5 more days?

it is entirely possible that these babies are NOT coming in 2008. Is it actually true that they might stay in there until 5 days from now (36 weeks)?

I am slowly getting ready to go off of the deep end!

My husband and children are getting close to fencing me off on one side of the house, for their own safety. I'm not at the point of crying all day long, but it can't be far off until it reaches that point.

On a happy note....

The babies should be a nice healthy weight.

I have made it this far, and am still able to walk, drive a car, and generally function like a regular preggo.

I did not miss one day of work or call in sick for even one day in the entire pregnancy.

It is nice to be home during vacation....I get to see my kids and hubby more than I usually do.

I think we are pretty much ready for these stinkers...we only need to do a good grocery trip and the house will be in working order!

most important.....my hubby has not run screaming for the hills to get away from the last 3 days that I have been on the brink of insanity.

He is so darn cute.

preggo watch 2008 update!

Nothing new in big-belly land. I have served the twins with their official eviction notices.

So far, they are not responding.

I even went so far as to work a 13.5 hour shift on Friday in the hopes that they would be annoyed with my behavior and decide to jump ship into the non-water world.

Nope. those stinkers are still in there, leeching me of all my nutrients!

I worked today, also.....still no action in the way of baby contractions.

Now I will gently remind them that I have 4 days of unused paid time off before the end of the year. If I don't use 'em, I lose 'em!

So enough with the gestating, already....babies come on out and meet yer wacky family and friends!

(.....pretty please?)

One more whine for the day

I forgot to mention....

Several friends and co-workers have been asking.... " When is your baby shower?'

Another asked...." I feel weird asking...why haven't I gotten an invite to the baby shower? Is there some reason I am not invited?"

Actually, uh.....

the reason you have not been invited is very simple.

No one gave me a shower, and no one has planned one.

So don't be offended, and don't feel left out. There was talk of a shower from several friends, but none of my friends actually ever got around to doing it, I guess.

I doubt there is anything being planned at this point...I am due in 14 days, and it is christmas season madness.

There may not be a party, but you are always welcome to come for a visit and have a nice snack at my house!

2 more weeks?! aaaaaaarrrgggh!

I have officially reached the "please! no more!" stage with the pregnancy. I am happy and grateful for my health and the overall amazingly healthy pregnancy so far.

Now that I have said that.....someone please listen to me whine for a moment or 2!

I found out last Tuesday that I had not actually used up my vacation days for this year...I thought I had only one 8-hour day left, when I actually had 48 hours (6 whole days) left. Good news, in most ways, but not-so-good when I had to call my boss and let her know I needed to take 5 more vacation days during the busiest last 2 weeks of the year. I'm pretty sure she was not pleased.

It could not have come at a better time... I have had off 6 days in a row, and I am finding it hard to just walk around or sit without being in pain or being annoyed. I know it is best for the babies to make it to the new year, however, they certainly feel as if they are big enough now. I keep hoping they will be 6 pounds and then i will be done. I am supposed to make it to the 36 week mark.....only 14 more days, yet I keep thinking...why not 2 more days, or NOW!

My stress level from work is at a high....I have 2 feuding members of my management team, of which one seems hell-bent on trying to get anyone fired before her....or to try and get rid of me. Sad what things people will resort to when they feel threatened. the main person at the root of the problem has just about everyone in the building so paranoid and stressed that they cannot do their jobs. Here is the pickle...I have one manager (me) and 3 sales leaders (like assistant mgrs.). To run the store, the 4 people is ideal. If/when I do go on leave, that leaves no captain of the ship. Factor in one of the remaining 3 has only had the job about a month...she is still learning the job. The other 2 are at odds....the problem mostly being one lady trying her damnedest to make life a living hell for the other. The last lady is just a nice "people-pleaser" type who is an absolute wreck because she is afraid to do anything wrong. I don't blame her.

In the meantime, there have been snowstorms, cash overage/shortages and problems EVERY SINGLE DAY THAT I HAVE BEEN GONE.

Seriously, people? come on! It is ONLY LOTION!!!!!!

If we had not had the crazy amount of snow and horrible weather, I would have gone in to check on things and lay down the law. nope. can't so that right now because of the horrible snowstorms and windstorms. I will finally go back to work tomorrow and hopefully these 3 ladies have not collectively run things into the ground. I only hope that my lack of being there will not come back to bite me in the ass....who knows what nonsense the one employee has been up to while I have been absent. At this point, I don't even know WHO will be running my store while I am gone.

So, I have ranted and gone on long enough. Back to the salt mines tomorrow. In a perfect scenario, I'll work this week, the babies will be over 6 pounds, and I'll go into labor on Dec 28th and not have to come back to work for the last 3 days of the year. If not, I guess I'll just have to keep on keepin' on.

Until then.... WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! Calgon, take me away!

50 days left....wowza!

Only 50 days left to make it to the ever-important 36 week mark.

I can't believe it is almost over. Seems like a long time left to wait now that things are getting more and more difficult.
I couldn't go to the waterpark because it was too far/too long to be in the car. bummer.

I was having contractions for over an hour 2 nights ago. very very scary. thankfully that went away.

Today I had to go to the doctor for some other problem I was having...everything is okay, but now I have to have an ultrasound on my gall bladder on Monday.

Yikes! who knew having twins could be so darn freaky? I know they warned me, but I feel a bit like I'm walking on eggshells! Hopefully all these little things won't add up to anything big for me or the babies. Now we just gotta make it these last 7 weeks or so and the babies should be fine.

Thankfully my husband is a complete Nazi about taking care of me. He won't let me do ANYTHING but fold laundry. It definitely makes you feel cared for when someone is watching out for you like that.

what a nice little hubby.

6 day vacation coming up!

so today was another grueling day in retail for a super-prego. Anything over 5 hours is a form of slow and painful torture!

Thankfully, I'm still working, and it is still okay...but the strange pain in one leg and the fire-like hot pain in that same area is quickly getting old.

Sure, I know things could be worse, but it would be nice if I could figure out exactly why the burning is happening. For that matter, I would like to figure out how to make it STOP!

Sunday shifts are extra long...over 9 hours on the old feet is not so much fun. On the upside, tomorrow is the last full day I have to go to work for the ENTIRE week! I'm not going back to work until next Monday, that is, unless, one of my employees decides to kill another.

Strangely, this is not really much of a joke as I have a small group of folks in the store who seem determined to make life miserable for anyone else not in their circle. Fear not! I feel the reign of terror coming to an end! It is my hope that the folks who are not so nice to the rest of the store will eventually figure out that they do not have a place in my little lotion-heaven of a store.

Anyhow, there is a little waterpark adventure planned for this week. I am thinking I could probably go up for the day with the family and come home at night. Everyone else who is going will be staying for 3 days, but that might be a bit too much for me...not to mention, I don't really have a swimming suit that fits anymore!

well...I'm off to the couch for another night of interrupted sleep. If you're bored this week and want to come over for a visit, gimme a jingle!

its the final COUNTDOWN!!!

This just in....10 more weeks to go for the goal of 36 weeks! WOO-HOO!

Still walking around without a limp! actually, I did the "cabbage patch" the other day...it sorta freaked out my hubby. I guess seeing that much baby-belly doing a 1980's hip-hop dance would freak me out too.
Went to see the cardiologist last week also about the irregular heartbeat I have been having. So far everything is checking out as okay....whew!
Nothing more freaky than knowing you are responsible for a large family and wondering if something is wrong with your ticker! I have to go get an ultrasound on my heart next week to make sure it is nothing big. So far the doctors think it is just caused by having 2 kids growing and slowly taking over my body. update to follow!

Anyhow, the last baby-doc visit was on Wednesday, and I am officially growing at a faster rate than a single pregnancy. I guess that until this month, the belly was measuring the same as a singleton. Not the case this week...I have officially jumped from 26 to 30 in weeks-measured. That also puts total weight gained at 17 pounds. The babies are over 2 pounds each now.

I have no idea what to expect in the next month, but EVERY single time I go to the doctor they keep on giving me this speech about how it is all going to get ugly very very soon. I appreciate the warnings, but COME ON! Isn't it bad enough to just KNOW things could be getting harder and harder without someone reminding me every 2 weeks. Maybe they just think that I am supposed to be more miserable by now?

The conversation goes something like this every time....
nurse/doc: SO....how ARE you?
me: pretty good!
nurse/doc: REALLY?
me: yep!
them: Are you still working?
me: oh, yeah....
them: part-time, now, right?
me: No, actually, still full-time!
them: REALLY?
me: yep!
them: any problems walking?
me: well, my right leg goes numb after standing for too long, but, so far so good.
them: REALLY?
me: yep.
them: You DO know that things WILL be getting harder.....MUCH HARDER for you to do soon, right?
me: that's what I hear...I just hope I can keep going. my husband takes good care of me when I am home...I think that helps a lot.

them: well, don't be too surprised if you have to stop soon!

me: I know, I know....I'm just trying to be optimistic and hope for the best. I'd like to work until the end if possible.
them: well...you know...just don't get to set on that!
me: yes, yes, I know.
them: You DO know that it IS going to get pretty bad soon, though...right? I mean, you really might get pretty uncomfortable and miserable towards the end now....
me: yes, yes.....thanks for the warning! See you in 2 weeks!

So, I leave every visit wondering when the bomb is going to drop. I am hoping it will never happen, and that I will just get slower and slower at doing everything. I mean, it is not impossible to do this, right?

twin-insanity setting in

okay...not to make every entry about having twins, but......

I am soooooo restless. I am going out of my mind! All I can think about is twins..... twin stuff, twin names, if there is enough room for them when they get here. On and on it goes! It is as if I had never had a kid before.

I guess it is a little hard to get off of the mind when they are physically attached to my body 24 hours a day. I just keep thinking of how many more days, how many weeks until the 36 week goal (less than 11 weeks left!) and how well Jeff will do when I go back to work.

Certainly, I feel more comfortable leaving them with him than with anyone else I know. He is more calm and relaxed than just about anyone else I have met. this is good, because I would assume there will be moments of temporary insanity once the stinkers arrive. On the other hand, I can be a bit,....well,....shall we say.... "controlling", and a bit of a micro-manager. Good when things just need to get done, bad when patience and letting somethings go when needed. Not so good when total chaos occurs and I feel the need to have things go a certain way when there is NO WAY possible for it to happen.

Jeff could have the living room on fire and just be calm and cool the whole time. He would say something like this when I came home:

Jeff: "Hi...nice day at work?"

me: " uh, why does the house smell like smoke?"

j: "oh, you know, just a little fire this morning.....do you wanna take Abby to tae kwon do, or should I?"

me: "uh....WHY does the house smell like SMOKE?!!!"

jeff: " you know, things burn, you put them out. I'll get the carpet cleaner out later and wash the burn-marks. Abby needs to be at class in 15 minutes..you or me driving?"

me: "Uh....excuse me, but WHY WAS THE HOUSE ON FIRE?"

j: Oh, who knows, Mallory was riding the dog and knocked over a candle. on the upside it sorta smells like autumn apple candles mixed with that nice roasted marshmallow smell...should last a while"

Me: "what?"
jeff: " um...the fire is out...no biggie...now, we have about 12 minutes to get abby to class...."

It used to drive me nuts how calm he can be...no worries. Now it has started to rub off on me.

I like him. I think I'll keep him around!

still not set on a great girl name

although we have pretty much figured out what our #1 choice for a boy name, I am still not sure on a great name for a girl.

Girl names are tricky...not a lot of really good ones left after using up 6 choices on our current girls.

I need HELP!

p.s. I registered at walmart and target for baby stuff...I guess a friend of mine is going to throw us a shower, however I do not know when it is going to happen? I wouldn't usually toss the "buy me stuff" card out there, but COME ON...it's flippin' TWINS..these guys are about to take over our house with their diapers and endless list of baby equipment!

can't wait to meet the little stinkers!

Calling all Bagel- pagels

Heads up and hint-hint to all pagelly-bagelly folk. I am not working thurs, fir, sat or sunday. note also that today is jeff's birthday, and that I am ordering a RIIIIIILLLLLY delicious cake that will be at my house on SATURDAY.

Perhaps you like to eat cakey, too?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! now, please vote obama...puh-leeeez!

Hello! if you haven't noticed by now...the government have flushed the financial futures of our children down the freakin' toilet.

Apparently, McCain said tonight..." now is not the time to affix the BLAME, now is the time to fix the problem!"

Uh, excuse me, but the problem is that gwb has been given a free pass to charge 4.40 a gallon for gas, (it was 1.46 when he "took" office), and has also decided to "clean up the financial mess we are in today by just giving away 700 billion dollars to the butt-wipes who irresponsibly gambled with everyone's money (life savings, 401 K, etc.) And now they wanna ask for help.

Sure, sign a bill and give them more money, and don't worry about the next poor schmuck to be president...he won't have ANY money to even try and fulfill any of his promises.

For the love of benji, WAKE UP AND VOTE! and please don't get another idiot in there who doesn't give a crap about the regular , everyday people like me and the messerbunch.

sheesh!

p.s....if the bill were to pass, jane and abby's portion of the debt to "pay-off" to the government is over 4 thousand bucks each.

dang!

now taking name suggestions

Any of you folks who may have come across a really great name (or 2), lemme know....we have already run through most of the good girl names we can think of. consider that we have 3 daughters already, each with a middle name and each with their own "Jewish" name.

So, if you add 'em up we have come up with a total of 9 good names. we need 3 more good ones for messergirl #4, and 3 snazzy names for the little buddy.

send your suggestions our way!

100 days to go...2/3 done!

well, I guess we've been preggo for 150 days so far. wow.

nowwe only have 100 days left. Could go fast, could go slow. My guess is that it will seem like forever some days and will whip by on others.

We saw the doc yesterday and he was ever so nice to remind me that this will be the last 2 weeks of "feeling like a single pregnanacy".

I got news for ya doc...it NEVER feels like there is one person in there.

I guess he kows something I don't becasue he has done this before. so far I feel like I have been taking it pretty well. I don't throw up 9 times a day anymore, which makes a big difference in the overall mood. On the other hand, the thought of these babies suddenly taking ther current weight (aout 1 pound each) and multiplying it by about 6 or 7 times EACH ( 12 or 14 times total, for those of you listening), is, well....

A TAD BIT HORRIFYING.

Dont get me wrong, this is by far the most fun I have had being pregnant,jsut because it is something new and amazing and different, but the thought of all those people in there can freak you out sometimes!

anyhoo, thislife is a good life.

Who cares if my stomach will need plastic surgery to remove all that twin-skin?

My strange and funny OB doctor

So, in case you are a follower of this blog and have not heard...we are having one of each...a girl (baby"A") and a boy (baby "B"). We found out about 2 weeks ago form the specialist. when you are having multiples, they name the babies a/b in order of who is expected to make their grand entrance first. In our case, little A is a girl, and will be making her brother wait in line behind her on the way down the baby-chute. Ladies first, I guess.

So, for the previous 2 kids, we used a group of midwives for the delivery. However, since it is multiples, you have to see a regular doctor and a perinatologist because it is considered "high-risk"

I was leery to leave the midwives' practice, since I knew them so well. Luckily, the doc down the hall was suggested, and by some strange twist of fate, he is great. also, the specialist is the husband of an old friend...they have twins also....weird how things work out!

Apparently, the doc I happened to pick is a pretty darn good one, and in the area, the other doctor is one of only 2 specialists you can see. Lucky for us, it all sort of happened t work out that way.

Anyhow, Dr waeltz, the regular OB is hilarious. every time he does a check on the babies he ends up telling me some wacky story, or drawing funny cartoons on the ultasound photos he prints. at first I thought "this is the guy I'm letting deliver the babies?" because his humor was dry and deadpan. Now I look forward to seeing what in the heck he is going to say or do next visit.

From what I can gather, he really likes the twin pregnancies too. What a nice guy..he always takes care of you form start to finish, and never seems to be in a hurry. I guess having twins has it's perks because I never have to wait for an appointment or wait long...I seem to get first pick on the scheduling calendar and first dibs on the ultrasound room..I feel like some sort of celebrity!

Usually, you wait in the waiting room (forever) and then the next room (forever), and THEN you MIGHT actually see the doctor for 2 seconds after the nurse and the technician do all the real work. Not the case with this doctor...He does everything himself except take your blood pressure.

Maybe I can get the hubby to load up the doc's last 2 ultrasound pix...not your usual baby photos. last month he printed one where it looks like it is one body with 2 heads, and this month, he printed one that shows 2 heads next to each other resembling 2 eyes and a smiley face. I know he sounds weird, but he actually cracks me up every time I see him.

Turns out he is a talented artist on top of being a funny doctor/ob. He has a bunch of his art in the office and in different exam rooms. Various media and styles...heck, a couple of them are worth buying!

Anyhow, that is enough about my wacky doctor.

So far, the twins are nice and healthy, just the right size and doing just fine. We see one of the doctors every 2 weeks, so sometimes it seems like a long drive for another check-up, but it is pretty darn amazing to see 2 little people moving around in there.

the baby ticker on the blog is not completely accurate, however. the count-down is for a 40-week pregnancy, and since we have twins, we are actually counting down to 36 weeks. So, for those of you wondering, the regular due date was feb 4th, the NEW due date for twins is a goal of reaching Jan 4th.

I'm hoping for Jan 4-14th or so. If they were to arrive before 36 weeks, they might not be fully "roasted" and premie weight. On the other hand, Dec 31st wouldn't be so bad....mommy's little tax deductions!

Well, keep your fingers crossed for me to make it through December....it is a long drive to work, and the steering wheel is already getting a little to close to the belly!

a return to bloggo! again!

well, for those of you who still stop by from time to time, I have not abandoned my post! I do have a pretty legit reason for my blogging hiatus.

We were without internet in the house for over 2 months.

In an attempt to "stick it to the man", we decided to leave our sbc/att internet because they refused to send us a new modem after a thunderstorm. Not an unreasonable request, considering we have phone, email, cell with the company and have been with them through all the various name/company changes.

nope. they refused after I ever-so humbly begged (gently threatened to leave) them to replace the 90 dollar modem. So, I figured we would dump them and go with someone else.

No such luck. apparently, when you live out in the country, everyone buys dsl from att..even the smaller independent companies. We tried using the whole "free wi-fi" at various local coffee shops, but it is annoying to have to go somewhere when you just want to check email or look something up.

So here we are, tails between our legs, calling att back to set our "new" dsl account. Guess what? The modem still aint free. aaaagggghhh!

On the upside "new" customers get the luxury of a "rebate" for signing up, so in the end, I guess we are sort of getting the modem for free?

anyhow, I'm back, the babies are getting rowdy in my belly, and I need cake. now.

over 1/3 of the way there

holy geez, if you figure the projected new due datefor the twin babies is a month earlier, and instead of a goal of 40 weeks, the new goal is 36 or 37 weeks, that means I am already 2 weeks and 1/3 of the way done.

wow. twins are amazing.
I get to find out if there is a boy or two in there pretty darn soon...5 more days...keep your fingerscrossed for tiny wing-wangs!

almost 1/4 the way done!

holy geez, almost 10 weeks already.
We had some trouble last week, but thanks to some extra progesterone, things seem to have gotten back to normal. YIPPEE!

HOly cow..it is REALLY twins!

I forget every couple of hours and then I remember again. We checked out a bunch of books from the library about twins, but mostly all they have to say is how you will be tired and worn out. Big surprise!

anyhow, it is fun watching them float around on the cartoon baby-brine thingy on my blog.

babies are WEIRD!

A return to bloggo-land...with good reason

a new and exciting development after a long blog-break.


welcome back!

the messermans are preggo with TWINS!

I'm leaving on a jet plane.....

fortunately I DO know when I'll be back again!

In about 12 hours I will be heading to the airport for my BUDOKON teacher training weekend.

I'll be staying at the Best Western near the DCA airport and will arrive a little after 2 pm Milwaukee time.

I haven't been on a trip by myself in over 8 years.

holy crap how things change!

When I was a kid (about 9 or 10) I would hop on a plane by MYSELF and head to Mexico to visit relatives for a summer, or for Xmas holiday break. I think I am actually more anxious now than I was nearly 25 years ago!
Sure, I know I will be fine, I'm not fearful of air travel or of big cities (heck, i moved to Mexico City by myself when I was only 18!), but I guess I am so darn used to being with my little messerman-clan that I will feel a bit strange out there alone in the world!

Yikes, I already miss them!

Oh, sure, it will be fun to "get away" and "have some alone time" as moms and dads say. Phooey! I've found I can "be alone" in a crowded room, if I put my mind to it.

Besides, what the hell is my little corn-dog going to do without me? That dog has needs! (okay, I love him like crazy, I admit it)

So, off I go to the BIG CITY. Wish me luck!

talk to you cats next week!

p.s.
feel free to call my celly while I'm gone!
p.p.s.
feel free to check in on my hubby...he's a nut like me and we will be missing each other like annoyingly-sweet high school sweethearts.
kinda makes ya wanna puke, don't it?

I miss the bagely-pagels....ALREADY!

Well, I thought that perhaps seeing our good friends the pagels 2 weeks ago would be enough pageltime.

Nope.

I miss them already!

I have never been so at ease with pair of friends such as them.

They call, give us an estimated arrival time and they just show up whenever.

i love it. Usually if people are coming from outta town for a visit, I get sorta bent outta shape and worry about getting the house cleaned up, preparing food, etc.

Not so with my pagel friends.
I guess it would sorta be like if your brother or sister were coming over, except I don't really have any idea what that is like. I just sorta let them in the house and tell them where the food is and let 'em roam all over the house and do whatever they want to.

They just hang out with me and we chat.

I hope it was not too boring for them, but I will guess that they feel about the same about us as we do about them?

Anyhow, Mel hung out for a purse party, we dumped ALL the kids off at the YMCA for a good 3 hour shift, and Jeff and Greg chilled out in Grafton and talked cartoons and other stuff.

It was awesome.

I sure wish they would buy the house next door to us. Would it get weird? would we get sick of each other? I don't think so.

So, put your house on the market, buy my neighbor's house and move in next fall. It will be a big compound and we will put up a fence so we can let the kids run wild. We could call it "Pagelman field" or "Messergel glen"

the pagels are the BEST!

I am officailly a purple people eater!

Okay, I don't really eat people, but i am now OFFICIALLY a Purple belt in TKD. How schwweeet is that?!
Holy geez, I am so close to black belt, baby! (high purple.....brown.....high brown....BLACK!)

Well, it was pretty awesome getting my belt today, but it definitely seems to put a little more pressure on to perform at my best. You can't just kick sloppy-style and not expect to hear about it.

I will have my black belt by December.

WOW.

I had been in kung fu off and on for over 10 years, but never got this close to black belt.
Now I am a mere week away from going on my little adventure to DC with Budokon. I am really looking forward to it.

Although I love going to TKD, there are definitely times that i miss a calmer, more meditative method that kung fu embraces. Now I will get to have all my favorites together....yoga, martial arts, and zen meditation.

Alright, enough about me....how are you?

leave me a comment and let me know what you are doing with your life these days. What are you proud of? What are you working on right now? How are you feeling?

goodnight friends! peace and respect,
miffy.

P.s. a special thanks to my sweet smelly, prickly hubby. Without his support and positive attitude, I am sure I would never have gotten so far. He is really great to let me take this time to do TKD....he is NOT going now so that I may go.

you are awesome Furg!. Smootchy smootch.

Update: lois and rick watch

Well, well, well...

guess who is coming to town this weekend? the one and only swingingest couple form Wisconsin..Lois and Rick!

Holy geez, these kids are crazy!

I guess therer is some sort of swing convention going on this weekend at the Baymont Inn, and they will be there with nipple-tassles-a-waving and doing their thing.

stayed tuned for more details!

eeeeeee!!!!!!!

contents of my bento

tomorrow I will be taking my bento to work again.

these are the contents for the day.

bottom layer: carrots with dip.
middle layer: roasted chicken breast on one half, cottage cheese on the other half.
top layer: 2 small squares of dark chocolate, 60% cacao.

also for lunch: activia yogurt (my new favorite), and a tasty little apple.

domo.

Also big news!

Well, as some of you may have heard, I have some riiiiiilllllly big news!

No, I am not having another baby, silly. I am going to Washington D.C the weekend of march 7th.

I can hardly believeit, but I have been given a really great opportunity to train as a teacher for Budokon!

Let me backtrack.....


A few months ago, I was on the GAIM website loking for something and I happened upon a link to BUDOKON....It is a new form of exercise/lifestyle fitness that melts together some of my favorites...Yoga, martial arts and zen/mindfulness meditation.

So, I further investigated it and it's teaching style and sent away for a DVD on ebay. Not only is it a great workout, but the guiding principles also embrace a way of thinking and being that I have been adopting and applying to my own self-growth. Believe it or not, it sort of ties into the whole realm of "the Secret", quantum physics, mindfulness meditation, and the basic law attraction. Some of you know I have been sort of going on about this stuff for a alittle over a year or two now and I have seen and felt some real and dynamic change and benfits from it.

I'd like to say that some of my fears, old habits, patterns of self-destructive thoughts and behaviors have been turned around, or are in the process of being eliminated due to this sort of mindful state of self-awareness. Heck, i would even attribute it to me being able to open a dialogue with my father and brother, and ending over 20 years of restlessness and nightmares that had plagued me. I am happy and grateful to say that I am happier in the last 2 years than I have ever felt in my entire life, and I welcome the evolution and growth that will come with the passage of more and more time.

Long story short, Budokon is the bomb!

So..... to get back to the story....Budokon has DVDs and also classes you can take if you live in a town where they teach it (not wisconsin!). they also have a belt system, like other martial arts schools, where you can train to earn a black belt. They also have teacher training, and in order to teach a class you have to have a certain belt, etc, etc.

Well, I had recieved an email about the upcoming Budokon immersion class wekends and other teacher trainings, so I thought...."hey, that would really be cool to do! I think I could do that!"

I checked out all the information and found out that the trainings were held in califorina, the east coast, Vancouver.....I felt the wind go out of my sails a bit, but still had it in the back of my mind that I should find a way to do this.
I kept on revisiting the site and the schedule of classes and trainings....there was a page for registration, etc, but I thought it was too far away, and the travel would be too expensive, not to mention the training is over 2 grand. I put it out of my mind again.

Of course, i was still thinking of it and saying to myself that I could do it, if I could get it paid for.

Well, a few weeks ago I recieved another email and I just thought, what the hell, I'm gonna figure out a way to get there.

I went to the registration page and noticed that they had a new attachment that allowed you to apply for a scholarship. I opened it, wrote an essay about myself and sent it off.

A week later I got a response.

I am going to the teacher training in D.C. in march! My application was recieved and accepted, and I will be getting my training fees waived. Holy cow, what awesome news.

I mentioned to Jeff that I had applied for it the day before I got the response. He of course, in his ususal supportive nature, had no doubts that I could do it. A small part of me and my old thoughts said "hey, aren't you too fat for this? " Luckily, my new-and-improved-baseball-bat carrying-positive-thoughts quickly beat the shit out of my negative thoughts. Who gives a crap if I am not 110 pounds? I am an example of what a really person looks like doing exercise, and I deserve the right to follow my dreams too, right?

Take that you negative thoughts.

I am going to D.C. I don't care if I have to go by myself, I don't care if I am the biggest girl in the room when the training begins, i am going to go and do it.

There are only 77 certified teachers of Budokon in the entire world as of today. Me thinks we need a budokon teacher in Wisconsin!

Wanna hear something else that is kinda weird and freaky? I have a tattoo on my back that looks almost exactly like the symbol for Budokon. Holy coincidence, batman!

And by the way, if anyone wants to spent the weekend in D.C., lemme know, the plane ticket is less than 200 bucks. (hint, hint, Mel!)

To check out more about Budokon, go ot: www.Budokon.com

It is purse party time!

Well, if you haven't heard, it is officially purse party time!
I will be having a Beijo bags purse party at my house...
saturday, feb 16 at 5/6 pm

No realbig demo here, just a bunch of cool purses on display for you to pick from. It will be a fun time, and I am serving Margaritas and taco dip so make sure you come and bring a friend.

You will have fun.

You will get a cool purse.

you will drink authentic Margaritas made by a real, live Mexican!

Please to forgive my no bloggy

So, I have fallen into the habit of many bloggers before me. Nearly a month (okay, a month) has passed and I have not said a dang thang in bloglandia.

To follow will be 3 to 5 semi-short blog entries to catch up on the goings-on of the Supermiff.

Newsflash!!.......
I just recieved 2 of the coolest, most sought-after items (in my opinion) in the last 7 days.

Item numero uno TOTORO BENTO BOX! eeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Joy of joys!

What is bento?
Why would I want a bento?
what is Totoro? Why is it so cool?

Well, if you don't know the answers to these questions, my friend, you are missing out on the sweet joys of life!
Not only is my bento cute and wonderful, it has a 3-d Totoro and little white totorito on it. Oh, and did I metion the little dust-sprites/soot-gremlins? Oh, and did I mention it came all the way from Japan?

Holy jeez! Okay, remember when people would send packages in the mail wrapped in brown papaer and tape? It came srapped this way with an adorable, hand-tied purple bow. I am not kidding you! could the Japanese be any cooler or more cute? NO!

How did I come upon this treasured item? Only the COOLEST guy in the world got it for me!

I love furgzilla!

Yes, he is the coolest guy I know.

Should the blog slave get around to it, he will insert photos so you may enjoy.

Also, the return address label from Japan had Hello kitty on it.

'Nuf said.

Coveted item number 2: My very own seltzer and soda machine!

Okay, so if you know me a bit, you know that I can easily drink 3 to 5 cans of seltzer a day. Yes, plain, no sugar, no sweetner, nothin' but wonderful fizzy goodness.

So, I had been wanting one of these for about 3 or 5 years, but had never really gotten around to buying one. I thought I would use it all the time, Jeff thought it would sit in the corner collecting dust.

Well, I finally ordered one from "soda club' and it arrived last week. After carefully reading the instructions and tyring it out, I am now happy to say that I can enjoy seltzer all day everyday.Here is the really cool part... you can make your own soda with it! Sy you want some rootbeer, you make a liter of rootbeer! The kids, furg and I have been enjoying making whatever flavor of soda we want...we tried 6 different flavors already....mmmmmmm......tasty!

The major problem I used to have with buying seltzer in the store was that I was always running out, and Jef was always (literally) running out to the store to get some for me at night.

I am also glad that I won't have to lug all the dang recycling out to the curb or have cans and

plastic bottles of seltzer all over my house and kitchen countertop. ( I am sure Jeff will be glad he woun't have to pick up all my cans anymore, too!)

so, come on over to the Meserman house and have some mountain dew...I'll make some up for you in a jiffy!

WTF?

Seriously, this is the second weekend fun and games planned to hang with bagelly-pagelly friends that has been cancelled last minute.

last month we planned to visit Manty-woc, there was a last minute ice storm.

Phooey! no pagels!

Today, we planned to head on up to Manty, and, alas, we are NOT in Manty.

I have had a minor annoyance of a cold, and a sore throat that just does not want to go away.

Of course I wake up today, and it hurts more than ever...5 days of sore throat. AAAARRGH.

Well I went out in search of a weekend clinic, because I did not want to be off of work for 3 days and be SICK for all 3 of them.

In the end I find a office that is open, everyone was nice a sweet at the doc's office.

Swab the throat, yada yada yada...STREP..


dang it! no pagels....AGAIN!