achieve the lowest rate mortgage online such as the best home equity loan rate or home refinance loan.

The site’s sophisticated computer system compiles and calculates all the information submitted by lenders (interest rates, points, fees, terms, etc.) and then ranks loan offers, based on their true worth relative to the borrower’s stated preferences (lowest rate, lowest fees or best combination of rates and fees). This simplified process gives borrowers a coherent presentation of information without having to do the math themselves.

Unlike other online mortgage comparison shopping services, only those lenders who come out at the top of the auction with the lowest interest rates and fees get a chance at the borrower’s business. Moreover, borrowers can invite their friend or relative lender to participate in the borrower’s auction quickly and without cost. Lenders who refuse to participate are most likely high priced and not the best mortgage lenders.

“Through advanced technology, we are starting to make haggling and deceptive lending tactics a thing of the past,” explains Salahi. “At the same time, we are transforming a generally stressful and complicated process into a very pleasant and easy experience for borrowers. Our multiple bid auction format, coupled with constant consumer feedback, will make it easy for us to weed out dishonest lenders—and hopefully put them out of business!”

Use of NameYourLoan.com is completely free for borrowers. Borrowers are under no obligation to accept any of the online mortgage loans offered in the auction. To protect against identity theft and fraud, site users are never asked for sensitive information, and lenders that receive multiple consumer complaints will be barred from future auctions.

For more information, visit NameYourLoan.com.

About NameYourLoan.com:
NameYourLoan.com is the world’s first online mortgage auction, designed to advance the lending process by helping honest and competitive lenders grow their business, and at the same time, make it possible for borrowers to instantaneously reach multiple lenders and receive competitive loan offers online, in an auction format. NameYourLoan.com uses a patent-pending concept powered by sophisticated proprietary software that has been developed by a number of technology heavyweights from the Fortune 500 arena.

Well Krap.

** PSSST I'm still on the Top Mamma page, so um, if you could, go click on the TopMamma picture on the right and help me stay there. Yes I know I'm a dork. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post**




I found the camera- it was on top of washing machine- and tried to hook it up to the computer to upload, and the cord won't work. It keeps telling me the device has malfunctioned. I'm hoping it's just the cord and not my camera. How much would it suck to be able to take pictures but not share them with anyone!

In other news, things are going pretty well around here. I'm still a little on the tired side, but that's not too surprising really. Last night the little man only woke me up twice. Woohoo.

Saturday, December 01, 2007

SearchWorm.com

SearchWorm.com. Yes, it's a funny name for a website. However, it seems like a pretty cool site.

Basically it works like any other search engine. You use their site, and search for whatever you are looking for. I did a few searches for things I had looked up on Google in the last few days ( check engine light flashing on a honda civic was one of those searches) and I could tell no difference in the quality of the results. They also have previews of the website available in some instances, and I liked that. I didn't see any negatives to using their site. It ran quickly and I got good information. The bonus is that you can also Search and Win at SearchWorm.com. The website works like any other search engine, they get revenue from ads. To get people to come visit them instead of any other search engine, they give some of the money back to the users. Random users doing a search are selected to win prizes. According to their website, the prizes available right now are an Amazon gift card, an ITunes gift card, and some cold hard cash. I'll take all of the above thanks!

It's raining it's pouring....

I can't find my camera. I know I had it yesterday since I took pictures of Amelia and I playing in the rain. I wonder what in the heck I did with it. It's not in any of my usual spots that I hide things from Amelia. When I find the camera I'll post some pictures of us playing in the rain.
I wanna be the top Momma!

So please click on this link, then once you get there, click on picture of Amelia as a pumpkin.(the same picture you see over in my sidebar.) It will just bring you back here. Yes I am a total dork, but this is how I amuse myself while I am sitting here holding a baby for what seems like (and probably is!) hours on end.

So please help a Mama out okay? :-)

Here's the link again in case you wanna click twice.

http://www.topmomma.com/mommas/referal/1174

And yes, you can click on it as many times as you want!

And if you feel like you, submit your own picture, you too can be a top momma.