It's Almost Here!!!

Am I talking about Christmas? Or 2010? Not really.....

I'm talking about my 40th birthday!!!

Have you already been there? Do you know how it feels to want to grab someone, anyone, by both arms and shout, "I'm turning 40!!! Aggghhhhh!!!!!"???

My birthday is February 3rd, so it's less than two months away. Which brings me to an announcement that I decided to make! I figured that I would share this with my blog readers, so that you all can hold me accountable! Make me feel like a heel if I don't follow thru!

So what is my great announcement, my declaration that is so important???

I am officially on a diet!!! (Excuse me while I wipe my tears and blow my nose.......boy, it seems that is becoming the norm in my blogging these days!)

No more chocolate, no more chocolate cake with chocolate icing, no more half gallons of ice cream, NO MORE!!! (Sniff!)

Let me give you a little hint---house fires cause you to get FAT!!! I've gained 15-20 pounds since our fire! UGH!!!

Anyway, a couple of the reasons I am on a diet:

1.) My poor, poor knees. They feel it, oh, do they feel it!!!

2.) My poor, poor clothes, THEY feel it, OH, DO THEY FEEL IT!!!!!!

Since I had to replace almost all of my dress clothes, you would think they would fit! Not so! They're screaming for mercy!

I love clothes shopping as much as the next woman, but there is a limit! I mean, how many new wardrobes do I actually want? Just one! Not 3 in separate sizes! I have winter jackets and sweaters and skirts that I want to wear! I also want to be able to BREATHE while wearing them!!!

3.) Among the other things that feel it are my wallet, my car, my furniture, and Dan's lap. :D

4.) I ain't no spring chicken no more, and the older I get, the harder it is to lose! I better do something now before I'm another few years older! And how I wish I would have listened to that wise, elderly lady who told me this truth, when I was about 19-back when I was thin!

And then there are two more reasons I will share with you!

1.) Family pictures are coming up!

And the BIGGIE!!! The biggie is......

I have to renew my driver's license in Feb, 2010!!!

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but if you've ever had an awful driver's license photo that you had to carry for 4 years, you would totally understand! Oh sure, you may drive the speed limit, so you aren't worried about it, but don't forget to figure in that you have to give the nice policeman your license when you are in a fender bender, even if you aren't the guilty party!

I know this first-hand! The time a truck came in my lane and hit me is the same time that I had my license picture taken during the time I was pregnant--I never stayed small when I was expecting, and I looked like someone had punched me right between the eyes! The nice policeman asked for my license, and my face just dropped. He asked if it was bad, meaning, is it expired or something? And I thought, Yeah, it's REALLY bad!!! I started rambling about how I was pregnant at the time, and he told me he thought all pregnant women were beautiful. That was BEFORE he looked at my picture! I'm sure I became the exception! And of all things, this HAD to happen in my small town, so that I would not be able to escape the embarrassment at a distance!

So there you have it! I won't bore you with all the details of my dieting, but might update you on the progress, since I've now admitted it to the world! Everyone except Dan---he's heard this one before, but this time I'm serious! :D

So feel free to send me your best and easiest low carb recipes and desserts! And think of me when you eat your desserts! :)

Things I Forgot About Kitties

Well, we've had our new babies for about a month, and there are many things that are coming back to my remembrance about kittens. So if you get a kitten or two, keep these things in mind:

1. Kittens like small round things, like hair bands(ponytail holders) and milk rings. Thus, you will find them laying all over the house, and it isn't because your kids were just being sloppy. (My baby Jazz liked to drop milk rings in our shoes. When she was a kitten, she would drop them in the shoe and swat at them. I would think she couldn't get the ring back out, so I would help her. She would then pick up the milk ring and drop it back in the shoe!)
2. Kitties like anything that dangles. Pullies for your ceiling fans(we hold our babies up in the kitchen and let them bat them around for a little bit), strings from your ironing board cover, fringe from your scarves, hair when you bend down, and snowflakes you hang on your banister for your Christmas and winter decor. Take a tip from me--forget the snowflakes on the banister! I had 8-10 or so hanging on mine, looking so pretty. There are none left on the banister--the kitties re-decorated for me, leaving flakes, glitter, and the little metal wires you use to hang them, all over the house, and on two seperate levels of the house.
3. Kitties have sharp claws that snag furniture and sheers. (Okay, I'm crying now!) When you have more than one kitty, the game of "chase" is a favorite across the backs of your couches. When you have tall dining room chairs, small kittens can't always aim perfectly for jumping up on them, thus allowing you to hear their sharp little kitty claws digging in while they get a grip.

A couple tips from me:

• You can buy cardboard scratch posts for your babies-this gives them the pleasure of scratching like they desire(our kitties don't scratch the furniture on purpose, thankfully, but they obviously don't realize what running across the back of the couch does to it, and me(SSSNNNnnnniiifffffff!!!!---excuse me while I wipe my eyes and blow my nose....).
• Instead of declawing your wonderful felines, there is a wonderful product on the market that I discovered, and they definately help! With kittens, they can be a little work, but it definately will ease your nerves when they jump on the furniture. The product is called Soft Claws. They come in different sizes and colors! They are little rubber caps that you glue to your kitten's claws. They do not hurt the kitten, and they turn their sharp little nails into soft, rubber ones. Sometimes kittens will try to get them off, until they get used to them. They should stay on for 8 weeks or so. We team up when we put them on our kitties--one holds the kitten and feeds her treats, while the other extends her claw and puts the cap on. You can find them on ebay, and I'm sure other places on the web. I'll put them in my sidebar on this page for now...you can also trim their nails, but be ever so careful not to trim them too short! Check on the web how to do it!

So there you have it! A few things to remember when getting a kitty. You will also need to have many, many treats on hand, lots of toys, and you will need to remember how to talk baby talk, and call yourself Mommy, Daddy, Sissy, Grandma or Grandpa. :)